I spent last weekend in Portland and Cannon Beach, Oregon to attend a family reunion with my fellow Hoyts (my father Nelson's brother Jack's side of the family), as well as with several relatives from the other side of their family. I flew into Portland Saturday morning, found I could not check into the luxury downtown Motel 6 Resort Hotel until 2:00, and then proceeded to walk across the Steel Bridge (seen in the photo above) with my backpack to check out the Saturday Market along the river. To get to the market, you have to walk through Old Town/Chinatown, and that requires you to walk down streets where the homeless have set up camp. I have never walked down a street before where the homeless have set up tents, sleeping bags, beds made of garbage, and everything else the entire length of the block. It is quite unnerving, and a big reason why I have never been too fond of Portland. Walking past those homeless people is pretty damn depressing. I am not sure why so many elect to sleep on the street instead of shelters, or if even Portland has shelters. Homelessness is a major problem in Portland, and another sad thing about living in our times.
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