The night with the homeless.

Tonight I tried slackline yoga.  There was a free class so I attended and it was great fun.   It was located at a store called Sports Basement and it holds a few free classes during certain days in the first week of the month.  It was a great workout.

When I finished class, I found out my phone completely died.  I thought I knew how to get back to my apartment, but I was wrong.  I got caught up in shopping at Goodwill. Fret not, I was focused.  I was not in there to buy clothes (which has been a problem of mine because I'm a clothes hoarder).  I bought myself a movie called Namesake. I'm not sure if it's good or not...but it seems interesting. I'll let you know how it is in another blog.  I also bought a hotplate. My friend doesn't have a kitchen in his apartment.  He has a toaster oven, but I wanted to make some pancakes and other things for myself, so for 6.49 I bought it.  And it works! Yay!  The whole shopping experience was a little difficult b/c I was drawn to wanting to look at the clothes and all the other things that would only create clutter..so I had to remind myself...focus, focus focus.  So in any case, when I was done shopping, I left the store and headed off in what I thought was the right direction, until something was like...errr you better ask someone.   Luckily, I saw a guy skateboarding and asked him for directions.  He was from Europe I could tell…possibly Ireland, but who knows.  He was very kind and pointed me to the right direction.  As I was walking, I noticed across the street somebody garbage digging and I was curious as to why people do it.  Was it to collect bottles? Was it to find food? I was confused because I know this city provides a lot of food services for the homeless. I also questioned why people are homeless.  I continued walking, and about ½ mile later, I passed another man garbage picking.  I couldn't resist myself to see what he was looking for.  As I had mentioned in my last post, my friend advised me not to ever contact with the homeless. I also had that other experience as mentioned in the last post, But I couldn't resist.  And this time..I feel as though it wasn't them coming to me, it was me going to them.  So I went up to him and asked him.  “Sir, what are you looking for?”  His response was "food."  My heart broke, but I had nothing to offer, I had no food on me.  So I apologized to him for not being able to help him and walked away.  However, something in me just called me to go back and offer to buy him food. I only had $8.00 cash in my pocket, but I couldn't bare knowing this man was hungry. So I walked back to him and asked him if I could buy him food and what was the closest place to eat.  He said Burger King and we walked.  We walked for awhile…Burger king was quite far, but it was a nice walk. So here I was with a man, possibly in his late 40’s/early 50’s, walking beside him and he carried multiple bags and a suitcase with him.  I offered to help him carry some bags, but he refused.   While walking we of course had a conversation.  He asked where I was from and I told him NJ, in which his response was “me too.” During this moment, I was thinking yeah right.  He’s probably just playing along.  However, the more we talked, the more I realized he was really from NJ.  I asked him to tell me his story.  I wanted to know all about his childhood and what brought him here and how he became homeless.  To my surprise, it wasn't drugs or alcohol.  'It was just meant to be.'   (I say to my surprise b/c I’ve become so judgmental of homeless and thought a lot of them were homeless due to drugs and all, which I know is ignorant, but I base things on what I see and hear. I was also surprised at his response.  He wasn't bitter, he wasn't filled with hatred.  He was filled with contentment and accepted the fact..well I'm homeless now )  He moved away from home when he was 16 due to an abusive upbringing.  He had a car and drove cross country to San Francisco.  He adopted 3 children and worked 3 jobs to support them.  Life went downward for him.  He ended losing one job due to downsizing.  He ended up caring for people too much and being screwed over by them.     I asked him if he was receiving government aid and he said no. I was shocked.  “Why don’t you receive aid”  His response was an eye opener and brought truth.  “Because it makes people lazy”.   I do have to agree with that statement.  I asked about his children and if they were aware if he was homeless and if he stays in contact with them.  He said he did and that he didn't want his children worried about him.  He said that he should be taking care of them, not the other way around. I could tell he was a bit prideful.  

 We made our way to Burger King and I ordered what he wanted…a strawberry milkshake and the #5.  I then later got him a large pepsi and used my last change.  I was short, but the cashier said it was alright.  I couldn't believe how hungry he was, he told me he hadn't eaten a real meal in 3 days. I asked him why he doesn't go to the free food banks and he said that he wants to make sure that other people get served food.  

I also asked him why he sleeps on the streets and not in the shelter.  He told me that it was dangerous in the shelter and there were bed bugs.  He said believe it or not, it's safer in the street..much safer.   

It was a beautiful night.  I told him he was carrying too much stuff and he needed to downsize.  So we went to his spot where I found he had even more stuff.  “What do you carry around with you?” I asked.  “Clothes, stuff, it’s complicated.”  I told him he needed to downsize and get rid of things he didn't need.  So for about 3 hours we organized and dumped the items he didn’t need, while cops kept coming by.   I think it was due to the fact that there was some sort of gun shots or something..maybe fireworks that went off a few blocks away.  Don't be scared.  I was safe and it was good.   One cop stopped and told us they got calls that we were being loud.  I think it was because of me and my laughter.  I was just having a great time and enjoying myself and Jimmy was quite the character.  As I'm sure he is thinking the same about me. 

Overall, it was just a beautiful night.  I got to get a glimpse of what it was like to be homeless.  I got a glimpse of people coming up to us asking for crystal, speed, weed, alcohol, heroin.   Luckily Jimmy, was not into drugs and was never a drug addict.  I have to say he inspired me.  He has a heart of gold.  His story is one of many homeless out there.  It's inspired me to want to do more work for the homeless.   He gave me his beautiful Northface jacket to keep me warm.  I used to be so judgmental when I saw homeless people wearing such nice brandnames.  But I learned throughout all my experience here..today and being on medicaid and government help not to judge.   He gave me his phone number to stay in contact.  He received the phone from a kid (21 yr old that he's taken under his wing who was homeless, but now receives SSI benefits that I met tonight as well).  He is so protective of the kid..and I asked him why.  His response was I've seen too many people die and I love him.  Thank you Jimmy for being a beautiful soul! God Bless. May you be happy, be well, be free of suffering and pain; may you be filled with joy.  

I'm grateful.

Thank you for reading!