A: He’s homeless.
B: He smells.
C: He’s dirty.
D: He’s hungry.
A: He’s been there as long as I can remember.
B: At least two years.
C: Maybe five.
D: He got there seven years and two months ago.
A: He has a cot and some blankets.
B: He has a chair.
C: The old suitcase.
D: Some shelter from the rain.
A: He is on the King’s Road.
B: Outside of the Fire station.
C: Near the DKNY store.
D: A few square feet of sidewalk, it’s because of squatter’s rights.
A: The first time I took him a cup of coffee.
B: Half a sandwich.
C: A value meal from McDonalds.
D: I dropped it off when he was sleeping.
A: I did that about once a week.
B: Every couple weeks.
C: Once when he was awake.
D: And we started talking.
A: I never talked to him.
B: He was fascinating.
C: What a life.
D: What a waste.
A: I never talked to him, but I dropped off one coffee a week.
B: I noticed other people talking to him.
C: Everyone knows who he is.
D: I regularly took him peanut butter sandwiches.
A: Sometimes he was talking to other homeless people.
B: Sometimes he was talking to business men.
C: Sometimes he was talking to teenagers.
D: Sometimes he came to my church.
A: And now he’s dead.
B: He died on Boxing Day.
C: He was alive on Christmas Eve.
D: I saw them take him away.
A: They say he went peacefully.
B: At least it wasn’t another beating.
C: He died alone.
D: I saw the emergency response team moving slowly and then I saw the body bag.
A: Then he was gone.
B: Gone.
C: Social services got rid of everything.
D: Everything was gone.
A: The cot.
B: The chair.
C: The suitcase.
D: The man.
A: Then the flowers appeared.
B: And the photographs.
C: The prayers.
D: The candles.
A: Where were these people when he was alive?
B: Where were they when he needed help?
C: Why all the support now?
D: Why did he have to live on the street.
A: I didn’t learn his name until he died.
B: Paul.
C: Paulo.
D: Paul. The king of the king’s road.
A: I heard he had a daughter.
B: I heard he knew he was going to die.
C: I heard he said goodbye to his friends.
D: He said goodbye to me on Christmas eve.
A: That’s why I’m at the memorial.
B: That’s why I came.
C: Look how quickly they made him disappear.
D: We will never forget him.
A: Never forget him.
B: I will always remember him.
C: He was Paul.
D: The King of the King’s Road.
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