The man lived in dumpsters. At first, I thought the noises he made were those made by a raccoon scrounging for food. I talked to a native in the area, found out it was a man, and started to leave hot food, a duvet, a throw, and warm clothes by the dumpster. These things disappeared.
I made hot bean soup, and Polish sausages, garlic bread, and other warm things.
That a man would live in a dumpster in Alberta in the winter where the temperature could go down to minus 50 Fahrenheit was shocking to me. I never saw the man in the dumpster, but he took my duvet, clothes and food. Then, about sixteen months later, after I had moved out of the area, I heard he had been accidentally killed. Apparently, he had been known by the police, and was mentally challenged. He was young when he died. In his forties, I heard......
No city is civilized which lets a man live in dumpsters. No people are civilized, which do not care for those who cannot take care of themselves.
I shall never forget the man I never saw--the man in the dumpster in Calgary. He reminds me of my sins. He reminds me that we live in mental and spiritual dumpsters of gross consumerism and greed. He reminds me that we have failed in our civilization and in our Christianity. I shall never forget him.