Things are tough all over

.
I work in downtown Los Angeles a lot now, and it's been fun finally getting to know the heart of the city I've been skirting around my entire life. You meet a lot of interesting people downtown, often interesting in ways you'd never suspect at first glance.

In the alley behind my building, I met a guy sitting in a doorway I've never seen open. He was grinding and sifting what appeared to be charcoal, and I asked him what he was up to.

"It's gold," he said. Apparently, he has a vein of gold-rich soil on his farm/ranch in Mexico, and brings it up in crude, dried clumps to sift out and take to the assayer when he needs money here in the states. These are his emergency funds, safer to transport as soil and more profitable to process here due to the corruption in his homeland.

It seems things are tough all over, but it was wonderful to see the zeal with which he ground his gold - here was hope and opportunity. It's a lesson to make the best of what you've got and ride out the waves in this economy.
.