Homeless_in_America

Game plan...

2006-06-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Bottom line, I guess I am in desperate need of a job.
I watch people working industriously, seemingly content in their workplace.
Have they found their niche, I wonder, or are they biding their time until they can "move up"?
I mean, that is the nature of the beast, isn't it?
Suppose I could tend bar; I held down a night shift at a Hotel lounge years ago. Just need to brush up on the mixers...
You know, a job outdoors would appeal to me, too. Like landscaping, for instance.
I reckon I have a green thumb - the exotic plants that overflowed in my small digs a couple of years ago are a testament to that!
Maybe there'd be a live-in situation available somewhere for me. In exchange for rent, I could do odd jobs around an apartment complex, for instance.
Gee, a quaint little guest house would be up my alley. Is it in the cards?
Guess I am getting ahead of myself...
Right now, I've got to pull myself up by the bootstraps, as they say, before I slip way down, beneath the cracks.
Fortunately, I don't have any monkeys on my back - like alcoholism, or drug addiction.
It's difficult to approach a potential employer, though - humbling, yeah!
My game plan goes like this...
Get myself a job, and save some cash.
At first, maybe I will have to get into a small Hotel. After all, my credit is shot. I doubt that any respectable landlord would rent to me with a credit score of less than zero.
Even a room at the "Y" is outrageous, price-wise. Who knows, maybe a room-mate situation will pop up.
All I need is a little space that's clean, and a roof over my head, so I can reflect on my life, a little, and make some sense of it all.

Generating cash...

2006-06-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

Shortly after I set up this site, I surfed the net for an hour or so.
Geez, I couldn't help but be seduced by all the jazzy ads, promoting this and that.
And some claim the cash is rollin' in from sponsors.
Ya know, I could use some extra moolah comin' my own way, being homeless and all.
So, I'm gonna look into that.
I could sell stuff I am into - I mean, what better spokesperson is there than that? Heck, some of those blurbs are so visually appealing, I may just link 'em to the site just to add a little zest to my homeless page...

Logistics...

2006-06-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Logistics are important when you're homeless...
Like, in the middle of the night when you've got to take a whiz - where do you go?
In an alley, somewhere, I guess.
Funny thing about that...just after you've staked out a cozy spot, and your fly is unzipped and you're hangin' all out, a car suddenly turns into the lane and exposes your "johnson" in the bright headlights.
Then, there is the issue of "grooming".
Unless you have a membership to a gym, or the "Y", or something - you have no choice but to get kinda-inventive, for sure.
I usually track down an outdoor bathroom at McDonald's - where I can lock the door. Once inside, as quickly as possible, I unload my night bag. Then, I brush my teeth, tidy up the pompadour - that sort-of-thing. Maybe, splash some cool water on the face.
Inevitably, if I decide to shave, though - half way through - someone will start bangin' on the men's room door - demanding to get in. Or, I'll hear voices grumbling outside, like "...is there someone in there? Do we need a key?"
I step out with a sheepish grin on my face - hoping the telltale signs of my clean up are not too obvious - then pipe up - "all yours!".
It's a long day, too, when you're without shelter.
I mean, I get up at about five a.m. usually - after all - I'm not inclined to let anyone catch me sprawling in a doorway, or laying down ****-faced on the streets. Yeah, I guess I have alot of pride, and there is still a lot of denial goin' on...
So, possibly a guy like me, in my situation, might spend a few hours at the library.
The library is not a house of learning so much anymore as it is a shelter for the needy.
Most open at ten in the morning, so you have to busy yourself til then.
Once inside, I may spend a couple of hours listening to CD's. If there is a DVD player, perhaps I'll escape in a feature film, or two.
Mainly it's a drag having to haul a back-pack around - I mean, you need some essentials, you know.
Years ago, when I travelled quite frequently, those rental lockers at bus stations and train outlets were sure handy. You could lock up your stuff when you arrived in a town, check out the sights and get oriented a bit - then once you got settled -return for the goodies.
But 911 and terrorism changed all that.
Most stations took the lockers out, for fear of bomb threats.
Ah, for the good ole days...

Homeless...

2006-06-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

At the crack of dawn, a dump truck rumbles by and rousts me from a troubled sleep.
A sharp pain shoots through my lower back as I attempt to raise myself up from the decaying park bench I had alighted on for the night.
A short distance away a couple of scruffy-looking dudes are rifling through some trash cans, rooting out the odd tin can or two that the professional recyclers somehow missed.
It's about 4 a.m.
McDonald's won't be open yet, so I'll have to pass on the coffee, for now.
I slip a backpack over my shoulder and saunter down the street, trying to fathom how I ended up this way...