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San Francisco, CA, July 2008 [Click to enlarge]

Homelessness is often called America's national tragedy, a wound that despite society's best attempts to address it, continues to fester. The same thing applies here in Canada, of course, and sadly virtually everywhere on the planet. It's more than a problem without an apparent solution: It's something so many of us have stopped caring about. And that, in my singular opinion, is the larger tragedy.

I was walking along San Francisco's waterfront early on an oppressively gray morning, quickly capturing the mood of the place before I had to check out of the hotel and head to the airport. I had just walked through crowds of well-dressed commuters debarking from the ferry and making their way through the trendy/gorgeously restored Ferry Building and across the oh so tony Embarcadero. Now I was in the shadow of that amazing building, and the mood back here couldn't have been more different.

Homeless people moved quietly in pockets on this desolate stretch of asphalt beside the water. The foggy sky seemed to make everything look even more depressing than it was, but I got the sense that this was a pretty sad place to begin with. I suddenly felt very self conscious, concerned about what it looked like to be an obvious interloper pointing a relatively expensive camera into the lives of strangers who clearly didn't want this kind of attention.

I needn't have worried. Not one person here so much as looked in my direction. I shot quickly and quietly, and left as fast as I arrived.

Your turn: Please suggest a caption for this image. Feel free to share as many captions through the week as you wish - I actively encourage multiple submissions. Just click the comment link to get started. For the rules, click here.

About last week's image of the shepherd overlooking the bridge: Ironically, I shot these two images within seconds of each other. The photos that I took in that five-minute span in that forgotten stretch of pavement in the shadows of the rest of the city continue to haunt me weeks after I shot them.

As always, you rose to the challenge presented by a very darkly themed photo. Honorable menschens include:

• Terri: "Bridge the gap."
• Steve: "Not quite ready to cross over."
• Robin: "But, how do you get ON the darned thing?"
• John: "Crossing over will surely take a toll."
• Bob-kat: "You mean I gotta pole vault over that!"
• Barbie2be: ""Standing guard."
• Me: "I am."
  

Truth be told, they all resonated with me, which made this a difficult choice. Jacie's "Who watches the watcher..." stood out, as this was a flash-thought that occurred to me as I took this image from behind the sculpture's shoulder. I wondered who had his back, too. Please drop in on Jacie and congratulate her for her thoughtful contribution. Thanks to everyone for being so perceptive yet again.