Of all the drug addicts, homeless, and panhandlers I have met in my life (and there have been many since California is riddled with them), I still remember this one homeless man that I came across almost 20 years ago. He was sitting outside of a record store that I was about enter. I forgot if he was asking for money or not but I ended up striking up a conversation with him. He was an alcoholic who has lost his family and job because of his addiction and had ended up homeless. When he was telling his story, he began to cry and my heart melted. He had black sores all over his body because liver disease from the alcoholism had taken over his body (I believe he was going to die soon). When he was crying, he reached out his hand to hold mine and, despite my fear of touching his hands with his black sores, I held his hand. I still think about him to this day.