Thursday, November 24, 2005
I walked home by a slightly different route today. I usually walk up Yates or Fort, because that's where the interesting shops are, but this time I decided to just head up Burdett rather than wait for a light to change. It was raining this afternoon - because I didn't bring my umbrella, see - and I wanted to make it home before the skies opened again.
As I was walking past the Y, a man fell down on the sidewalk in front of me. Hard. I went over to ask if he needed help, but he insisted he was okay and got up slowly. He continued walking down the street, clearly having trouble staying up and on the sidewalk. He smelled like alcohol, but I didn't think he was drunk - it was more of a stale smell, you know? So I went into the Y and got them to call the police, because I was really afraid this guy would hurt himself, either by falling or by wandering into traffic.
I hate doing that, though. I don't imagine that this guy will have a particularly pleasant interaction with the police, and I'm not the world's biggest fan of the police. On the other hand, who else do you call? He didn't seem to need an ambulance, but he also seemed to be having some kind of problem, and he fell *really* hard. Maybe he was drunk, I don't know. Either way, he seemed to need some kind of help.
After I left the Y I passed by the park across the street, and I saw him again. He'd either fallen again or lain down, and was struggling to get up again. I hope that, if they find him, they're actually helpful.
As I was walking past the Y, a man fell down on the sidewalk in front of me. Hard. I went over to ask if he needed help, but he insisted he was okay and got up slowly. He continued walking down the street, clearly having trouble staying up and on the sidewalk. He smelled like alcohol, but I didn't think he was drunk - it was more of a stale smell, you know? So I went into the Y and got them to call the police, because I was really afraid this guy would hurt himself, either by falling or by wandering into traffic.
I hate doing that, though. I don't imagine that this guy will have a particularly pleasant interaction with the police, and I'm not the world's biggest fan of the police. On the other hand, who else do you call? He didn't seem to need an ambulance, but he also seemed to be having some kind of problem, and he fell *really* hard. Maybe he was drunk, I don't know. Either way, he seemed to need some kind of help.
After I left the Y I passed by the park across the street, and I saw him again. He'd either fallen again or lain down, and was struggling to get up again. I hope that, if they find him, they're actually helpful.
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