Team FoxyLibrarian!

When it dawned on me that it isn’t standard practice to still be wearing maternity clothes 2 years after giving birth, I bought a NIKE Sport Kit and have been jogging - at a stately pace, but jogging all the same, damnit - during my lunch hour. The most inspirational and enjoyable part of the run is the cheers and words of encouragement shouted at me by the homeless crew that loiter and hang out by the library, steaming themselves like dumplings on the warm grates. They pretty much spend their day there carousing, smoking and making undeniably humorous commentary about the passersby.

Say what you will about them but they are a jolly, convivial bunch, they don’t panhandle near the library’s entrance and in general clean up after themselves. They have also earned a special place in my heart by always making sure to tell me how beautiful I was in the latter stages of pregnancy, when I was anything but, and to this day always inquire about the baby. I don’t know what hellish childhoods/ circumstances brought them to homelessness, but they have retained a rough gallantry which is incredibly touching. When I was pregnant, men like them were always the first one to jump up and offer me their seat on the bus, while many a well dressed professional would be intently staring into his laptop, purposefully oblivious. Also, most can tell a damn good story which goes a long way in my book. Life would be much duller without them.