Spanish views from a small town

A municipal shelter that feeds the homeless in its dining room should have experience in showing compassion and understanding. There are many reasons for being homeless; not all homeless are at fault for their fall down the social ladder. The workers at a shelter should have no problem understanding the misfortunes of others.  But there are workers that don't care. A woman who worked in the municipal shelter of Santa Cruz de Tenerife part time for 400 euros a month, took home two small loaves of bread and about a hundred sixty grams of cheese. The co-worker who saw her denounced her to the supervisor and the woman was fired. The woman had been working there for five years and had always been a dependable employee, but that small theft was inexcusable. It didn't matter that it happened at ten at night when she went home and that the bread was going to be thrown out anyway. She stole, she was fired. But her circumstances weren't much different from those the shelter fed. ...

Drugs and alcohol. Substances first found in nature by man which made him feel good. Taken in larger quantities they made him see God. Literally or figuratively. Either too much was taken and the taker died, or enough was taken to create hallucinations which made him think he was seeing a hidden, magical world that was beyond this humdrum existence. At any rate, drugs became something to be used in rituals that marked the milestones of life. Alcohol, as well, though this substance eventually became commonplace, more antiseptic to drink than water. Also more pleasant. But man isn’t good at knowing where to draw the line. So, some people eventually abuse something that is really meant to be used on special occasions. Because it makes them feel so good and forget all their pains. And it’s nice to withdraw into a magical world where they can become demigods. Or to escape from a life that offers no happiness. In my father’s hospital room there is a patient also recovering from pneum...