Wes

On Sunday morning I woke up and read the online news that a man had been beaten outside of the Boyle McCauley Health Centre.  I'm very familiar with that building; it's right across the street from the Mustard Seed and there are always people hanging around, whether it's open or closed.

I immediately wondered if I knew the man, but the article said that he went by "Ghost", and that didn't ring a bell.  After all, I thought, there are so many who aren't allowed into the Mustard Seed since they drink or use, and surely this guy who was hanging out in the middle of the night wasn't one of ours.

But I was wrong.

When I entered the Mustard Seed on Tuesday night, Maria said, "We need to talk about Wes, he died this morning."  I responded, "Not the guy who was beaten on the weekend", but she nodded her head, and pointed to the picture from EPS.

I didn't know Wes well; he hadn't been in for a while, but I definitely recognized the picture.  He was quiet, never tried to converse, just politely took a plate and marched along.  There were rumours abound from the community members:  He was a pedophile.  He was told not to return to the neighbourhood.  But really, who knows the truth?

The truth is that a man was killed by three others on a street that many wouldn't drive down, much less walk down.  And yet I've walked around that street, I've stood on the street corners talking to people, I've chased people down the street when I thought they were in trouble.  I have never once thought about how dangerous it was, even when a community member told me once, "You shouldn't be walking alone around here."  I've always just seen it as a Street, and seen the people as People, and wondered why anyone would be scared to come down to help out the People on the Street.

I guess I know better now.