Connectivity (The Story of George)

I found myself in tears this morning as I read a story from Thursday’s Portland Tribune. The story dealt with the death of a homeless man named George Grigorieff who froze to death on the night of December 21st. Perhaps it was the photograph of him on the cover. Maybe it was the facts surrounding his death that got to me. I’m not sure.

What I do know is that when we had that winter storm a few weeks back, I found myself wondering how many homeless people would die. According to the article in the paper, George was the only one who did. I’m glad about that.

There was a very interesting sub plot. Maybe that’s what brought me to tears. It was about the woman who found him on the morning of the 22nd. She frequently visits the Lone Fir Cemetery which is where he froze. The day before she considered taking her own life there. She figures that finding George was no accident; and that it was a message that she should hang in there longer.

Whatever the case may be, I have some extremely strong feelings about poverty, homelessness, mental illness, addiction, and loneliness at large. Some things HAVE TO CHANGE if we are to survive on this planet!