Homeless in Vancouver

Homeless in Vancouver: Not to give away the ending to this poppy update but it’s a happy one

by Stanley Q. Woodvine on March 31st, 2017 at 5:49 PM
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      There’s no way to know how the Royal British Legion poppy pin I plucked out of a Dumpster earlier this week and blogged about found its way to our distant shores.

      But it’s here now. And, like countless other invasive plant species, it has successfully taken root.

      As much as I appreciated the pin, I couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t for me; that such a dressy piece of jewelery was more fitting adornment for a woman than a man (never mind a homeless man).

      So I gifted it to an acquaintance named Laura, via her husband James.

      The pin is actually perfect for her; not only does it turn out that she’s a mad poppy fancier but its glitter goes well with her radiant smile.

      All I asked of her in return was that she provide a rare bit of quality content for the blog by consenting to being photographed wearing the pin sometime near Remembrance Day.

      Writing that she “couldn’t wait til Remembrance Day” she emailed her husband a selfie wearing the red enameled pin today (March 31), which he forwarded to me.

      That was sweet!

      And in related news, two days ago I had the good fortune to fish a big old working Acer laptop out of a grey garbage bin. This was another thing that I liked but didn’t actually need.

      I ended up only keeping the laptop long enough to make sure that it worked well and then—for very little money—I “gave” it to a friend who needed it a lot more than I did.

      It really can be better to give than to receive; at least when the giving is well within one’s means.

      By distinguishing between what I like and what I need (something homelessness has helped me to do) and by acting on the knowledge, I was able to make myself and two other people happy—that’s three happy people for the price of one.

      Which actually makes me three time happier than I would’ve been, I think, if I had kept the stuff. 

      Stanley Q. Woodvine is a homeless resident of Vancouver who has worked in the past as an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer. Follow Stanley on Twitter at @sqwabb.

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