Off the News: Hidden story of a homeless woman

The picture that ran Monday with the Star-Advertiser’s profile of a Hawaii homeless woman is worth 1,000 words (“Homeless woman called ‘Bus Stop Mary’ is identified by her family in New Jersey,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 16).

The story about Natalie Thiel described the search for her family after her death in 2018. The 1992 photo, of Thiel as a young bride with a radiant smile, serves as a poignant reminder that every homeless person has a distinct story of ordinary human experiences, happy as well as tragic.