Twice a day I pass a place called Community Alternatives. I have never researched its purpose but it seems to be a halfway house of sorts. I am not sure.
Occassionally, I will see someone, who looks like an addict in recovery crossing the street from Community Alternatives to the Casey's gas station or vice versa, but only notice because they tend to cross in the middle of the street as opposed to the cross walk and it's not a point in the road where jaywalking makes a great deal of sense.
As I passed this morning, there were several people in a circle being lead in some stretching by a guy in a shirt which read "parole officer." Most of the people weren't really stretching and even the circle seemed half-hearted at best.
When I went home, there was a different scene. An older lady was shuffling back and forth in the middle of the street with cars backing up all around her. In the direction I was heading a queue of five cars had formed as people apparently sat deciding what to do. As I slid by on the right, a few people started honking at this woman then some guy shouted out of his window for her to "move it." When I got up close to her I put my bike in the grass and jogged out help her. I quietly said, "let's get you out of the road" and lead her across to Community Alternatives parking lot. When we reached the lot, there were at least seven or eight people just sitting outside who had been watching this woman stuggle.
I started back toward my bike and could feel myself getting more and more angry as I went. Some guy in a four door looked at me and said, "What was going on there?"
"You were sitting on your ass while some old woman was waiting to get hit in the middle of the street. That's what was going on."
Maybe I'm the ass, but I really don't understand people sometimes.
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Okay, I just looked it up.
Community Alternatives helps people with Developmental Disabilities.