One of the news we saw most in the Toronto media this summer was the growing number of homeless people in the parks and the housing problem of newly arrived immigrants.

As I passed through Allan Gardens Park, where the relatively homeless population is located, a memory came back to me when I lived in Boston 24 years ago.

I lived near Boston College. When I went for a walk in Chestnut Hill Reservoir Park near my house, I also saw homeless people coming to the park to cool off in the summer heat. They spent time sitting on benches in the shade of trees. When I went to Boston at the beginning of 1999, I bought a very nice leather jacket for winter. While returning to my country in mid-August, I wanted to leave this coat to the homeless. You know, the homeless carry all their stuff in bags. I put my coat in a sturdy bag and left it on a park bench frequented by the homeless. I also wrote a note in it and said:

“I know, summer from the seasons right now. But winter will come again one day. If you need please get it. I leave it here for you.”

The next day, as I was passing by, I saw my coat where I had left it. The sturdy plastic bag was taken, and the coat was there. The note I left was on the coat. But they had written a note on the back of the paper and left it on the coat. Written in the note was: “Yes, winter will come again, but we need summer clothes now.”

I am known in my country as a scientist who plans and manages successful election campaigns. I also have many books on the art of winning elections. But the one-line message I received from the homeless impressed me a lot. It has been very inspiring and instructive. I even used this memoir as the back cover of a book published in 2004, titled “The Successful Politician’s Handbook”.

If the homeless get that coat, they’ll have to carry it around for a few months until the weather gets colder. This means that people who do not have a future do not have a priority to plan their future needs. Their need for carrying loads of the sturdy plastic I put the jacket in was greater than the jacket for the moment.

This message not only shows us the diversity of people’s needs, it also shows us how important timing is in the delivery of needs. It’s not just poor people who need something. Regardless of their social status and economic wealth, everyone needs different things. Those who can accurately identify people’s needs and present them on time can achieve success, happiness, and mutual love and respect in life. Political parties that can determine the expectations of the voters are successful in the elections, and this is the factor that increases the market share and profitability of the companies in the field of product and service presentation, and even ensures domestic happiness.

Those who have to live on the streets are made up of people whose needs and expectations we could not identify and meet in a timely manner. In fact, what is reflected on the street is the result of the issue that we fail to do the right thing at the right time in life. It is useful to look at the subject in this way.