I woke up this morning hung over from a night out with a friend who was deploying to Iraq this week. I got a Facebook invite from Jodie a person who works for the Force Recon Association asking me if I wanted to volunteer to help homeless veterans. Initially I said fuck yeah because I always wanted to meet the person who fucked all my friends wives whilst on deployment. So when SHE showed up I was amazed to find that Jodie was a girl and all my friends wives were apparently Bi-curious but hey its PRIDE weekend in San Diego. She picked me up and we went on a trip downtown and initially got lost in east village, Logon Barrio and Skid Row. After seeing the rainbow of people and poverty it instantly put me out of my comfort zone. Although I wanted to abort the mission the thing that made me embrace the cause was that the Christ that I claim to follow would have already been there spreading hope and love in the place I would typically have avoided. After being lost by her XX chromosomes lack of direction we finally found ourselves where we needed to be. We checked in at the volunteer section and were ushered to work the baggage section. Which to the uniformed was were the homeless vets checked their belongings so they could go to the different booths to get haircuts, showers, meals and treatment so they could rehabilitate their lives. I met some of the volunteers who were working the event all weekend and I was given a quick in-brief and passed the torch #TheSharpy to ensure that people received their worldey possessions before going back into society. When I arrived the pace was slow and it seemed more like a networking event with representatives from #TeamRubican and other charities of people trying to make a difference. I was working the front table and people would give me a ticket so I could pass the info on to other volunteers so we could retrieve their bags. Initially the day was slow but as the rain clouds began to gather the “March of the Homeless” became a title wave of people. Which was a lot less cute than the “March of the Penguins”. I had to fall back and help with the onslaught of people trying to get their back packs, shopping carts and bikes. Its always sunny in San Diego but today a monsoon hit and in honesty I couldn’t have been more thankful because it helped wash away the stench of reality that hit my nostrils and soul. The next few hours were a bler of hunting for bags for people who literally had nothing. Having them describe their possessions made me put my own in perspective. The variance of the veterans appeared full spectrum because I saw men and women who appeared put together and others whom I saw more teeth on an apple trying to claim nothing more than a back pack with only sheets and blankets. I don’t want to wax philosophically about how they came to that point in life but I do want to bring awareness to the fact there is a world that exists within my city that is out of my concept of reality. Some were grateful others were crippled by the thought of not finding their things which would mean that they were with nothing (Don’t worry we found their things it just took time.) I walked away from this event soaked to the bone and with a new found perspective of the struggles that exist and could exist in my own life. Although I may live a life of perceived opulence i recognize the value on what I hold truly means nothing compared to someone who can buy the world. What I learned today is that the human problems that exist on the planet transcend socioeconomic boundaries and in the end helping those who perceivably have nothing showed me all that I have. I finished the day wish a shower and a pub crawl because Im hopelessly lost in my own disfunction with a new friend and I didn’t want to soberly face my own reality.