I am so sad about this - there is a homeless man (Gerald) living in his van near the trail. He is very nice, friendly, interesting to talk to. We have known him for years now and he is nothing but pleasant. Every regular knows him. The last couple of months there has been another homeless man who is living on the other side of the river, there is a bridge across it which floods frequently. We have passed him a few times and he just says hello, good morning, etc. He comes and goes.
Yesterday, we were talking to Gerald, we had noticed his tires were flat and it was weird because it was one by one over the days. Turns out the guy across the river has done it, quite obvious it was intentional since it was one a day. He said he is a horrible person and has also threatened him with a knife and now can't go to the other side of the river for fear....sigh. They are both probably in their 70s. I worry for Gerald now, he said "I live in my van, I have no money", and had to get a tow truck to pick up his vehicle while we were there. Maybe he won't come back, I don't know. He has a little dog who I bring treats for, they are fixtures. One local carver even carved little figures of him and gave them to him - he was crying when he showed us and told the story. He has lived in the area most of his life and I guess ran into tough times.
Gerald also told me he found a phone in the parking lot this week and was trying to find out who lost it, so asked people as they came back to their vehicles. Someone claimed it and then accused him of stealing it, called the police, and he has been charged. What the hell? Just because someone is homeless, they are thieves? I wish I had been there when that happened!