First Blood

I have always compared my life to cinema. I'm not exactly sure why but movies have always been a large part of my life and I've been able to find parallels between me and the fictional characters dreamed up by some of the world's best story tellers. In some cases the parallels have been nearly exactly as seen and sometimes it was only a basic theme that I have experienced.

Out of all the characters in popular American cinema, one I never dreamed I'd identify with is John Rambo. But last night it happened. The nights I sleep in my car I bring all the crap I've got in the back seat to the front of the car, and climb in back for my slumber. I usually park my car in a residential neighborhood with other cars on the street so I can just blend in and escape the likelihood of being disturbed by teenagers or other people.

I had parked in the city of Goleta, CA which is about three miles outside of Santa Barbara, and laid down for the night. I was awakened in the beginning of my slumber by a spotlight shining in my windows followed by a flashlight in my face. It was a Sheriff Deputy. He said, "What are you doing? This isn't an RV park!"

I wanted to say, "This isn't an RV" but I held it in.

He said some other stuff that I didn't pay attention to and called off the back up he'd apparently had on stand by, and told me to get out of town. I said "Okay" and "I'm sorry". Then pulled enough to the back seat so I could get behind the wheel and started my car and drove down the street. He followed me, which sucked because I was all turned around and took a few wrong turns trying to find the back road I wanted to take to Santa Barbara. And when I found the back road I turned the wrong way. That was awesome.

All in all it took about 15 to 20 minutes of pure police work to wake up a sleeping man and chase him out of town like in the old west. I was mildly upset and now I can see that if I were a Vietnam Vet suffering from some pretty serious Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder I'd have some real issues with the whole thing. Luckily for me and them, I'm not a killing machine and in my trauma the police were good guys, and I wasn't a ever prisoner. I just hope that there were no real crimes happening at the moment.

Portland Rescue Mission

Each night before dinner at the Portland Rescue Mission a lottery takes place. Not a lottery to win any obscene amount of money, but a lottery to win a bed for the night. Before you can be eligible for this lottery you need to have a Tuberculosis test done. To get this test done you can go across the street to the Salvation Army. They do the tests on Tuesdays and Fridays between 1:15 and 3:15 in the afternoon. I went in last Friday and got the shot. Then, on Tuesday afternoon I went to have it checked.


Once you are diagnosed Tuberculosis free, you are given a TB card. Armed with proof that you are in fact free from Tuberculosis you can enter the lottery. Each person who would like to stay at the mission is given a number. Last night my number was 38. Every night there is a different lottery and so, every night you get a different number.

Then, the winning numbers are randomly selected by a computer and posted for the world to see. Last night I was among the 50 lucky people to get a bed. For those who don't win there is an additional way to be inside at the Portland Rescue Mission in the winter months. They have 75 mats that they lay out in the chapel, and so there is a second lottery for those at 8:30.

At about 8PM you are able to check in with your winning lottery number. At check in you show your slip with the winning number on it and, unless they already know you, your TB card so they can get your name. You are then assigned a bed numbered 1-50 and sent down stairs.

Once you're on the bottom floor you are able to take a shower, get a change of clothes, or just get ready for bed. I was assigned to bed 41. On each bed there is a pillow and a milk crate containing a blanket, a sheet, and a pillow case. I promptly made my bed and spent about 40 minutes reading one of my favorite books, My Custom Van by Michael Ian Black. At about 9PM it's lights out.

I fell asleep pretty quickly, although, I didn't stay that way. The beds are small and close together, so every time someone coughed, I woke up. I had a cotton blanket that was crocheted. It was like sleeping under a doily.

The Portland Rescue Mission works entirely off of donations and they do the very best they can with what they have. I don't want anyone to think I'm ungrateful or complaining about anything they do. In truth I see them among the top of all the shelters in Portland, a city that is among the leaders of cities that are friendly to the under privileged.

People Who Find You

Sitting in the Seattle Public Library, filling time with documentaries, and pondering the last week of my life. 

On, I think, Saturday, October 23rd the people in this picture came across me. I sat down in a park for a few minutes and they came walking up to me almost right away. They first asked if I'd like a turkey sandwich or something to drink. I took a sandwich. They stayed and talked to me for a few minutes. They didn't want anything from me. They didn't want me to come to a church. They wanted to make sure I was okay. When I told them I was traveling, they asked about where I was staying and if there was anything I needed. They asked if they could say a prayer with and for me and if there was anything I wanted them to specifically pray about. Prayers definitely can't hurt and I asked them to pray for my safety. They did, and went on their way. I watched them for a while as they at least tried to talk to each person in that park. Whatever your beliefs are, it is very impressive that someone would do that for people they don't know.

One of the things I vividly remember about the words they said in the prayer was that people would see me and they would want to be around me and know my needs.

On Sunday, I met a group of people who took me in, fed me and gave me a warm place to stay. They gave me a place to shower, wash my clothes and asked me to come back if I needed or wanted. Talking to them, I found that they have given people a place to stay other times too.

It's people like these that make me know that there's hope in the world. I have spent a lot of time hoping that there were people like this in the world. It's great to find that there are.

I recently checked to see how many people are reading the things I write. I was amazed to see that this blog has been looked at more than 2,500 times in 14 different countries. The number of hits have been increasing steadily with every month. This is so awesome to me. I've done a lot myself to spread the word and find people to read what I write and experience. I do know that the people reading this have been spreading the word possibly more than I do myself, and for that I thank you all. Please keep telling your family, friends, and the people you work with.

Beginnings

In a week I'm moving out of my apartment, and joining the ranks of the homeless.

I'm doing this as a way to get myself to that level of living so I can show the world through writing and photography what life is like for people who live homeless. After about a month of living in southern Minnesota, I will pack a few essentials in my car and head west. That seems to be the American way, get bored of the east and Midwest and explore the wild west. I'm just 200 years late. I'm not sure exactly where I will go, but I have been thinking about exploring the west coast. Much of the point of this is to live life without any plans and to go where the wind points me.

You may be thinking that I've lost my mind and you may be right. You may be thinking this is a horrible idea, but I have put over a years worth of thought into this and I know what I'm doing. I also don't expect anyone to understand the reason I do the things I do.

I hope you will check back often to read about my adventures.

And remember what Bilbo used to say," It's a dangerous business... going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to."