We have this magazine here in the UK called The Big Issue, sold on the streets by the homeless or as close as you can get anyway. It’s been a long time since I bought one, I don’t like giving money to these people because I know, first hand where it goes. They’re better off being handed a sandwich or a cup of tea than your change, believe me.

However, I was waiting on the bus at 8pm last night & having already been asked if I wanted one but said no thanks, I watched the Big Issue seller be ignored time & again by the crowds walking past him. I guess his polite reply to my “no thank you” hit a soft spot because after noting I had another 5 minutes to wait, I went over & asked to buy one.

From there we had a little bit of a conversation about what it’s like being treated like a lesser human being & well, he was very honest indeed, telling me he “liked a drink but didn’t do drugs any more”. Merely out of morbid curiosity I quizzed him on the latter & he told me he’d been off heroin for a year & a half.

Like my own addiction I see these things as being linked so I praised him on his feat, genuinely. Besides, who the hell else out there is going to readily praise this guy for coming off smack? The difference between me the young, pretty girl off the street & some condescending Doctor telling him he needs to stop shooting up & quit the drink is vast, worlds apart.

I guess I saw a man struggling there outside the supermarket & decided to go & brighten his world for a moment or two. Life is all about moments, I know that all too well. There’s no doubt in my mind I made his night too – & I don’t say that to blow my own trumpet because actually, he brightened mine as well….

Think about it, especially over here, I’d bet there isn’t another 21 year old woman like myself who would even have given this guy, Ian, the time of day. Never mind 21, but 31, 41, 51. Standing there with him for those few minutes I too caught the looks of irritation & pity. There’s a fear there, I think. And honestly, with the things I’ve seen & the things I’ve been through, I’m not so sure I would have been so eager to walk on over & talk to him had there not been so many people around either.

My point is that I learned this, how to be cordial, how to create a moment & how to put forward a gesture that might help someone, in America. I don’t think people in Britain realise how differently things work over there. Sure, not everyone is nice in America either but I’ve seen a hell of a lot more kindness than I ever have in 21 years of living in Britain.

This is how everyone should be treated. This is the point of the Desiderata – (the tattoo across the inside of my left wrist).

The line:

“Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & the ignorant; they too have their story”.

That is what I did last night & I’m really proud of the fact.