Dear Blog Readers–
Just a short post to follow up on my last one, Patting the Bunny. I decided I better fulfill my promise to vist the two homeless women I had mentioned. This morning I went to Largo Torre Argentina and the singing African woman who is usually begging for money near the tram stop was not there. The past few days in Rome have been very cold. The singing African woman always appeared to me to be physically robust and in a sound state of mind. So I am hoping she has found a better place to be.
Then, returning from work today on the 160 bus, we drove up Via Veneto, all decked out with lights and Christmas garlands, and headed for the Villa Borghese park. As usual I saw the Bunny Lady in a sunny spot on the patch of grass at the edge of the park. I hopped off the bus and went over to her. Her eyes were closed. In front of her was a stuffed-animal bunny, not her usual living one. I noticed she had a plastic bag near her with some bread and a half-eaten apple. I gently called out to her, touched her knee and woke her up. I tried to engage in conversation but she didn’t want to talk. I asked her her name and where she was from. She said near Turin, but did not want to give me her name. I asked her if I could give her some money. She said, “No, I’m okay, really, I just want to sleep.” I asked her where her bunny was and she pointed to what looked like a square cage under a pile of coats. “Can I see him?” I asked. “No, please, I just want to sleep, I’m okay, just let me sleep,” she said. And that was that.
As I walked back into the park and headed towards home my eyes filled with tears. I had been a bit naive. It would have made me feel good to help the Bunny Lady, to see her bunny, to chat with her. Instead, I was just bothering her.
Stephanie and her friends have been making knotted fleece blankets for a women’s shelter here. Perhaps you could buy some fabric and have your kids and a couple friends make blankets that can be given or left for both of these women and/or others. They are easy to make and warm. It takes Steph a couple of hours to complete one. We had a little cocoa and popcorn party here for a group of girls and everyone spread out on the livingroom floor working on blankets. Let me know if you want instructions. It feels good to be giving a little of ourselves to someone in need. We don’t do it often enough.
Interesting and realistic follow up. Kudos for what you did. It is so hard for those of us who are relatively well off to understand what the world is to the homeless and how we can break though to find out how we can be of help. Goo luck. I wait for the next instalment.
Hi there, I just read this post. I had missed it when you first put it up. I am touched that you took time out of your day to check on The Bunny Lady. But I do not think you ought to feel at all badly – sure it felt good to check up on her, but it was out of caring and kindness. I think most of us just can not imagine the lives of these folks. I always worry about them. I who can not even stand to be cold for one second can not figure out how they endure, and I wonder what brought them to this place.in their lives. Keep caring.
Thank you Adri.