Sign O' the Times 9

A girl in her late teens or early 20's was flying this sign last Friday at the Power Rd. entrance to the Albertson's shopping center on the Redlands. I spoke with her briefly. She said that her dog, which looked to be something akin to a Jack Russell Terrier, had sustained an injury to his leg when he had an encounter with the wheel of a small trailer that the girl pulls with her bicycle. The dog was running around the area with a lame back leg.

I initially thought that the girl was somewhat audacious and less than believeable with this approach, and still felt that way after speaking with her, even as I was handing her a $5 bill. Injured dog or not, the girl's situation and appearance looked to me as if whatever she collected over and above the verterinarian bill, she could probably use herself. Looking back, I think my decision was influenced in part by Smokey's death along with a concern for her and the dog's general welfare.

I was also aware of the initiative being spearheaded by Housing First! No More Deaths! concerning the impending arrival of colder temperatures and the potential effects on homeless families, particularly children. HFNMD's apparent focus here is to call attention to both the lack of shelter space for homeless families during the daylight hours, and the preponderance of abandoned buildings in the downtown area that the group believes could be improved sufficiently to meet some of these needs. Their protest at an abandoned storage building at 9th Street and D Road this past Saturday seemed to bring about some needed filler for the weekend broadcast news stations, but that appears to be all so far.

Jacob Richards and his group prefaced their activity with statement that appears absurd in its obviousness, but depending upon your perspective could be deadly serious; "Winter is Coming".

Let's hope that the little dog gets his help, and that the families in our community that are scrambling for shelter as the cold approaches get some form of relief from those who have a warm place to be this winter.

Have a good week ahead.