It was a vacation staying in a house for a change. My family's. But like all vacations, it came to an end. Time to drive home.
During the drive, it's hard to ignore the raging wealth gap in Vancouver. Home is DTES Vancouver. A very grungy area but oh so creative and diverse. Homeless people fill the streets and sidewalks on one side of town - right next to it, hipster coffee joints and snazzy wet bars line up and down Gastown.
The contrast is crazy AF.
There’s a soup kitchen near where I live. People line up, rain or sunshine, for basic necessities like meals. Meanwhile in Yaletown, a haircut and colour can cost up to $300+. The contrast is astounding. Just like housing costs.
Whenever I hear what people pay for housing in BC - I gasp, eyes widening, spreading across half my face.
A friend makes $7000 (cnd) mortgage payments towards his house every month. It’s nuts. But at least he lives in a house - THE millennial dream. For the rest of us, it's as realistic as owning an unicorn.
Back to my drive - I arrive near the parkade where I live. There's like 4 police cars. What the hell??
One of the officers is putting handcuffs on one of the homeless man. There's no way I could get into the parkade. Damn it. I drive into the loading area instead. I park and message X.
Pls don’t tow my car, loading zone - there’s PO PO blocking the gate.
He messages me back. Turns out the homeless man had weapons on him - or something like that. Just another day in DTES Vancouver....it’s gotten worse since Covid broke out. Having the police around makes it more bearable.
I head up to the loft.
E. is on a video call. The CEO is giving updates. The mood is somber. Layoffs. He's safe, thankfully.
I change into runners and grab my wallet. On the drive back, I passed by the corner grocery store - it had opened up again - for the first time in a long time.
It's day 1 of phase 2. It's lovely to see the usual neighborhood crowd. Really old wrinkly women and men refilling vegetable bins and bagging groceries. I get a sense of peace seeing them out and about. People who have jobs because of small businesses. And would most likely be left in the cold in the corporate world. A harsh reality, sorry to say. I heart you - old wrinkly people. I've missed seeing you around.
I grab some bananas and walk towards the cashier. X marks the spot where I stand as I wait in line.