Second time this month!

I ran into Caleb, Randi and Napoleon in the middle of Michigan Avenue. It's the second time I've seen him the month, and the first time I've been able to catch up with the whole family in months. 

 

Napoleon is fine. He's a very big cat, but lean and muscular. He's been fixed and he's up to date on his shots. It cost them more than $500, but they're glad to report he's healthy and shouldn't need to return to the vet for a year.

 

Mom and Dad aren't faring as well. If I didn't know Randi had a stroke earlier this month, I wouldn't notice anything amiss. Her speech is fine and so are her motor skills. But her arms looked a little bloated. Still, her spirits were good. She's stopped wearing her earrings for some reason and the massive hole in one ear, where a disk used to be, is unsightly. I worry about that when she starts looking for work again. 

Caleb was laid off. Not "let go," not "fired." Laid off. He expects to return to work in a few days or weeks. He drives a forklift for a food distribution warehouse. They still have their little apartment but are panhandling to make ends meet.

 

They mentioned "friends who have air conditioning." The context was that, when it was so hot, Napoleon spent a few nights with them. This made me happy. Not because of how spoiled Napoleon is, though that did make me smile, but because they have friends they can visit. One of the things Randi said to me once was that, being homeless they had to carry all their belongings with them at all times. This made it impossible to visit non-homeless friends or go to the movies, "like normal people." Even with setbacks, it looks like they are well on their way to being "normal people." 

 

May they live happily ever after!