Yesterday, February 13th, in Los Angeles Chinatown the dragon parade was hosted in honor of Chinese New Years. This is the year of the Fire Monkey who’s character is ambitious and adventurous, but irritable. The monkey’s character was essentially synonymous with surroundings of Chinatown, filled bustling bright blood red streets flashed by my eyes as the dragons floated by. The image created was beautiful- the neighborhood was packed and morale was high. And the lack of space and desire for authentic dim sum made me irritable.

Families were everywhere and the demographic was scattered- the difference night and day compared to ‘typical’. I wanted to see typical, I wanted to see who really occupied the streets of Chinatown. I did not want to forget that the majority of people (asian and latino descent) who are residents of the Chinatown area lived on annual incomes of $22,754 six years ago.

I did not want to forget that homeless people line the streets- but I could not ignore my reality and my blindness to the true brutality. The truth was sheltered, covered, replaced with ambition and adventure. There was a makeshift mart made of various vendors selling knock-offs of clothing brands, five shirts for ten dollars. Extending the line of poverty- working the system to buy, sell, and waste more. The cycle being perpetuated threw me to a further spiral- dim sum the only cure.

Our group scattered to a hole-in-the-wall recommended by an old local Chinese lady.

The dim sum was super- tasted just like it should, with a price that matched wonderfully. Fortunately or unfortunately, do to a ten dollar minimum on card purchases I loaded boxes with ten dollars worth of Chinese dim sum. Obviously unable to devour all deliciousness in one sitting, and having had made eye contact with a homeless man sitting in a wheelchair I decided to ask my friends who was willing to give up their food.

Without hesitation all of my friends donated to the food box we were about to present this man. I confidently walked over to him and presented him with the box of food, “Hi sir, this box of food is for you, there are some dumplings and bread that will last and I would love for you to have it.” He looked at me, smiled, thanked me, and refused the food.

I did not question him but smiled in response, said thank you and wished him a good day. I forgot to consider all that comes with being homeless and the obstacles one must face while homeless. Mainly and particularly for this case- the difficulties of finding a restroom as a disabled and unkept homeless man.