An exercise in homelessness.
Clarksville, TN – I got off to a good start this morning: I woke up, wrote a bit, and then caught the bus to my street corner for the day (at Madison Street and Memorial Drive).
I just had a thought: when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time standing in the corner, and now I’m standing on the corner. Some things just make you go hmm.
Well, you’ll be glad to know I didn’t have to buy a flashlight because two sweet ladies each brought me one—one is bigger, so I can use it in my camp, and the other is smaller and will fit in my backpack.
So I did what I do best—I gave it away to people who I knew needed it, and then at the end of the day, Vicki came by and took the rest to the Manna House so that none would go to waste.
I felt a lot of encouragement again today. We’re definitely building momentum with all the horn-honking and thumbs-upping. (And don’t tell my wife, but a lot of pretty girls waved at me.) I’m still getting lots of blank stares, so I need you to help me get the word about what we’re doing so people don’t think I’m just some arrogant guy who’s come up with a new panhandling gimmick and get their underwear in a bunch.
This evening was a little different; in fact, some of you might accuse me of “cheating” because after we loaded the stuff in Vicki’s car, she and I (in our matching yellow shirts) walked right down the street for a few minutes to the Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours.
(Actually, the real reason we went is because last month at the Chamber yearly Gala, they gave me the Community Commitment Award and I wanted to see if they were going to try to take it back with all the fuss I’m stirring up. Just for the record, they can’t have it—it’s mine, and I’m not giving it up, ha!)
Earlier, some Hilldale UMC kids had come by and invited me for supper with their Mission Week crew, so we stopped by and I sat at a real table in a real chair and had a burger. Then Vicki walked me to the bus stop. She went home, and I came back to camp. So this evening was different, but I guess I kind of needed a little break.
I’m learning a whole lot this week about how we do things at Manna Café. For instance, blankets are a year-round need; we usually think about them only in the winter—but folks, I got cold these last two nights. And because blankets are so bulky, they don’t fit into backpacks, and the homeless are constantly having to move, so blankets sometimes get left behind.
Most homeless people don’t make fires because they don’t want to bring attention to their hidden camp, so sterno is a way to heat water for coffee in the morning or to warm food or warm the tent up if it’s chilly like it was this morning. But they don’t last very long, so at least one or two should go in every homeless kit, year-round.
It’s really hard to get around when you’re homeless, even if you have money for the bus because most bus stops don’t have anywhere to sit. Me and my gimpy leg (eight screws from a motorcycle incident a couple years back), standing all day—the last thing I want to do is stand some more to wait for the bus. And besides, there are a lot of disabled and elderly folks that ride the bus.
These are some things I would never have realized unless I’d walked in a homeless man’s shoes for a couple weeks. I wonder what I’ll learn tomorrow.
Until then … peace out.
One way you can “Prove It” that takes less than a minute: sign the petition to show your support of a full-time transitional homeless shelter:
