Harry's change

Our President speaks often of change and his campaign buttons may be in that treasure drawer in your kitchen now, those bumper stickers one can still see, change we can believe in (apologies for ending that sentence in a preposition).

There’s a man in my neighborhood, he’s homeless, has been for quite sometime, and sometimes we chat about the world. He reminded me about change the other day.

As I walked down the street, he hollered from the back alley, “Hey, Tom, I need some change I can believe in”. His usual sales pitch these days. I laughed, stopped and dug in my pants for some. I ended up walking with Harry (we’ll just call him Harry here for now) into the gas station shop and I got some milk, the paper and a sandwich and juice for Harry. Harry glanced through the paper as we walked outside. He reviewed Section A and he kept it for his morning reading. We talked about the news. He gave me his theory about the bank bailouts.

When Harry talks politics, he speaks about the system often. How do things work, he says in a curious way? He’s a fan of Obama but he thinks the President is sinking into the Washington system of politics according to funding…money does rule a great deal after all. Harry knows that. The change that he believes in is the change he can scrounge each day. His story is amazing.

American voters appear to be questioning not our constitutional government, but rather the extra-curricular systems of money, power access, election processes, and the Washington culture. Politicians are interesting people, but the more interesting stories seem to be coming from people like Harry, people questioning the influence of people with funds and incredible access, people buying dinner plates at head tables with the Bidens and the Gingriches.

“I need some of that change I can believe in, man.”
“Harry”
at 17th and Grand