Men and birds

Earlier this week I captured these images with my cell phone. 

One is of a homeless campground adjacent to the back side of our new property where we plan to build the "Opportunity Center."  Men bed down here along this fence row every night.  During the day, they stow their belongings almost out of sight from the street. 

Sad sight. 

I never get accustomed to seeing places like this.  The fact is this is "home" to several of my fellow citizens of Dallas, Texas. 

As I was thinking about the harsh reality of living outside through the brutal Dallas summer, something else caught my eye.  I attempted to capture what I saw in the second frame, but the distance and the limitations of my camera prevented as clear a view as I hoped for. 

What's there in the middle of photo number 2 is a small band of birds eating together on the street. 

Their meal? 

Bread crusts willingly shared by the inhabitants of the campground.

If the first image causes me to worry about the condition of these neighbors who'd scattered into the hot Dallas day, the second reminded me that they and I share the very same precious humanity. 

Men and birds. 

Not an image that I'll soon, if ever, forget.