he wore two hats.

There was this man on the bus today. He wore two hats. One was a blue khaki bandana. The other looked like he skinned his neighbour's cat. His plaid coat was overflowing with paper towels. He was carrying Christmas lights. And he sat by himself at the front of the bus.

It was rush hour, so the bus was crammed with people. There were no seats left, except the one beside him. Once, a lady sat down beside him. But after a few furtive glances at his tobacco-stained hands stuffing his pipe, she quickly got up and moved.

My heart hurts when I see people fall through the cracks of society and no one offers them dignity to help them climb out of their rut. "They" are people too.