"Listening Post...........................AKA..........Inquiring Minds Want To Know..."

Good Morning;

It's sunny and crisp, not too cool, a lovely autumn day.....so far.

It's a good thing that it is cool out, or everyone and not just me would feel that the 'funk' in my e-mail address (d_funkwriter@hotmail.com) has a totally different context than the one I intended.....LOL!

I really need to shower, (do you remember the scene in "The Breakfast Club" where the 'basket case girl', played by Ally Sheedy, draws a wintertime picture and uses her dandruff to make it snow.....yeah well, if it was me..there would have been a damn blizzard!!....lol), and do laundry today, and my usual sources are unavailable, and I don't have the money to get a room. One of the reasons I do not like to go to the shelters or the missions, is that I am a 'solo', meaning that I don't have a partner or 'running buddy' to watch my possessions while I bathe,(otherwise things tend to mysteriously and spontaneously "dematerialize"). The other reason is because that most of the facilities I have experienced are pretty foul, except for the MCVETS shelter, and the time and effort needed to get a referral to there...every day a new one is needed from the Social Services branch at Broadway and North Ave. and Harford Rd. on the East Side...(unless you are a veteran)and having to get up at 4:30 am., is just not worth it.

I am e-mailing my friend Anne and asking her if she has an old dog leash laying around. That way she can take me over to DOGMA, the new pet supplies store at Mt.Washington, clip on the lead, and we can use the "Doggie Wash". I'll just tell them I am a rare breed, a cross between a 'Hibernian Ale Hound' and an 'Albino North African Bagel Beagle'. It's either that or the self service car wash....which may be a better idea in the colder weather, they've got those super sized blow dryers!....LOL!

Last night at the Starbucks, Allan came by for a while and we caught up on the past week. As we were sitting there I was kind of half innocently, half intentionally eavesdropping on a conversation behind me, when through the 'chatter' I heard a few key buzzwords...(just like NSA or the NRC and all the other alphabet agencies that only listen to 'foreign' communications intercepts...wink, wink..nod, nod...).....homeless, ex-inmates, did not realize what they face on a day to day basis, recovering addicts....etc. I wrote the address of my little "exercise in exorcism" here, and offered it to the woman behind me whose voice I was able to identify to a body, as a possible alternate source of insight, if she cared to peruse it. We ended up in a conversation, and as I told her the basics she asked if I needed any services, well after my experience at DORS and this increasing feeling of 'enough is enough', I answered yes without a second thought. It turns out she works for an organization near Johns Hopkins Hospital that I have heard of. She offered to help me get hooked up with a case manager who knows how to deal with the bureaucracy...which is what I have been looking for. I'm going to go down on the Friday after the holiday weekend, when she is back in the office.

I really have to find some cash today, I will be out of food and meds by tomorrow evening. I also really do want to shower today, (or early Sunday), because I am planning to take Rachel to the "Critter Caravan" live animal show at the library at 2:00 pm. tomorrow. If I can get bus money for her and a few bucks for a treat we will be heading to Starbucks after. If anyone can offer facilities, I would be extremely grateful, the only problem is that my phone is dead, and I will offline too. Well, I'll be at Starbucks in Mt. Washington if anyone wants to stop by or call me there. Even if you just stop by to visit, I welcome your company.

If push comes to shove I may have to hit the corner with my sign later, (it's been quite a few weeks since I was last out there), with any luck the 'junkie crew' won't be there.

Any little bit helps.

Okay, I'm gone for now....coffee time.............Dave

P.S. ........speaking of PS......anyone remember the spray called PSsssssttt: Hairwash in a Can?, seriously, it was a real product!