homeless = tactless

I know that seems harsh but just hear me out. There are two vagrants I see on a regular basis and they both completely piss me off for different reasons. They happen to be at the same train stop and no matter what I do, I always see one or the other. I take the 6 home at night and if its nice out I'll walk from the Bleeker St. stop but if not I'll transfer to the F/V.

If I walk home, there is a little old white woman (who doesn't look the least bit homeless) that stands in the stairwell right before you make it out to the street with her Greek paper coffee cup. She waives it from side to side and sort of half looks up as you walk by. But she doesn't look desperate or hungry or needy. She just looks pissed that she's missing The People's Court, because that Judge Whopner is quite the looker. This old bitch probably lives in a $500 per month 2 bedroom rent stabilized co-op apartment and uses the money she earns in the subway to pay for her weekly Atlantic City blue hair bus trips. I just really want to punch her in her stupid, wrinkly, unenthusiastic mug. Is that so wrong?

Then there's the sleeper who's always on the bench when I transfer to the F/V. This guy stretches out, has his face covered by a hat, and smells like he is marinating in a fresh pant-load of self soil. So. Fucking. Nasty. But to top it off, he ALWAYS has one hand down the front of his pants. If I could get close without throwing up I'd like to tell him not to worry, nobody is going to try and steal it. Is this what a complete loss of dignity looks (smells) like?

Normally I have so much compassion for the homeless. I give money to the ones that sing or dance or tell a compelling story, I give food to the locals that hang out by my apartment, but this is something totally different. I never knew I could be so angry or disgusted as I am by these two. Am I heartless? Obviously not-because if I was I would have hit, kicked, whore-bathed, or spit on at least one of them by now.

Keep up the good work I suppose.