I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio
(Radio)
You gave them all those old time stars
Through wars of worlds -- invaded by Mars
You made 'em laugh -- you made 'em cry
You made us feel like we could fly
So don't become some background noise
A backdrop for the girls and boys
Who just don't know or just don't care
And just complain when you're not there
You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
(Radio)
~Queen, Radio Ga Ga
She was homeless and wished for a transistor radio, however, her situation did not allow for frivolous jaunts to Target where she could aimlessly meander up and down the aisles while she fed her pipe dreams of if and when. It was easy for me to purchase the radio for her... the difficult part would be finding her!
I had no idea JUST how difficult it would be! I knew I could find her at the train station. I would take a ticket, park in the parking garage, run up the long escalator or sometimes go up or down multiple flights of stairs, circulate through the upper portion of the train station, go down the escalator and circulate through the bottom of the train station, ascend the long staircase and run back to my car. If I was able to do that in under 10 minutes, my parking was free. If not, I had to pay one dollar. My quest had begun. I checked twice a day, every day. Sometimes parking was difficult to find. I had to wind my way all the way to the roof of the parking garage and then go down a million flights of stairs. By the time I made my rounds and made it back to my car, I had to pay a dollar. Sometimes I would say to myself "No good deed goes unpunished" and then I would chide myself for even letting such an idiotic saying creep into my head! My woman was nowhere in sight!
I started to realize that my mission was bigger than my own world. I began to enlist the help of others. I asked my train riding colleagues if they had seen her. They said yes, however sightings of her were spotty and unpredictable. I spoke to the head of the transportation center security. He knew her well, and took me down to the lower level where many homeless people hung out because it was warm there. No dice! He asked a homeless man named Angel whether or not he had seen the homeless woman with the carts. "She was here earlier!", he replied. Angel was wide eyed and probably wondered what I wanted with her. He had a large gash across the bridge of his nose and I couldn't help but wonder how it got there. I had choked back a few tears when I heard his name. Even Angels can be homeless... how ironic.
She was homeless and wished for a transistor radio, however, her situation did not allow for frivolous jaunts to Target where she could aimlessly meander up and down the aisles while she fed her pipe dreams of if and when. It was easy for me to purchase the radio for her... the difficult part would be finding her!
I had no idea JUST how difficult it would be! I knew I could find her at the train station. I would take a ticket, park in the parking garage, run up the long escalator or sometimes go up or down multiple flights of stairs, circulate through the upper portion of the train station, go down the escalator and circulate through the bottom of the train station, ascend the long staircase and run back to my car. If I was able to do that in under 10 minutes, my parking was free. If not, I had to pay one dollar. My quest had begun. I checked twice a day, every day. Sometimes parking was difficult to find. I had to wind my way all the way to the roof of the parking garage and then go down a million flights of stairs. By the time I made my rounds and made it back to my car, I had to pay a dollar. Sometimes I would say to myself "No good deed goes unpunished" and then I would chide myself for even letting such an idiotic saying creep into my head! My woman was nowhere in sight!
I started to realize that my mission was bigger than my own world. I began to enlist the help of others. I asked my train riding colleagues if they had seen her. They said yes, however sightings of her were spotty and unpredictable. I spoke to the head of the transportation center security. He knew her well, and took me down to the lower level where many homeless people hung out because it was warm there. No dice! He asked a homeless man named Angel whether or not he had seen the homeless woman with the carts. "She was here earlier!", he replied. Angel was wide eyed and probably wondered what I wanted with her. He had a large gash across the bridge of his nose and I couldn't help but wonder how it got there. I had choked back a few tears when I heard his name. Even Angels can be homeless... how ironic.
