"Free Frigedare"

Good Afternoon;

I thought the 'Cold' war was over!

I guess my side lost.......from the amount of frost on the INSIDE of the shed last night!

At least the breakfast sandwiches and pastries I got from the Starbucks will stay good, the cakes and sweets may be a little stale, but through the 'magic of microwaves'......lol.

I had a good day yesterday. Got enough meds so I will not be stressed at all over New Years, and while Monkee is away with her family in Vegas, for the first vacation she has had in decades. I am really happy for her, she has been trying so hard for so long to kick this effin' dope, and she has finally been able to put it down long enough to allow the 'bupe' to begin to do it's job. I am praying for her, and if you are the type of person who can pray for a random stranger, or a friend of a friend, please do so also. Thanks. She has been a good and true friend and supported me and helped me in many ways while I struggled and succeeded, while she was still in the grips herself.

I stopped in the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library for the first time in 30 years or more. I Went to the movies last night after the Starbucks closed with my 'new BFF' Allan, whose new love is away on a cruise with family, he's like a lost puppy....lol. He treated me to the $3.00 movies at Belair Rd. where we saw "Old Dogs", this is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, I literally laughed for the whole movie. Rent if you can, it's a blast.

The most interesting and relevant part of my day was the meeting and conversation I had with Phil Jacobs, publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times. Two hours passed as if it were 15 minutes. We talked and he asked about my story, and in a somewhat disjointed and convoluted way I told him about myself. If he does decide to write a story, we are going to have to meet again though, to make some sense out of my ramblings, and to check on dates...I was for some reason unable to get things in their proper order, transposing wedding dates and birthdays, etc. He asked if I would meet with their photographer at some point and I said "sure, why not", I just hope they don't hold me responsible when the lens cracks...lol.

It was nice talking to some one in my age range, of the 'class' with which I try to associate myself, (economic and residential differences aside), who knows or knows of some of the people I knew way back when, or their older brothers or sisters. A very easy man to talk to.

He asked if he could give me some cash to put minutes on my phone, so as to contact me if needed, and I accepted, happily.

If nothing else comes of this, whether an article, or some help or intervention in getting assistance, or even direct help in getting off the street, I am glad to have had the opportunity to convey one simple message. He asked me what one thing to would like to tell people, if I had a forum.

The thing I chose to let people know was...

We on the streets desire Dignity above all else.

We exist, like it or not, and pretending not to see us changes nothing.

You need not give anything more than eye contact.

A nod, a smile, a simple 'Good morning'.

Acknowledgement of our mutual humanity!

I am going to the coffee shop now for the first cup of the day and some food.

I am going to petsit with Rachel again at Jenn's for New Years, so I may or may not be in here tomorrow morning.

If I do not get back, I wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Years Eve. And remember,

"Moderation In ALL Things, Including Moderation!"

EXCEPT....drinking and driving!

I was going to review the past year of the blog, but I've gotta get out of here, it's getting crazy crowded.

Oh yeah, yesterday, in the Tuesday Dec. 29th edition of the Baltimore Sunpaper on the second page, there is an article on the city clearing out the last..(ha ha..wink wink..nod nod) enclave of homeless folks under the JFX..(that is the Jones Falls Expressway, aka I-83...for all the non BaltiMorons)..between Madison and Read Sts. in the Mt. Vernon area...(hmmmm......nah, nothing to do with all those rich yuppies and preppies). Some of the comments made by a few of the folks interviewed regarding the city shelters, and independence and self reliance echo what I have been saying....

"SO IT'S NOT JUST ME!!!"....(the preceding capitalized blast is being sent out to the crude and ignorant person who has been making the insulting and vulgar comments, over and over, calling me, among other things, racist, elitist, and anti-semitic..[huh?.....lol.]....first, genius, if you don't like what you read...stop coming back!, and second, if I have not published one of your crude diatribes yet, what makes you think I ever will? If you have some thing to say...lose the profanity and insults).

I'm out of here.................Dave