Reminders on Eid Day

It was my first Eid away from home, and while it was different and I missed my family and Southern California friends I had a decent time. I mean who complains when you get to spend the day dressing up, praying, eating and spending time with friends? But of course the day closed with two very important very in-your-face reminders about the world we live in:

• As I left my friend to walk to her car, I heard yelling the street. So I stopped to make sure she was OK - she was. The person yelling in the street, was not. It seemed an indigent mentally unstable person had been upset by something and was now standing in the middle of a busy intersection shouting and kicking a street sign.
• As I walked to my car, a woman asked me for money for shoes. And sure enough, I looked down and this woman was standing around on a San Francisco winter night in the middle of downtown with just her socks on.

So what will we do to help those in need during the coming year?