I’m freezing as I write this. Inside my Lawco Lake home, I’m wearing a toboggan, two pair of socks and three shirts.

My oven, which is directly behind where I currently sit typing, is cranked to 475 degrees. Its open door, coupled with the warmth provided by a space heater at my feet, is literally all that is keeping me from shivering to death.

If you’ll allow me to put faces on corporations, American Electric Power is smiling, with dreams of dollar signs in its head thanks to people like me.

The drumming sound of my dripping faucet, left open to keep the pipes from freezing, ensures that Hecla Water will demand a much higher bill than usual next month.

So whose fault is it that I’m resorting to such measures to stay warm and ensure the flow of liquid in my own home remains undeterred?

It’s my fault, of course. The problem is, I can’t afford to make the changes that would keep my bills from skyrocketing in the wintertime.

For many people in our region, my situation would be considered a luxury.

Most of us are spoiled. We don’t know what it feels like to suffer at the hands of Mother Nature when the wind chill drives temperatures below zero.

We walk out of a temperature controlled environment such as work, the mall, or a local restaurant and spend only the time it takes to scurry to our vehicles in the elements.

The entire time, we’re feeling sorry for ourselves and thinking, “I’m so cold,” knowing that heat and comfort is coming soon.

Many people, those we look down upon as a society based solely on our misguided conceit and lack of thankfulness for our own wellbeing, truly suffer this time of year.

If you can’t imagine yourself as a homeless person, count your blessings. None of them stood up in fourth grade and said, “When I grow up, I want to live under a bridge.”

The fact is that most homeless people have a psychological illness that we “normal” people don’t have the patience to deal with.

So, after they slip through the cracks and fall into an addiction that temporarily eases their emotional and physical pain, they end up seeking shelter wherever possible when their bodies cannot withstand the cold.

And we have the audacity to judge them, discarding them as worthless, even though the Bible says they have great worth and will one day inherit the Earth.

We pass them on the streets in our warm cars and decide not to help them.

We see them standing with cardboard signs and justify not passing a few dollars in their direction. “He’ll probably waste it on alcohol,” we think, without knowing the poor soul or ever imagining what it is like to be in his shoes.

I’m thankful for the fact that I’m one step away from being homeless. It keeps me humble and makes me realize that nothing is certain in life.

It keeps my faith in God intact and never allows my pride to tell me I’m better than somebody else.

What about you?

Billy Bruce is a freelance writer who lives in Pedro. He can be contacted at hollandkat3@aol.com.