Making friends on the sidewalk

I met Betty sitting outside on the sidewalk.

She lives in the adjacent building. It is a place for older folks who need a lot of help and don't have a lot of money. Betty lost both legs, below the knee, at some point. She wears a curly wig pulled down low on her head, and she is usually smoking a cigarette, out on the sidewalk, accompanied by a few other residents from her building.

I walk by Betty'…