Where do the lonely people go, when I no longer see them? The Buddhist idea of the sounds of falling trees in a forest deserted by people becomes somewhat urbanized as life in the city becomes more than simply a massive amount of extras in the film that is my life.

An everyday walk through the city provides an almost infinite number of life stories, most of them not catching my interest because I do not see them. People who do not stand out in a crowd do not receive any attention from me, or anyone else for that matter. But the ones we see, the ones we are used to seeing almost every day we are out, where are they when they are no longer there?

How much does someone holding a sign for a restaurant make in a day? An entire day, spent holding a sign. A job that could be done by a block of concrete is done by a human being because a block of concrete would be illegal. Of course it can be argued that a human being is actually receiving an income from this, but what kind of income?

Nowhere on the Internet can I find the information I look for. It is as if they do not exist, perhaps they are blocks of concrete in other people's eyes. They do not ask us for money, they do not try to contact us. They are holding their sign one day at the time.

Every now and then I actually see them after the day is over, whenever the come to the restaurant I'm in to return the sign. Do they get payed or are they given food? They seem to stay a little longer than is necessary when only returning a sign. But eventually they leave.

Where to?

Where do the signholders go when they have finished holding their signs? Where does the accordion player go after a long day of playing outside the local grocery store? What happens to begging old woman who have ended up in this country during the final years of her life?

What happens to all the people who never smile and never look others in the eyes when they are no longer where I can see them?