He was walking towards me. His once white beard now a dirty yellow, a cane in hand, long and untamed hair. His clothing dirty, hanging off him. Neither soap nor water has touched his skin, in a very long time. His head down rising as he feels me walking towards him. Our eyes meet. Water is making it’s way to the surface of his eyes, he has been seen.
“Are you okay?” I asked him? I didn’t need an answer to know the answer.
He has family but he doesn’t want to be a burden. He has stood still with time, no longer aware of how quickly the world has changed. “I used to be a window dresser, I was good at it… there is no work for me anymore”.
This harmless old man made me wonder how often we actually ask the people around us if they are okay, the ones we know and don’t. It’s easy to keep walking…