Sometimes I walk through life with these cheerful thoughts circulating in my head. I’m so glad I work downtown, I’ll think. It’s great to be around people who aren’t like me, who pull me outside of my safe suburban existence.
And then I realize that the homeless man ahead of me is pulling soda cans out of the trash, presumably collecting them to cash in for money.
Sometimes I need to throw my rose-colored glasses to the sidewalk and watch them shatter as I walk past.