Good Morning, Again;
“`We be of one blood, thou and I,'
Mowgli answered, `. . . my kill shall be thy kill if ever thou art hungry.'”
"The Jungle Book"--Rudyard Kipling
So here it is the last week of the month, the time when some of you can most relate to what we on the streets go through the other 3 weeks.
A week til pay day, the fridge is nearly empty, as is the pantry, pretty much. Lotta beans, lotta pasta, lotta bread are now making up dinners.The rent is due, and the mail man brings another 'necessity bill' each day, as the billing cycle ends. and you hope that B, G, & E will give you the extra 10 days...again.. so the check will clear before the turnoff comes.
The wallet is empty and the ATM keeps denying the attempts at withdrawal. Maybe the prescription has run out and can't be refilled until after the 1st of the month..(Gotta love those HMO regulations)..so you have to scrape up some cash for a half a dozen doses. And, of course, (Insert Appropriate Holiday Here), falls in THIS week.
So, maybe you borrow from the boss, or get a 'payday loan' at some exorbitant interest rate, or see a loan shark. Perhaps you 'max out' a credit card, or rely on the overdraft protection feature of your debit card, playing one 'due date' against another, or mis-date and/or "forget"..(wink wink).. to sign a check, or put the electric bill's check in the bank's envelope, and pray for 'grace'. When things get tight you can pull out the mortgage or the car's finance agreement and a calendar and try to calculate just how many days..(or months?)..late you can get away with.
Sometimes the 'Friendly Neighborhood Pawn Broker' may be holding that 'extra' TV or DVD player, or jewelry, etc., which you have every intention of redeeming at the first opportunity, or at least paying the interest, 'for a month or so' until you can 'get out from under'. just a common everyday case of 'Robbing Peter To Pay Paul', it happens to the nicest folks.
Been there, Done that, and we All have the tee shirts.
Okay, now multiply that stress and anxiety and worry by 3 (more weeks a month)!
granted We don't have mortgage, rent, or B,G,& E, but then again you have a bed, heat hot water, electricity, a TOILET!, a kitchen...and safety, security, privacy, and a place to leave your possessions.
I also don't have a car payment, gas, or insurance to concern me, but you are also not sleeping in your transportation with foul mouthed and foul smelling strangers as it travels the city streets on cold, wet, snowy, nights.
It has been said that most folks are only 3 pay checks or 3 house or rent payments away from the street; from conversations and anecdotal evidence I can say that is pretty much a true statement, there are a lot more 'Nouveau Homeless' out there today.
Call me a trailblazer, a trendsetter, or just 'ahead of the, curve', (this constant thumping inside my head Proves that I 'March To The Beat Of A Different Drummer'.........LOL).
But............
SSDD:--- Same Same Different Different
Maybe we are more alike than you believe.....or WANT to believe?
I"ll see you tomorrow most likely.............................DAVE
P. S............See the New York Time--Tuesday 10/27/09
Front page picture--"Trading a park bench for the Broadway stage'
Article-- Page A-22 --"From No Home To Back Home On Broadway"
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