Truth cuts like a knife.

Now and then I spend some time down on skid row working with homeless people. Skid row has the largest homeless population in LA and there is a wonderful group of people through The Jonah Project (www.jonahproject.org) that do amazing work and out reach down there...

I always try to take some time when I am there to really talk to some of the homeless people. I spoke to one homeless man for quite awhile, he was fairly quiet and unassuming, but was ready and willing to have a conversation when it was opened to him. We chatted in and out, and sometimes we would get interrupted by other people, and he would watch me try to be socially graceful and answer someones question, or hug someone when they went to say goodbye. I turned back to him and said "I'm sorry, what were you saying?", and he looked at me and said, "you know you look all nice and sweet and easy like, but really you tough as nails...but you know sometimes you play stupid, like you don't really know what's going on, and that ain't true. You smart, but you play stupid, and you know exactly what is going on, so don't play stupid." And when he said that to me, it cut right to my core, because I realized he was right.

Maybe it's a woman thing, maybe it's a me thing, maybe it's a not wanting to hurt other peoples feelings in certain situations. But, he called it, and he was dead on...and I think I have probably done that to make things easier, to avoid discomfort in others and therefore myself. I don' t think I will do that as much anymore, and maybe it takes a man who has lost everything, to realize he has nothing to loose by just calling it like he sees it. To him I offer a deep thank you.