Upscale Homeless

Having a chai at Starbucks in a Palm Springs suburb a few days ago. Occasionally I glance up from the iPad as a page is reloading to observe the coffee clientele. That was when I noted a guy at the register dressed in a dirty camouflage jump suit and cap. He banged his hand to get attention of Starbucks staff. Either he knew the staff or it was his style, but I couldn't hear anything that may have been said.

Later when I left, I noted the guy sitting by a window holding a newspaper with a cup in front of him on the table. The scruffy camouflage attire was complete with the week old beard and wispy long mustache. Walking outside into the parking lot, this truck looked very similar to shopping carts the homeless push around with garbage bags hanging off all sides.

Was the owner of this truck on the way to the landfill. Didn't seem possible with the garbage bags tied securely to the back of the truck. Maybe it was moving day. Perhaps one of those "hoarders" that I've read about.

I could have staked out the parking lot waiting for some one to get into the truck, but I assumed the derelict looking Starbucks customer was the owner of this late model truck that resembled a homeless shopping cart. (Sorry. Didn't want to be obvious with a photo op since the truck was visible from Starbucks front window.)

Could this be homelessness in the posh suburbs of Palm Springs where the gated communities are extensively landscaped and plant life is groomed within an inch of death.