"S'il vous plait"

"Madame s'il vous plait" she pleaded at me for change which I did not have. She was no older than my daughter and looked gaunt and sleep deprived. Begging in the Montreal metro is commonplace and I see it every day as more people fall off the grid.

The gap between the haves and have nots widens and there are solutions but they require structural changes to our societies which won't come without pushback.

I have led a successful professional life and paid my fair share of taxes gladly. I lived well but sparsely and continue to as money does not bring happiness unless we fall below the line where we cannot clothe, feed or house ourselves. But the world operates on greed and power and not enough people want to share the wealth such that more can partake which is a pity.

The next time I will maybe have change but it wouldn't solve that young woman's problems. Yes, there is personal responsibility involved no doubt, but some have a massive head start in this life and refuse to ever look back until it bites them in the rear end.