In the town where I live for many years there was this guy everybody called "the bum"..I have seen him around since I was a kid. He would always wear a big heavy black coat, even in the summer. He was homeless, had no job, no place to stay..the only money he ever had he spent it on coffee or a hot dog at a shopping mall. He had no teeth, poor posture, couldn't seem to speak.. My friend's dad who is a politician in town since the 60's said that this guy everybody called "the bum" was actually a german soldier in ww2. After the war he came to Canada, but unfortunately he lost his mind in the war. So this guy never learned English, no job, no money, no place to stay. On his way to work early in the morning at about 6:00 am, you could see this guy at the downtown street corner yelling at cars like a maniac saying "get that platoon over there!, right now!" and most of what he was saying was in german. A real nut but the cops left him alone. Even on the coldest day of the year this guy would be walking along the main road, wearing his big black coat...Well this guy finally died. Froze to death where he slept between a stack of bricks at the brickyard north of town. No ID, no money, nothing. Just a frozen dead guy in the black coat he wore. R.I.P. "The bum"
Someone must know the poor guy's name. One thing about war never changes, I guess: it always sucks for the soldiers.
Froze to death on just before Christmas ? What a f**king shame. A WW2 German soldier? That guy must have been in his 80s. I cannot believe the German consulate, the Canadian government, local, provincial and federal did not do anything for the poor bastard. If he came to Canada as a POW, why didn't he get sent back? America is notorious for allowing humans to fall through the cracks like that... but Canada? I can see why guys like Frank can start saying the "F" word all the time now..... R.I.P. Unknown soldier..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG8IH3Kb_Fo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdGwKt0tzgA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDUOVyiX9fk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYeCYbaaXBI&feature=related
Agreed LL. But mac never said the guy was POW in Canada. A guy is free to be nuts: free to fall, free to fail free to flail.... That is what freedom means everywhere..... He should have emigrated to Argentina. Canada is not a good place to be dirt poor in the winter, the winter in USA can kill a guy too if he doesn't have rent money and he tells authority figures to fuck off and they haven't figured out how to arrest him for 'mental health' offences... Or don't want to. I know mad men also who avoid the clutches of interveners. I don't know how they manage, given the intrusive way of the Nanny State, but I have to admire those people. In British Columbia they will aresst you if you are outdoors in subzero weather. Yep, It is now illegal in BC to be outdoors in certain whether, even if you wish to be. But what cop is gonna go out on patrol hunting bums? Never mind, stupid question.....
Yes, you're right of course....... I'm just venting my frustrations. That fine line between "socialistic state" and open land of self reliant independent "free men" has been discussed by old Greeks 2,000+ years ago to no end. However in the name of "personal freedom" I believe we as a society are failing. "We" as in Humanity. I like to think that society is an evolving organism. As it has progressed from small collectives of hunter-gatherers to groups of families, the group begins to have specialized members; farmers, hunters, warriors, medicine man/woman, spiritual advisers, craftsmen etc. Now we have police, fire departments, public road, sewer, power, light, gas, hospitals, schools, library, radio, telephone, television, internet. In any society there must be some form of safety net for those who "lose" it. Some form of assistance that protects the individual from doing harm to one's self. It's just frustrating. Another tragic end to a life who could have used just a little help at the right time..... Too Many People....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaEJmSz-uFs
And here is another one of the ignored and forgotten as sometimes is found. For english, click on the CC for translation. Not much important being said but, it's translated from some foreign language. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FF9RV85g58