Thanks to Kent Schribner for his letter, “Homeless people, tourists cannot coexist,” (Herald, Aug. 8). I agree. Many local people and the homeless have difficulty coexisting, as well. Navigating the downtown sidewalks is like running a military basic training obstacle course, dodging the bodies sprawled all over the place.

I have a solution to this problem: Import more bears to the Tech Center area! While the bears were playing up there, panhandling came to a screeching halt. Walmart is begging for help, and on any given day several panhandlers are working patrons in the area. Sometimes, directly across from the help-wanted sign. This spring, I spent two weeks near Philadelphia, in Montgomery County. During that time, I did not encounter one panhandler. I challenge you to spend one day in Durango without encountering several. Temporarily housing and feeding these people seems like the right thing to do. However, these people are being enabled and given no reason to improve their own lot in life or to move on. For those coming to Colorado to smoke weed and not work, per two girls on a recent flight, this is the best of all worlds.

Every time one donates to the panhandlers, that is one step closer to their next fix or bottle of hootch (some exceptions, of course). If you give them food, it winds up in a pile under the trees or behind some building. I personally have witnessed this. Somehow, most of them seem to have iPhones. I have personally witnessed one climb into an older Mercedes by Albertsons. Maybe I should try panhandling! Set your own hours, daily naps, weekends off, as much vacation as you like, no taxes, stimulating conversation, media exposure, commune with nature, commune with wildlife, no property tax, free medical care, free meals, free lodging, free clothing and, best of all, the ability to travel on your own terms.

Bruce Shisler

Durango