.

I was sitting in the little plaza in front of City Hall, so this is the very heart of Camden. A homeless man's blankets were draped on benches to dry after a hard rain the night before. Coming from Manhattan, he's staying in Camden for a few days before going to Atlantic City. With him was a woman who's bi-polar. Presently she was panhandling in front of the Rite-Aid across the street. "She your girlfriend?" I asked.

"I'm just taking care of her. I don't have sex with her or anything."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Six years."

"Wow, that's a long time, and on the streets too."

"If I don't take care of her, people will take advantage of her, you know what I mean?"

"Of course."

He's black, and she's white, by the way.



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