I'm glad you're feeling better, Philip. Infectious "superbugs" like that are probably a common problem in many homeless shelters - and I suspect that may be part of the reason why homeless people sometimes choose to sleep outside when the weather permits. I caught a real bad cold like that in a homeless shelter once - it might even have been the same shelter you work in because it was in downtown Seattle (in an old, tall building with some kind of a sloping roof on the top, as I remember - I think it was supposed to have been Seattle's first skyscraper). That was about 20 years ago, in early 1988 - I was actually living at the shelter instead of working there. I had to stay there because I ran out of money (a recurring theme throughout my life). Anyway, after being there a few days I got one of the most horrendous colds I've ever had in my life.

The cold lasted for several weeks. As long as I was there I couldn't get over it (I think partly because of the ever-present cloud of cigarette smoke in the air). Finally after a few weeks my parents sent me some money and I rented a room in an old hotel in Pioneer Square. It was only after I had been in that hotel for a few days that I was able to really recover.

Kent that is the Smith Tower, at one time the tallest building west of the Mississipi

Thanks, Stephany. Now that you mention it, I think I do kind of vaguely remember that name. It seemed so unusual to me to see a building that tall have a sloping roof on it - I'm used to only seeing that kind of a roof on houses. I remember the shelter was on the second or third floor (or maybe both) - you had to ride up on an elevator to get to it.

It was miserable being there. Everyone slept on mats on the floor at night, and in the morning we had to pick them up and stack them somewhere. I don't think there is any other country in the Western world that treats people so badly just for being poor as does this one.

Kent,

I am sorry for the pain you suffered at the degree most people do not understand, and am grateful to for sharing your personal experience[life]story here.

My Grandfather was a sign painter in Seattle and slept on skid row.