Not-Real Death

I know at least one or two people were upset by the story in my entry 'Tis the Season, where I saw a man passed out on the street who may or may not have been dead. Well, I have a (possible) follow-up.

Today I was leaving The Coffee Pot, walking down 9th, when I saw a man sprawled out under the phone booth. His posture didn't look like he was just sleeping, and it was only 4 pm, so I was concerned. And hey...he actually looked a bit like the guy I had seen about a month ago. I mean, they both looked late 50s, white, light hair, red-faced, and, well, passed out in not-entirely-lively positions. Since no good Samaritan was on the phone calling, I took out the cell phone, dialed 911 (I should probably put the EMS in there, too) and told them a guy was passed out and looked like he could use some help. While I was on the phone, the unconscious guy coughed a little: good sign. The emergency crew came in a fire truck (slow fire day in new york?) and went over to the guy. One of the firemen told me that the guy's name is Richard, and he's a "regular." So I guess that means he was likely the same guy as I had seen before, considering he was passed out only about a block away from the first guy's spot.

On one hand, it's nice to know that the first guy probably wasn't dead and that this guy will live to see another day. On the other hand, it's just depressing to know that this guy keeps passing out in Hell's Kitchen and getting picked up and brought to St. Vincent's. He's probably an undernourished alcoholic, and really, what are the chances he'll get his life even vaguely together? Much more likely that one day he'll drink a little too much and pass out in a place that's a little too cold. I even wonder: can you collect welfare with no permanent address? I guess you go to a shelter and then collect from there? There was that passage in Howards End about the very poor just slipping away. You can be fairly poor in America today without that really happening, but there is a threshold, and there are plenty of people below it.