I was at the library the other day and went to get a drink of water when another man arrived at the fountain at the same time. He graciously offered to let me use the taller one, but I declined and used the smaller one instead.

We began talking, and he told me how he had come from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana to Seattle to look for work. This was the second time he had come to Seattle to work. There aren’t many jobs available on or near the reservation right now.

When he was here two years ago, he had been able to find a lot of good-paying work on the docks and doing landscaping. Unfortunately, this time it wasn’t going as well because his other backpack with his clothes, extra shoes and important items had been stolen.

Despite this setback, he wasn’t too worried, as he had been through worse scrapes before. He was hoping to find some of his old friends who he had stayed with when he was last in town, but he hadn’t been able to find them yet.

He remarked at how much Ballard had changed since his last visit. He gave me directions to the reservation and told me when was a good time to visit and the name of his family to look up when I was there.

Then we exited the library; he headed off to find his friends, and I headed to Bartell’s.

I wanted to share this story with you because it seems like there is a lot more friction these days between the people who live in Ballard and the people who live in houses in Ballard.

City Councilmember Tim Burgess is considering a measure that will make “aggressive panhandling” a fineable offense. All too often, I walk by people who look down on their luck, and hardly notice them or try to ignore them because I am too wrapped up in whatever I am doing or thinking.

My chance encounter at the library made me reconsider my own actions.

Everybody has a story, and all too often we don’t take the time to listen to others, let alone look at them. Even the so-called “aggressive panhandler” has a story, and seeing them as an obstacle or a menace who deserves to be ticketed is not the right approach.

I don’t know how to end homelessness or help everyone who finds themselves on the streets, but if everyone took the time to engage with this problem in their own way, it would certainly make a difference.

It might be buying a copy of Real Change, giving someone some spare change or taking the time to talk to someone who needs someone to talk to.

Another thing would be to write Councilmember Burgess and tell him that fining those who can’t afford a place to sleep is not a way to solve this problem; it is just another way to ignore it.

Do you have a column suggestion or a comment for Brian Le Blanc? Leave a comment on this story or reach him directly at brianleblanc76@yahoo.com.