Good Afternoon;
Just in case anyone cares, I was able to get online here at the Starbucks with no problem.
Maybe the laptop just wanted to get out of the shed and enjoy the sunshine....lol.
Anyway, I saw one of the other homeless guys I mentioned, he was sitting outside at one of the tables at the Pikesville McDonalds on Reisterstown Rd. near Slade Ave./Milford Mill Rd.
He is an older, (well...then again maybe not....I keep looking at people my chronological age and forgetting that I too am "older" now.........lmao while cmeo!), black guy, who resembles a slightly thicker and 'rode hard and put away wet' version of Sammy Davis Jr.....(but still having his stereoscopic vision). He always has a few layers of clothes on, even in the summer-and smells that way too most of the time-, and hauls/drags around 2 to 4 duffels and/or suitcases. I have watched the suitcase with the built in wheels and extendable handle with bag strapped to it with bungee cords, and the duffel & shoulder bag strapped together with bungees also, deteriorate and crash and burn over the past few weeks, as have various other versions of bags and bag carriers over the years. The other night he was getting off the bus at the Old Ct. Rd. Metro station as I was getting on and he dragged one pair of broken wheeled and lopsided suitcases down the bus stairs while kicking and pushing the other set with his foot. It took him 10 minutes to do this because the one contraption turned sideways and jammed coming off the bus and he never sets one set down to deal with the other or takes one on or off and then come back on/off to get the other. I have never seen or heard him talk to or acknowledge another person other than an occasional grunt to the bus driver, and one time when he 'went off' on another homeless guy who touched his stuff on the bus stop. But......he seems to have lots of conversations with either himself or an unseen companion at times. I don't know what he carries or why he carries so much everyday instead of hiding some of it somewhere, it seems to be clothing or other soft material mostly, maybe bedrolls, (although I've seen him at all hours of the night sitting and sleeping sitting up on the bus stop benches), and he appears to wear the same outfit for days to a week at a time.
I've tried to communicate by nodding, saying hello, and making general comments that leave an opening for a response and by offering some of the sandwiches and pastries I get, but nothing ever comes of it. He obviously is not starving and some of his belongings may be food, but who knows? With no communication on his part, I'm let to wonder what his story is. Is he alone in the world, who is he talking to, what is his story?
We may never know or find out?
I can't remember if I told you all this before or not, (I feel I did, but I'm not in the mood to skim the older posts to find out....lol), but the place along the train tracks alongside the subway's above ground section, just before Rodger's station near the Metro rail yard, offices and repair facilities. Where the boxcars used to be parked for ages on the CSX tracks and 'boxcar people' took up residence in a few, and were unceremoniously ran off and their possesions kicked off the cars and left to the ravages of the weather and scavengers, there is at least one residence built from pallets and scrap plywood, and using the concrete retaining wall as a back wall. This is not on my normal 'on foot' territory but I'm curious and want to stop by one day and talk to the person/people living there.....if I remember at any time other than passing by on the train.....lol.......damn CRS!
The main problems with building some sort of structure are first, just like the restaurant business:...location!...location!!...location!!!, including but not limited to, permission to do so, explicit or tacit, the 3 S's: Safety-Security-Sanitation, and accessibility and transportation. It's got to be hidden but nearby. Hidden in plain sight is the best.
And of course not every homeless person is suited or able to live this way, for a variety of reasons.
Anyway, Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" is playing here now, and I only merant to check to see if I could get online.
Later.........................................Dave
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