long-ago post I never published

Three character sketches: people I met on a temp assignment last year.

Stan grew up in this city. When he was a kid, he made friends with a homeless woman who lived near his house, and when it got cold around the holiday months, his family made up a bed for her in their garage, showed her how to get in and told her to come anytime. She never did. Stan had some solid opinions, his goal was to make $100/mo., and we had fun chatting about the different concerts he's been to downtown.

A few years ago, Steve got out of prison for nonviolent felony. Somehow or another, he ended up helping take care of a very sweet and slightly off homeless woman named Starla, after her friends took advantage of her and cheated her out of a bunch of money (in their words). Then, he married Starla. They're sort of an odd couple, but they fit each other well and care fiercely for each other.

I met John when he helped me lay carpet one day. He used to be a carny and told me all about what it was like traveling around with the different fairs and running the rides. I think he usually worked the booths where you pay for five tries to hit a thing and win a stuffed animal, or something. He said it was hard for a lot of people to do well at that job because they would try to talk the men out of playing the game and essentially gambling all their money away, because sometimes they could tell the men were playing over and over and spending what they should have been using to feed their kids. Their consciences would pick at them until a few weeks later they'd quit.