Today’s Friday, and so far it’s been lousy. I ride my bike from one dumpster location to the next, rummage through the bins in search of something saleable or reusable. Slim pickings today. No scrap metal to sell to Bruno, no electronic gadgets that look like they could be fixed, no clothes I could resell. It’s past noon – time to have something to eat. I’m terribly hungry. No need to pull out my wallet – all it contains is some copper coins, and those won’t buy a thing.
Not much is happening, people are at home cooking or eating. I’ve been sitting on the wall across from the dumpsters on Via Sapori – away from the ones that stink the most – for half an hour. But wait – here comes someone. It’s the guy that’s given me something occasionally. Let’s try!
Hooray, I’m getting there – he gave me some brass! Now all I need is another generous sponsor like him. If all else fails, I can walk over to aunty Tsura, who’s sitting on her usual lunchtime bench, and ask her for some crumbs. She usually has enough and doesn’t mind sharing.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2026)
Note
This is a fundamentally true story told from the point of view of another person and was written down for Friday Writings #247: Reframing Negative Concepts.
