"Real And Perceived.....Charity Begins At Home(less)................"

Good Afternoon;

What is this wet stuff falling from the sky? It rained like hell for a while early this morning.

Maryland officially went into drought status earlier this week.

The roof and walls of the shed were so dry that the tarpaper and wood had shrunk and contracted so much in places that the water poured in as if someone had stuck a hose in one of the gaps. Luckily for me it was only in places previously damned or diverted so I only got some of the residual backsplash. As the rain slowed to a gentler and more continuous rate of flow I could almost see the wood swelling and the gaps closing.

It started out near 90 degrees in there when I finally went in and lay down last night about 3:00 am., and when the rain started about 5:00 am. the temperature began steadily dropping off to around the high 70s, going back up to 82 or so by the time I got up and moving at 11:00 am.

Yesterday I left here and went over to the Starbucks for a few hours until they closed. I shaved and changed out of the shirt, socks, and jockey shorts that I had put on fresh to go to the doctors and which had acquired a patina of salt and road dust cemented together with dried perspiration and turning any straight edge or crease into either a surgical level cutting edge....or a chainsaw blade.....lol! The humidity was such that 30 seconds after leaving the A/C interior of the bus, (that could have been used as a deep freeze), the skin became beaded with that nasty oily sheen that only an East Coast summer can stimulate. After leaving there at 9:00 pm. I rode the train, (Light Rail), for a while to kill time and stay cool. I noticed a guy I had talked to a few times, also homeless and a fellow addict who was having a hard time putting together and keeping more than 6 months of clean time in a row. He was asking people for money to get cab fare for some emergency, I pulled him up and asked what was wrong.

He ''JT", told me his girlfriend was trying to kick cold turkey and seemed to be experiencing something other than normal withdrawal symptoms and he wanted to take her to a doctor they knew who was sympathetic non-judgmental and knew their history and who was flexible about payments and records, (and in their situation she, the doc, is a treasure more precious than gold, or even dope.......been there-done that!). Something told me this was not just another junkie scam, and I offered to go back to the place they had set up housekeeping under the JFX, {oh yeah, don't believe the hype that the City put out about cleaning out all the homeless folks from under the Jones Falls Expressway, they only rousted the ones who were visible to commuters and tourists downtown, there are hidden from sight pockets of people all along I-83 and the river and the Light Rail!!}, and see if I could help them out.

Well when I got there she, "LC",was a real mess and definitely in more pain and distress than just kicking. We got her up between us and navigated and negotiated the camouflaged exit/entrance and trail to their hidey hole, (which is near and similar to one I used to use back in the day when I was on the street and doing dope and the related deeds needed to acquire it and needed a place to 'go to ground' and disappear at times for various obvious reasons, back in the late 1990s, and before anyone asks, it is way too dirty, primitive and removed to be of any use at this point in my life), and got out on the main road that is only a couple hundred yards (yet a million miles) away and I flagged down a Yellow/Checker cab and used the "Free Ride" certificate that I was given by someone about 18 months ago and have been saving for an emergency. I told the cabbie where to go and had "JT" tip the guy in advance so nobody got screwed, or had thoughts they may be. We had called the doctor's service on my cell phone and she said to meet her at her offices/clinic which were somewhere in the Pigtown area. I was leary of giving my phone number to "JT", I really don't want him calling me and wasting my minutes, he's not a friend and I am not interested in cultivating a relationship. I'm not trying to sound elitist, but I can't afford to associate with addicts at that level, for both my health and sanity, and for reasons of legality and legitimacy, one incident of being with him on a day he is 'dirty' or has just 'boosted' something and I'm screwed six ways from Sunday. I gave him a buprenorphine to try to give him a start again and told them I'd check back next week.

That's one of the reasons I did not get into the shed until 3:00 am. this morning.

When I did get up the first thing I did is head over to RiteAid and drop off my new and old prescriptions. The obstructionist African pharmacist was working and started bitching and moaning that she was the only person there when I said I was going to wait as usual so I said I'll be back in an hour. It's been 3 hours and will be close to 4 hours when I finish here....wonder if it will be done by then? This is the woman who would not verify my Medical Assistance coverage as she is supposed to and Liz from Prologue had to come up and raise hell to get it straight. I'll let you know how it turns out, and if I have to write RiteAid again to complain, and I'm not the only person who has had issues with this woman either.

Okay, get this, another company is trying to make a profit on Homeless folks, under the guise of social conscience.

Thee is a company called "Beggar Bags" that makes up plastic bags with granola bars, mints or gum, Slim Jims, raisins, and sanitizing hand wipes to give out to panhandlers, beggars, and homeless folks, instead of money, that may be spent on drugs, or alcohol......or real food, medications, soap, laundry, personal care items, a toy for their kid, and every other thing that you yourself may need cash for. Why is it that only homeless people spend all their money on drugs and booze? Seems to me there are a lot more upper and middle class people getting DWIs and DUIs.

When an individual or synagogue group, or charitable organization takes it upon themselves to devote their time and effort to make up something like this or hygiene bags, or cold weather bags it is one thing. An honest desire to help, even if at times the concepts of what is needed may be skewed.

When a for profit business charges $4.99 for 4 bags with 99 cents of merchandise, it is nothing but greed wearing a phony facade of compassion!

I just don't buy the hype on their 'about us' page.

And the smugness and attitude of self appreciation that the page conveys that you'll feel just for sticking a hand out a car window with a bag of crap you yourself would not want to get, that in and of itself can be a demeaning gesture and another barrier between the 'nice' folks and those 'street people', turns my stomach.

Cookie cutter charity because, hey, they are not individuals with unique needs and actual feelings anyway, and if they are not grateful, the hell with them.

Just like on theat reality?!?....hah....show "Famous, Rich,and Homeless", when the celebrity do gooder takes a 20+ year heroin addict to an outreach/methadone center and expects him to be "cured" and "fixed" in 2 hours....................yeah...right!

Get a F*ckin' Clue!!!!

Anyway, I'm on my way to the RiteAid, and then the Giant to see what I can find reduced, on sale and discounted, that I feel like cooking, because I am heading to Jenn's for a few hours while Tom is out on a DJ job, to take a shower and eat, (and get a cup of coffee!!!) fo the first time today...(it's now 3:25 pm. and I won't get there 'til 4:30 pm....I'm getting hungry!!....LOL)

Unless I get to the Towson library tomprrow, I'll see you Monday,

Later...............Dave