The Homeless Life: four tidbits, many ironies

Marriages: Joe and Joyce met and fell in love when they were both volunteering at an Illinois homeless shelter, and so they decided to get married there last month. More than a hundred people, including shelter residents, attended. BGViews.

Nhiahni and Dante were both homeless when they met in Washington D.C. nine years ago. They've been attending a meals program and Bible Study class at Grace Episcopal Church. After Dante confided to a parishioner how much he wanted to be able to marry Nhiahni, the chutrch helped arrange a wedding and even sprung for a two-night honeymoon in a local hotel. AFP.

Auto fatalities: A Chicago woman was moved to write a letter to the Chicago Tribune after observing a homeless man attempt to rescue a scared and confused dog on the highway who was then hit by a car. "At that moment the homeless man picked up the dog's body and carried him away to a gas station on the corner. I was so impressed by the compassion this man showed towards the dog. It was an automatic reaction on his part and I admire him, as I don't know if I would have been able to do what he did. To that man, I say "thank you" for giving that poor dog a last moment of respect."~Lori McDaniel

Poor Charlie Shafer-- he was 56 and homeless, just released from the Orange County Jail in Orlando, FL when he was struck and killed by an Orange County deputy's patrol car. He had been held on a contempt of court citation. "He's my buddy," said One-Eyed Charlie, a homeless man who didn't give his last name. "He tried to help people out. If someone needed something done, he'd do it." Orlando Sentinel.

Public service: Daniel Fore, a homeless resident of Oak Park, ILL, was barred from running for public office because he didn't have an address, but that didn't stop him from receiving 39 write-in votes. Better luck next time. KWQZ.

Faron Hall, aged 44, was just sitting by the riverbank in Winnipeg, which also happens to be his home, when he heard a lous splash and saw a young boy has fallen into the fast moving river. Although he hadn't swum since he was 13, he jumped in and brought the young man most of the way to shore, where his buddy pulled both of them in.

Since then Mr. Hall has received the medal of valor from Winnipeg's mayor and other offers of help.

"Hall recognizes the attention and offers of help have put him at a "crossroads" that might allow him to turn his life around.
"I believe I gave that little guy back his life. I've got to get my life back as well. That's what I plan to do." The Canadian Press.

Money: Miley Cyrus was approached by a homeless man while in London making a movie. Apparently she passed up the opportunity. Chatty Kathy.

Food poisoning attorney Bill Marler has offered to donate $2,500 to a Washington, D.C. homeless resource center if he can get 2,500 more Twitter followers. Sustainable Food/Change.org.

Finally, Na Hae-dong, a homeless South Korean man with more than $100,000 in the bank died on the streets last month without access to any of his money because he couldn't prove to the bank that the money was his-- even though he'd been depositing small amounts into the account for years. New York Times.

Fences both protect and destroy animal habitat

More than 50 years have passed since the end of the Korean War and the establishment of a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. In those 50 years an abundance of plants, bird and animals have thrived in a strip of land only 150 miles long and two and a half miles wide. 97% of the land is now covered by forest and prairie.

Making themselves at home in the DMZ are Asian black bears, spotted seals, lynx, and the rare red-crowned and white-naped cranes, to name a few. Some believe the Siberian tiger has returned to the land where no human live.

In spite of years of separation, a North-South reconciliation seems inevitable. Two rail lines and two highways have been rebuilt across the DMZ. South Korea's Ministry of the Environment says that when reconciliation comes, the DMZ will be preserved for two years until more long-range plans can be developed. What those plans will be is anybody's guess. The international organization the DMZ Forum wants to see the land become a Peace Park, both to protect the land and to honor the many soldiers on both sides who are buried there.

No buffer zone exists between the wood and the steel of the 700 mile fence being built between the U.S. and Mexico. With some 440 miles of fence still to go, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wants to make sure he completes the job before George Bush leaves office. To that end, he has announced he will be ignoring
36 federal environmental laws.

Animals, of course, are no respecters of borders. Bears, lions, wolves, parrots bighorn sheep and owls cross back and forth as part of their survival. The jaguar, which until recently bred only in Mexico, may just now be establishing a breeding presence in Arizona. Even more than Korea's DMZ, the 2,000 mile long U.S.-Mexician border is able to support a diversity of wildlife because of its diversity of terrain and climate.

The Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife claim Chertoff's waiver of environmental laws is unconstitutional and have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. They want more time to develop plans to lessen the environmental impact of the wall.

Thus two entirely different human impulses, the yearning for reconciliation by Korea and the demand for isolation by the U.S., threaten habitat that once destroyed may never be remade.