Will Work for Phone

Today I saw a "homeless" man standing at a pretty high-traffic intersection.  He was waiting for the signal to change so that he could continue panhandling from the drivers who had driven too slowly to make the light.  I watched, with great interest, as this man proceeded to take out a Blackberry-esque phone and began texting a message to someone (possibly a fellow homeless friend on a different street corner).  Two things came to mind as I watched him feverishly thumb-type a message of seemingly great importance:

1.  I am woefully underpaid as a teacher, as I can not even remotely afford a Blackberry or the service required to send texts of the utmost importance.

2. This man needs to get his priorities in order! 

The first thought, that of being underpaid as a public school teacher, jumps to mind all of the time regardless of the situation.  Let's face it, everyone believes they are underpaid.  It's always on my mind and the homeless guy had little to do with that thought.

However, the simple fact that this man had enough money for an expensive phone (and service plan) but was supposedly living on the street was absurd.  Either his priorities were completely out of whack, or he was running some kind of scam.  I'm actually hoping it was a scam because the thought of a person feeling that cellular prowess was far more important than basic necessities, such as food and shelter, sends my brain into a tizzy.  Truth be told, I would bet that if many of my students were surveyed about what they felt were the necessities of life many of them would list their phones in the top three--leaving clothing by the wayside.  Maybe it's because I'm just not that into cell phones.  Or maybe it's because I enjoy living indoors and eating food (rather than finding food).  But it is just difficult to imagine needing to be so connected that I would be willing to forgo the luxuries of the basics.

I should have asked him.  I should have pulled off to the side of the road, approached him, waited for him to finish his text as to not be rude, and asked him point blank, "Who the hell are you calling!"  I mean, isn't that really the twist in this story?  Who are this guy's friends that know he is living on the streets but maintaining a cellular account?  Well, I didn't ask.  But the next time I see this guy I'll text him that question...