I wanted to give you a few short things about my life on the street. These little stories might make you laugh, or at least make you smile. Although, some might not.
Winter was coming on. I wasn't prepared. I had my long johns, but I needed more. I don't remember the guy's name, but he recognized that I was cold. He gave me a scarf and a cap. That helped a lot. The cap said "Marines" on the front. I was in line for supper at the mission one night, and a guy saw my cap. He asked if I had been in the Marines. I nodded. He asked when I was in the Marines. I told him that it was Vietnam. He told me his father had been in Vietnam, and asked me where I was stationed. I just made up something. My improvisational skills kicked in. He then asked if I was in the Marines, why was I so skinny? I just told him I had been sick. He bought it. It was all a lie.
As I have said before, there were three main reasons why people were homeless (although there were many more). Addiction, Mental Illness, and Economic (my group). There was one guy on the street who liked to wear his underwear over his pants. He also would run full steam into telephone poles. He would knock himself out. The ambulance would come and take him for a 28-day psych hold. When the time was up, he would be released and doing the same thing. He did this several times. I hope he finally got some help.
On Sundays, Trinity Episcopal would have breakfast for the homeless. You had to be there in line as close to 6am as you could. The doors opened at 7, and they gave out tickets for as many seats as they had. My first Sunday there was the first time I ever saw anyone smoking crack. These two guys were doing it while waiting in the line. It wouldn't be the last time. The breakfast was pretty good. Afterwards, they would give you a bag lunch to take with you. It consisted of a bologna sandwich, a banana, and a hardboiled egg. I would take the banana and give away the rest.
One cold Sunday night, I was walking toward Finlay Park. A car pulled up, and a young man put down the window and called me over. He said he had a warm bed at his house for me. I politely said no. Another afternoon, I was sitting in the park, when a very disheveled man came up to me and offered to perform a sex act on me for $10. I said no. "$5?" Again, I said no. His name was Daniel. I hope he got some help.
I had a post office box. One day, I got a check for $150 in the mail. The note said that I would have to call an 800 number and reply how much I appreciated the money. When they received my reply, the check could be deposited into my bank. Everything was anonymous. I would get a check about once every three months. I also had to keep the gift a secret. I don't know who did this nice thing for me, but I thank you. I used the money for food and other things. There were some guys who would get Social Security checks at the first of the month. They would spend it by getting a room at the Marriott and ordering room service for a weekend. Then, they would blow it all and go back on the street. I never did that.
I kept up with news and TV shows by watching them online at the library. The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue came out. My homeless friend Mike and I accessed the issue online in the library. The security guard threw us out for doing that. He said it was pornographic. The library computers had parental guards on them. Maybe they should have blocked SI.
The mission had different preachers to come in and do chapel at night for the residents. There was one black preacher that liked to say "Amen" a lot during his sermon. It became a sport for some of us to count how many amens he used. In a 30-minute sermon, he managed to say "Amen" 149 times. That record may stand to this day.
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