As part of my "uncomfortable experiences" series for this year, I decided to be homeless on the streets of San Diego for one night. One of my friends said, "oh, is this some program?" No, I said. You just walk outside. With nothing. Well, maybe some pepper spray, but most homeless, I found, have sizable knives to protect themselves from other sects of homeless people, mainly youth on meth preying on vets who pick up their disability checks every two weeks. Others clump together in protective clans, which is what I eventually did.

There's a Proust quote that goes: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” That pretty much sums up the experience. Although I walked eight blocks from my office and house, I was in a community and economy well away to my own. Frankly, this was one of my favorite humanizing experiences yet.

I probably talked with 25 or so people, and they each have a story. Nearly all are kind, tough, polite, respectful, and engaging. I also made sure to look like a homeless person, and two separate times church people asked something along the lines of, "oh, you must be hungry. Here is some chili." That was jolting because my subconscious was yelling, "What! No no no. I'M not a homeless person. I'm not THIS." But so many of these people never thought they'd be "this," and it was clear how two or three missteps in life could put you on the streets. One man said he feels so ashamed and humiliated by being homeless that's it a good thing he hasn't found a gun just yet so he could just end himself. Another said he was homeless for just three weeks, but that he comes back to hang out with the few people who helped him. He's buying a motor home for the homeless dude who gave him a blanket his first night on the street. There was also this traveling piano man in a truck who lets homeless people play on the piano with his dog. That's me on the piano.

Overall, I endorse this experience completely.