I live in a city with a homeless population that’s not as large as San Francisco’s, but I do run into some people living rough on occasion, and I do engage them in conversation since they usually don’t have too much else to do. What most of them want me to know is that they need X number of dollars to go somewhere, or to get something to eat. I’ll pick them up a hoagie, but I’m not giving them any money. One homeless woman who I see on occasion wants me to know that Muslims, Jews, and Hindus are the anti-Christ. If you get street people to where they feel comfortable talking to you, you hear a lot of craziness like that. I’ve even run into cats who just flat out tell me that they want enough money to buy a forty, and I will generally kick them a couple of bucks because they are treating ME with dignity by not lying to me.