the light's shining through somehow
They could be anybody: your uncle, your cousin, some guy you were in class with. They're studying up on carpentry or reading a yellowed study guide for the SAT. Put-together. Lucid. Arguing whether Mama Cass died fom choking or from a heart attack.
Two guys are my age or younger. Neat clothes and tidy, efficient rituals for setting up beds and preparing for the night. Lots of junk food and storytelling; they're like summer campers that never left. I wonder how long each one has been homeless. Many have cell phones and CD players, but for whatever reasons they haven't anywhere else to go.
I helped a guy adjust the brakes on his bike. He says that he scavenged a lot of good bike parts when they bulldozed tent city. Another guy tells me he can build up a bike out of spare parts in two hours using his small set of tools. And still another complains because he doesn't know when they're going to pull his last tooth out so that he can get dentures. "They got 'em ready 'n everything. Don't know what they're waiting for!"
One guy around my age looks especially well put-together--more like he missed his flight to Denver and needed a place to crash. He offers an extra toothbrush to the one-toothed man, then finds an extra quilt for another guy who refuses help and is sleeping outside near the shelter in the sub-freezing cold.
Another guy is older--has six grandkids, he says. He works demolition and his wife works at meijer's. He says they have an apartment in westland, so I'm wondering why he's here. Car broke down? No way to get home? He says he hasn't taken his wedding ring off in thirty-two years. He shows off a wide silver band, with his reddened finger puffing out around it. "I couldn't get it off if I wanted to! It's just a part of me now."
-----
George Orwell wrote that we educated, working people live in constant anxiety that we could end up destitute, and that until we truly hit bottom and realize that we can make it we're never really at peace.
(I wrote this a year ago, around this time, but never posted it. It was much, much colder then.)
Two guys are my age or younger. Neat clothes and tidy, efficient rituals for setting up beds and preparing for the night. Lots of junk food and storytelling; they're like summer campers that never left. I wonder how long each one has been homeless. Many have cell phones and CD players, but for whatever reasons they haven't anywhere else to go.
I helped a guy adjust the brakes on his bike. He says that he scavenged a lot of good bike parts when they bulldozed tent city. Another guy tells me he can build up a bike out of spare parts in two hours using his small set of tools. And still another complains because he doesn't know when they're going to pull his last tooth out so that he can get dentures. "They got 'em ready 'n everything. Don't know what they're waiting for!"
One guy around my age looks especially well put-together--more like he missed his flight to Denver and needed a place to crash. He offers an extra toothbrush to the one-toothed man, then finds an extra quilt for another guy who refuses help and is sleeping outside near the shelter in the sub-freezing cold.
Another guy is older--has six grandkids, he says. He works demolition and his wife works at meijer's. He says they have an apartment in westland, so I'm wondering why he's here. Car broke down? No way to get home? He says he hasn't taken his wedding ring off in thirty-two years. He shows off a wide silver band, with his reddened finger puffing out around it. "I couldn't get it off if I wanted to! It's just a part of me now."
-----
George Orwell wrote that we educated, working people live in constant anxiety that we could end up destitute, and that until we truly hit bottom and realize that we can make it we're never really at peace.
(I wrote this a year ago, around this time, but never posted it. It was much, much colder then.)
random bits cobbled together by j-dub
6 Comments:
That was a great entry. Why did you wait to post it?
actually, I'd written it in a notebook at the time and promptly forgot about it. I just ran across it and decided to finally post it.
what else is in that notebook?
and by that I mean this is great
thanks. Actually, also in this notebook are little sketches I did, called The Guild of Useless Super Heroes. Perhaps they'll make it into a post someday.
It's been awhile since I've seen a nice guild.
Post a Comment
<< Home