"Homeless But Not Gnomeless!!............More Links....................& A Possible Early X-mas Gift?..........................."

Good Evening;

It may be technically afternoon, but it's dark outside, not to mention snowing!

The forecast ranges from 1 inch to 5 inches here in Pikesville, depending on who you are listening to. It is a cold, dry snow, falling on streets that have been below freezing for 3 or 4 days, so although there may not be much it is like trying to drive on a thin sheen of oil or talcum powder, hit the brakes a little bit tooooo hard and....zzzziipppp!

Of course BaltiMORONs cannot drive in the snow anyway....lol.

On a related but more somber note, it was a BAD!!! day for Jenn and Tom yesterday! While trying to drill through an oddly shaped piece of metal at a job yesterday, Tom broke off a drill bit in the meaty part of his palm, (he is okay after x-rays showed no fragments in him and aftter tetanus and antibiotic shots, and a prescribed course of meds), so Jenn unexpectedly had to go and pick up Edward from school, while her cousin watched Devin. As she is nearing the school (St.Thomas Aquinas in Hamden), she was forced to go through a detour due to construction and as she was easing out to peer around an illegally parked truck at the corner blocking her vision...she was hit in the left front quarter and the car is totaled. F*ck, F*ckety F*ck F*ck!!! She is bruised and banged up on her leg and hit her head, but is otherwise OK, thank God, and luckily, she had not gotten Ed yet.

Tom had to come and get them, and it ended up with the two of them visiting the ER together for separate incidents.

Another sh*tty thing is that they had only liability insurance due to lack of funds, and the cop wrote it up as Jenn's fault even though plenty of witnesses testified that the other guy was speeding, and which could be determined by the impact and amount of damage, AND verified that there WAS a truck in a

'no parking/no standing zone',

and that the driver rushed out to move it in a hurry when he heard the sirens. Sometimes you can't win, even when you are in the right. and don't get me started on city cops and their abyssmal driving and accident record in recent years.

Well, last night I left here and went to the Starbucks, looking for Hannah who works there, to thank her for the kind words she e-mailed me about turning her on to Sitemeter for her website. She is a MICA student in the Graphic Arts/Design program and her site is http://www.hannahhinds.com/ , it is a pretty neat site, in a minimalist type of fashion. Check it out, look & enjoy, give her some hits on the counter from your visits....(and me some brownie points.....LOL!,...hey what can I say, I'm a sucker for talented and beautiful women....and I need all the outside help I can get, what with my current 'situation' etc.....ROTFL!!!).

But seriously, we are becoming good friends and she is one of the gracious people who pass on some of the marked out sandwiches and/or pastries when she or they can.

But of course she was not working last night so some of my best material went to waste, and with my CRS, I'll never remember it right....lol! I talked politics with Dave from Whole Foods, The History/PolySci guy who is currently interviewing for a bunch of different staff or campaign jobs with various pols, candidates, lobbyists, PACs...etc. I caught the bus back to the Plaza subway station after closing and Allan called me and I met him at one of the bus stops on the way to the shed. we sat and talked for an hour or two and he gave me a 'gift', (and I don't mean the residual effects of all the antibiotics fighting with the fastfood meal he had just eaten.....thiose 'gifts' I could have done without....LOL!!), of a 2 foot high molded plastic/epoxy/polymer Garden Gnome, (or possibly 'Doc' of "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs"), with abook clasped under one arm and the other arm extended holding a little lantern with either a small Xmas light bulb or L.E.D. (I could not tell which at the time), that is powered by 2 or 3 AA batteries, and he has a photo cell on his back that turns the light off in sunlight (or in my case last night, a brighter lantern....lol!).

Just What I Need!.....LMAO!!

He said he thought I may want it for Rachel or the grandmonsters, but...hell I want him!.....LOL! I think I am going to save it for Rachel after they are settled in at the new apartment, and give it to her the next time the 'ex' pisses me off!...(oops....did I type that out loud.....lol). It really is kind of cool and the paint looks good and bright. Allan said it was in his mother's house, and he sure as hell didn't want it....lol!

Okay.....I get an e-mail today from Erik at Pikesville PC, who builds, buys, sets up, and maintains PCs, and he offers to give me an old notebook PC to be able to access the Internet from free wifi hot spots...no strings attached. He asks that I mention his company and acknowledge him, Pikesville PC, for providing and maintaning it, (if needed I assume). I accessed his website, http://www.pikesvillepc.com/ , and took a look and read the inforamation offered there, and from what I see this is a legitimate and honest business. I have had some email contact through the blog previously and have seen a link on Facebook. So.....We are supposed to meet next week and see what's what.

I am happy to do some publicizing and promoting for him and his company in excahange for a notebook! Hell, I'll even put in a link and an ad/display over on the left side with all my other stuff....which reminds me I have to remember to cut and paste all my 'missing links' back into the "Links And Thinks" gadget FIRST next time I get online... & NOT remember when I am almost out of time!....LOL!

Speaking of links, www.invisiblepeople.tv , has had some really interesting stories popping up on my Facebook page recently. If you are on Facebook 'friend' them and you'll get some real insight into people, problems, and solutions, (good and bad) to homelessness.

Well, I think I'm going to head out into the driving slush and hit the Starbucks for a while, just to kill time. I don't really want to sit in the library at the computer, and ooops, my time is up in 10 minutes anyway so that is a moot point...lol! I may ride the trains for few hours tonight and listen to the dumbass bitching of some of the geniuses here in Baltimore...Did you know that the snow last February was a government plot to keep the poor black folks indoors...yup, heard it on the subway so it must be true.....lol!

I'm nice and clean because I stopped at Jenn's and showered, and got my mail from JAI too... I see the Neurosurgeon on Dec. 27th! Hooray!! I still have not gotten the referral to the Hematologist, and I admit I have been procrastinating about the shrink and the addictions counselor, (to see if I can get my meds on the prescription plan, even though I am using them for 'off-prescription' benfits, the only people who can prescribe it is a doctor who has taken the special 8 hour course to be approved, though the leading doctor in a practice can be the one who is listed as the prescriber and have 10 (??) doctors under him...'it's complicated' as they say..lol). I don't know who I am supposed to see when about the gall bladder though, I guess I'll find out when I go back to my PCP on the 12th of January. Though now that I think of it...I have to go back and get paperwork for the court date on the 11th before that.....hmmmm? Oh well. next weeks' worries!

Damn.....6:45 pm already.....it sucks when you are flat broke and really, really, really limited in your choices of where to go and sit!

Anyway....sorry about the crazy line spacing the computer is 'messing with me' as Edward would say..(when I 'mess' with him....lol!).... Unless this snow shower turns into a blizzard unexpectedly.... I'll see you tomorrow AM. Now that Jenn and Tom are down to 1 car and need the money real bad, Friday night's plans to babysit while they are out just went south. He is DJing, and she'll be home, so I am not sure if I will be spending the night or not, or doing laundry...damn, forgot that!

Oh well...........Later.......................Dave

Some MTA bus drivers may be turning away fares - baltimoresun.com

Good Afternoon, Again;

Another link;

Some MTA bus drivers may be turning away fares - baltimoresun.com

This time to a story in the Baltimore Sun about the MTA.

What a crock of sh*t!

Drivers DO get hassled about being on time, but more to the point,

WHY is the MTA administration concentrating on fiscal issues, but ignoring the very real and quite possibly life threatening things such as speeding and ignoring traffic signs and laws or 'rolling stops' at stop signs; jack rabbit starts and stops, and pulling around corners while elderly & disabled passengers are still trying to get seated; passengers and even more often other drivers who stand next to the operator while he/she is driving preventing them from seeing out the right side window on the door, and distracting them as much as or more then cell phone use; drivers who are petty, arrogant, ignorant, and obstructionist, drivers who play little race games such as purposely stopping before or after the designated stop and making one walk, but who will then stop and allow others to leave or board the bus at the proper place or where it is convenient for the rider of the same race.???? The list goes on and on.

Later.......Dave

Explore Baltimore County: Night of Peace Family Shelter a place where those who care can share their blessings

Good Afternoon;

Explore Baltimore County: Night of Peace Family Shelter a place where those who care can share their blessings

Click on the link above or in the title,

read the story that was in the Jeffersonian, and the Qwings Mills Times, and take a look the various sets of numbers.

Kinda brings the reality down to a level that is more easily understood,

doesn't it? Homelessness can be a sudden change of life for some that is like

being trapped in a sand pit, the more you struggle to get out, the more the

walls slide out from under you.

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

"Kind Words and Killer Cold......"

Good Afternoon;

So, it's been a few days since I've been here. Between Sunday's short library hours, watching Devin for Jenn on Monday, and being driven over to Rachel's mother's (the 'ex') house on Tuesday to pick up the few bags and boxes, a Rubbermaid storage tub, and the two bulging briefcases of assorted writings that make up my possessions that are worth not losing, then back to Jenn's apartment where they all fit into the bottom of her coat closet,....and the friggin' cold!!, which, given the choice of having to take buses and trains back and forth, to and from the library, and then to and from the coffee shop, plus all the walking and waiting outside involved...OR being dropped off right at the door of Starbucks....wellll, as you can see... I decided the blog could wait!....LOL!!

It has been way too insanely cold for Baltimore in December!

In fact, it is too cold for B'more in any month!

Did I ever mention anytime in the past 2 years that......

COLD WEATHER SUCKS!!!!????????

Well, in case I did not, just so you know my feelings....

I'll tell you again..............

!!!!!!!!COLD WEATHER SUCKS!!!!!!

Thank you for your forbearance.

Anyway, sleeping outside is quite refreshing in 18 degree weather and 30 mph winds (with gusts to 45), I think my 'Aqueous Humor' froze last night.

(And that is NOT a new flavor of frozen dessert in the 'Zombie Delights' line from Birdseye!....LMAO!) Actually the worst part is the 'getting out' of the bag in the morning.

On Sunday I did not get out of the bag until after 1:00 pm. between being exhausted from poor sleep the previous week, the rain, the library not opening until 1:00 pm., and there being nowhere in the area to go to to be able to just sit (and having absolutely no cash at all). I went to the Giant to wash up and get something for lunch, and then library where the line was so long waiting for a computer I just left and got in the bus to the train, to the train, to the Starbucks.

Of course being a wet rainy Sunday every mode of mass transit was late, crowded, and or stopped en route for a problem that took 20 minutes to correct. A 40 minute ride took 2 and a half hours....I was not a happy camper! And when I am there the 'corporate clone' shift manager tells me that there si no balance on the gift card that I have been using for the past 2 years as my 'refill card' and hve kept a balance of $0.53 for just that purpose on it, but "I'm not going to charge you for it"....well damn, the fault is yours or the store's computer....I friggin' hope not!...if it was not for the damn condescending and imperious attitude I would not have been so ticked off...........HEY you are only a shift manager at a coffee shop......unclench your sphincter once in a while!...(SORRY about the tangent....lol). After leaving there at 8:00 pm. when they closed it was back out in the rain and to the #27 bus where I was scared sh*tless by the driver traveling 50 miles per hour on wet roads with a 30 mph speed limit, then into the shed. I did reach Allan and apologize before I got to sleep after he called and we played voice mail phone tag for a bit first. It was not too cold when I went to sleep, but when I woke up to pee at 3:00 am. the wind from the cold front had started to blow and the temp. was dropping rapidly. Monday I had to watch Devin for a bit and crawled out at 8:30 am. and damn near froze my fingers off just dressing and putting things away, I decided to leave the blanket, sleeping bag, foot blanket & pillow set-up in place because of the way my foot ends up getting so cold at night setting up, (I have to remove my boots or shoes because it is so narrow and I have to walk and stand on the bag and blankets to arrange them). I then really froze my hands near the first stages of frostbite trying to unstick the metal latch I rigged up to keep the door closed against the wind. By the time I got to the Giant I was actually crying from the pain, which was nothing compared to what was to come when I put my hands under the luke warm water to bring them back to life and the blood returned to my fingers. Creative cursing gave way to basic 4, 11 and 10 letter cuss words.....lol!

After I had showered at Jenn's and had lunch, when they came home I said goodbye to Devin and our tea-party friends Dora and Sleeping Beauty, (whose name is Aurora, which Devin will correct you on quite strongly...lol), and Barbie (w/grape scented and purple hair!!), and went over to the Starbucks (where I was graced with a bag of marked out items by Katie...thank you and God bless), because I really did not want to do the aforementioned bus stop shuffle half a dozen times in the cold. Getting back to the shed with Jenn after her meeting and our weekly Monday night trip through the Giant I was able to jump into my sleeping sweats and slide into the bag and my human burrito costume quite quickly, saving about 15 minutes of setting up and freezing fingers and ass off.

Tuesday was a repeat of Monday morning with the only difference being Jenn picking me up at the library after I dropped of a book that was due and thenheading over to the 'ex'es' to get my stuff I had packed on Saturday, then dropping it off at the apartment and then being dropped off at the coffee shop. I again took a chance and left the bag, etc. out, but I could not get the latch to work because the metal had seized up from the cold, (18 degrees each of the past 3 nights and not above 30 degrees in the daylight, my water bottles and the remains of the Powerade I bought each day are frozen solid), so I wedged it shut and prayed for the best. This being Tuesday, the one night of the week there is any activity in the lot next to the shed I was worried about the door being open and the old guys who park there nosing about. When Jenn picked me up we drove by the shed and it was still shut, so I thought it would be okay. After spending the day in the coffee shop and trying to keep warm in the big high ceilinged drafty room, (sweatshirt on -- sweatshirt off, swweatshirt on -- sweatshirt off), I was again told by 2 different people that "You gotta write a book", after entertaining them with some of the stories of my life. I walked over to the bus loop and caught the bus back to the Plaza station with one of my regular bus drivers and sat in the bus with her staying warm and talking until she had to pull out for her next run, saving me 15 minutes less outside time waiting for my connection.

When I got to the shed the door was of course blown wide open, but as a saving grace, for some reason the regular Tuesday group was not there. (I don't blame them, a bunch of 65 to 80+ year old guys, the hell with coming out in such cold! One more night with their wives won't [hopefully] kill them.....lol!)

Again the truncated ritual of setting up my sleeping arrangements helped immensely, as did the rapid-change donning of 2 pair of fairly warm socks from my bag, so fast that my feet did not have time to chill......lol.) This morning at 7:00 am. I got up to the prodding of the prostate and by the time I got back in the bag it had cooled a good 50 degrees!

Have I told you recently;

COLD WEATHER SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!.....?

It was morning meds and back in the bag, waking every hour to check time and temp. and trying to make a phone call until I got through and found out the (tentative) appt. I had was canceled and need nort be rescheduled because the mail had got there in time....for a change! So it was 11:00 am before I braved the cold again after pulling my pants down from the shelf and dragging them into the bag to warm up enough at least so that the creases in the denim were not in danger of removing a leg....lol. Putting on boots where the leather is as flexible as chromium steel is a real treat, (and people wonder why I refused a pair of 'steel toed' boots), it took an hour to warm up my feet enough so that the folks in the Giant did not think I was suffering an epilectic fit as I walked down the aisle.

I want to send out a truly grateful thank you to Dawn, the woman who runs the flower shop at the Centre Court Giant in Pikesville. We have known each other y sight and to say hello to, with maybe a casual comment about the weather or some such thing for 4 years since she came to this store and just about the time I ended up on the street. We would meet in the now closed Starbucks across the parking lot on occasion and as I roamed through the food store, but never really had a deep conversation. Today, as I was repacking my groceries and she was getting a cup of coffee at the machine, and she says to me I am looking good these days, particularly in the past year, and that she has seen positive changes in me since we have met. ...Well.....Damn! if that was not a boost to both ego and self esteem!

But it is something that Jenn has said, which is why I am back in my grandkids lives, and something which can be credited to writing this blog, so thank You, Loyal readers, and to the Buprenorphine I have been taking, (on a regular, steady, consistent basis), for about 2 years(?) now also.

I'm out of time for the day, so it's off to the coffee shop....and my instant coffee and their hot water...I have No More money until January 2nd ;-(

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

The Decline Of Common Civility.....................'Rantus Interruptus'.............&.............Life In One Cubic Yard"

Good Afternoon;

So you may have noticed that all my links and even the whole sidebar "Links And Thinks" is missing from the blog. This was not intentional, I was trying to add 3 more links to pertinent sites and as I was moving the cursor, accidentally clicked it as it was over the 'Remove' button......sh*t..sh*t..sh*t!!!

!!!Hey!!! I posted my problem on the Google help forum and some guy called "Yoboy" went into the cache or the html file or some such and pulled up all my links and e-mailed them to me!! Very cool and many, many thanks guy!!

Now I have to copy and paste them all back, when I have the time this week.

It's just been that kind of day or two... (or three)

After going over to Jenn's to shower and shave and eat a hot lunch, (she buys-I cook, the usual deal, which is getting harder to do, because I am having problems standing for any length of time....AGAIN??!!??!!....WTF!?), then over to the coffee shop for a bit, (where Josh handed me a bag of marked out items.....thank you very much amigo!), and then to the bus to the bus to the shed.

Thursday night was a BADDDDD night! (as was Friday for similar reasons) Even though it was not as cold as the previous few nights, (if only by 5 degrees), when I was in the shed getting my bedding ready my right foot became chilled to the bone and I could not get it to warm up for over an hour. It felt as if it was very close to being frostbitten, while the left foot was cold also, it was nowhere near as icy feeling. The weird thing is that from the ankle on up, excepting my fingers and nose when exposed, the rest of my body was comfortably warm. After rubbing and rubbing and finally wrapping my feet and the lower part of the sleeping bag within their own cocoon, I was able to lay down and attempt to sleep. Not that I actually DID sleep of course, I ended up reading until 4:00 am. when I went to sleep with no cold issues. I woke up at 8:00 am. Friday with my feet again ice cold to the touch and feeling so cold they felt 'hot', like as in a post-electric shock type of 'hot'. I do not know if this is a circulatory problem, (although Dr. Marcus my podiatrist says she feels good blood flow to my feet??), or a nerve problem aggravated by the spinal/disk/tumor issues? I really want to get my referral to the Neurosurgeon pretty damn soon, as in yesterday, because it is starting to get a bit scary. By the time I was packed and dressed my fingers were also numb and it took a good thirty minutes for my feet to feel 'normal', but then the itching began. (Is this not a sign of chilblains, a pre-frostbite condition? WEB MD here I come...lol). I went to Jenn's and showered and did a load of laundry and then tried to reach the doctor at JAI.............HA!.........late afternoon on a Friday..........not happenin'!

I went over to the Starbucks and again was graced by a couple marked out sandwiches and a bag of donuts......(oh yeah, I forgot to mention this but the 'Dunkin Dumpster' is temporarily out of action as the D.D. it is adjacent to has been undergoing renovations for the past month.....and in related wasted food news, I have been stopping by the Popeye's dumpster to try to catch the fried chicken just before it get's dumped, [and to be honest, if it's in a clean box and that has just been tossed, and it's cold....well, been there done that too]...and I have been discreetly watching the young 'thug wannabe' deliberately either dump the whole 20-40 pounds of still hot chicken out of the box and into the filth so it is inedible...or worse, look around and see if anyone is watching,....and urinate into the box and place it carefully rightside up in the dumpster and head back in the store. One night I heard him as he laughed and bragged to one of the other workers about how he was gonna go out on the weekend and "get all 'blunted' up with his boys and f*ck with the homeless waiting to get into the mission"...nice fellow, huh?..... next time you hear someone complain about, or read or watch a news story and some bleeding heart clueless bastard with no street knowledge at all starts whining about the 'poor mistreated juvenile' charged as an adult for a crime....well this is only a glimpse into the reality. OOPS......sorry, off on a tangent again......lol. But while I am still ranting.....Last night I stopped in the Giant and used the restroom before I hit the shed. The urinal is out of order, and has been for a couple days...not a huge problem, "plumbing happens" as they say....lol. There is also a stall with a commode, and as I entered the bathroom so did a young (17-21?) Giant employee, a porter or parcel pick-up or shopping cart wrangler or some such position, who went into the (disability accessible) stall before me and with the door wide open, did his business and walked out and washed his hands and began texting.......without bothering to flush, OR......wipe off the seat he did not raise and subsequently proceeded to piss all over!!!!! I walked back out to the sinks and took a handful of wet and dry paper towels and cleaned the seat, all the while expressing my disgust and displeasure in words of no more than six letters addressed to the mannerless, ignorant, and socially deficient waste of oxygen. Not that it had any effect. Today I have written a formal complaint to the store manager and Giant's Landover HQ. This is but a single example of the behavior of the newest batch of, mostly young, mostly male, employees and their total lack of respect not only to customers, but also to store rules and regulations and common civility......Okay...I'm done...really!...lol)....

So I head into the shed and get set up for sleep and again my right foot becomes freezing cold to the touch and although I can warm it up this time, it takes about 40 minutes..

WTF>>>my time is not u

Well it's Sunday afternoon and I'm back after suffering a case of the 'Time Gremlins', (which at times infest the Baltimore County Public Library's computer network, telling me my time is used up and I spent 180 minutes on the system when I had not and refusing to let me back in), and then running into the lifeform 'Bureauctaius Idiotus Obstructionus' who would not sign me back on at the desk saying "Well if the computer says you were on for your limit....you were", even after others began complaining of the same problem, and being vouched for by another librarian. So that is why you, loyal reader were the recipient of "Rantus Interruptus" and this post is a combined condensed "Readers Digest" weekend edition.....LOL!!

Yesterday after the computer/librarian fiasco I went over to Rachel's to give her her camera that was her Hannukah present. She was thrilled by it, especially that it was pink...lol. We could not find any batteries with a decent charge, (they are in the process of moving so who knows which box they are in), so the one's I had with me gave her just enough power and time to have it power-up and let her take one picture of me before it faded out. Her mother is supposed to get a package to day, or I will tomorrow at Jenn's, but at least she got to see it at work once.

I then went into the basement and went through the bags and boxes that were being stored for me, throwing away three bags of clothes that were nothing but rags and three bags of assorted junk, crap, and drek that I had accumulated. I ended up with 1 Rubbermaid storage bin that has to be gone through yet; 3 boxes of pictures and papers; 2 boxes of HO train items for my grandson Ed; and a bag with coats and a scarf and a really good quality Tour Lion motorcycle winter weather suit...(maybe I can sell that on Ebay??)...and just about the only thing I have left of my father, a pair of boat shoes; and a box of assorted 'memories' ranging from bumper stickers to a Cub Scouts neckerchief slide and Boy Scout Jamboree patches from the '60s, to my qualifying certificate from Jump School and First Parachute Jump Plaque, to match books lighters and napkins of places I've worked and restaurants long gone....etc. Oh, Yeah, and 2 briefcases bursting at the seams of poetry, stories, notes and ideas waiting for editing, transcription, or completion.

I don't know which is most disheartening, what little there is, or what is missing forever....lost, stolen, trashed, pawned, or given away. Everything I own, these items, and including what is in the shed and at Jenn's would probably fit into a

3 Ft. x 3 Ft. x 3 Ft. box.......

Either............a shining example of non-materialism at it's best?.....or.....a pitiful collection of possessions defining a life of lost opportunities? Oh well

Last night, (Saturday), after leaving the Starbucks at closing time and getting caught by the onset of the rain as I was walking over to the bus stop, (But I planned for it this time, wearing the old boots, which are at least water resistant still...lol!), then taking the buses to Pikesville, Allan pulled up as I was getting off the bus near the gas station. He had called a few times shortly before while I was on the bus, but I had the phone on silent and missed the calls because I really did not want to talk to anyone. (The rain, the reality, & the depression that was slowly coalescing like this morning's fog were putting me in an extremely isolationist mood, and I also just wanted to read the book I am into as long as I could and fall asleep....not getting much rest the previous 2 nights.) I said hello and waved him off, and the look on his face added an accent of guilt to the slowly churning emotional stew bubbling inside my skull. I'll try to call him tonight, I guess.

Anyway, once I got the water deflectors arranged in the shed and lay down, the warm temps. last night were a blessing and I did not hear a thing until 8:00 am. this morning when the slick roads caused a crash nearby....one hell of a wake up call LOL!!! and the sirens were an added boost!

Okay times up for real now

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

"The Truth About Panhandling"....Although Not The Truth, The Whole Truth...And Nothing But The Truth;.....So Help Me 'Supreme Being'............"

Good Afternoon;
This is a link, (as is the title of this post..?), to a letter/comment to an article in the Washington Post about panhandling.....

The Truth About Panhandling

The story was titled "Panhandling: The Uncomfortable Truths And Lies" and appeared November 30, 2010. (There is a link to the story in the start of the letter).

They give some, and I repeat...some...insight into panhandling, from the view of outsiders, both positive and negative.

It also illustrates a theme that I have been touching on since I started writing this blog 2 years ago, the simple, basic acknowledgement of our existence and our humanity, and the boost to self esteem that it can deliver. One thing that they do not seem to comprehend is the difference between being given money, which allows for options and choices and the feeling that one has some modicum of control over one's life, however small......and the at times degrading sense of helplessness and despair that comes with some peoples gifts by their attitudes of 'take what I give you and be grateful, whether you want, need or can use what I give you or not'. I am not talking about the addicts and alcoholics, or scam artists, who are feeding their habits by any means possible or only out for a buck, and I am also not saying every charitable person has that attitude. I'm just saying that there are as many reasons to give money as not to, and generalizations do not reveal the whole picture.

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

"Fresh Cut Steaks And Flash Frozen Fingers........&.........Snail Mail Update..........."

Good Morning;

Just a short entry for now, I'm on my way over to Jenn's to shower and do laundry and get some lunch. She said she'd spring for the really nice steaks if I would pick up a few items for her at the Giant with my gift card, (bread, mayo, tuna...etc. for the kids lunches)....works for me!

I was at the Plaza subway station last night waiting for my connecting bus to take me up to the shed when Allan called looking for someone to talk to. He met me at the gas station and we sat for an hour or so and chatted. One leg and one usable arm and he still is out and about, at least they are on opposite sides so he balances out....lol.

It was cold last night in the shed and I woke up every hour on the quarter hour and rolled over and looked at the time, pulled the blanket back over my face and went back to sleep. At 9:15 am. I got up, packed up, "locked" up and went to Giant and spent 15 minute running warm water over my frozen, aching fingers, trying not to scream with the pain. COLD WEATHER SUCKS!!!

Gotta get a bus......

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

P.S. to L.G.

Dave......

c/o 6527 Eberle Drive = Apt. 103

Baltimore, Maryland 21215

(Or for anyone else who wants a copy of 'Talespinner'

my book of poetry, $10.00 or however much you wish to donate,

[in a U.S. Postal Money Order please, some other M.O.s are impossible to cash]

Or for anybody sending Christmas cards etc., this is my new Mail Drop address)

"The Boots Were A Bust..............."

Good Afternoon ......Again;

It is getting colder and the wind has picked up even more, I am so overjoyed winter is here early....NOT!

So I took the bus to Prologue and My caseworker and I and her teammate went to the Walmart in Owings Mills, which is one of my favorite stores, with happy and helpful staffing, neat and tidy fully stocked shelves and racks with a wide variety of merchandise, a complete range of sizes in all styles and colors, and always plenty of cash registers available. I'm always able to find what I want and need, and plenty of it, every time I am there.

(Too much? Yeah I know sarcasm should be sharp and swift and too the the point, like a rapier; not beaten to death and beyond, as with a bludgeon.........LOL!)

There were no boots that fit me at all, in any style or size or width combination. In fact there were no 11 & 1/2 boots at all! And no size 11 except extra wide. Depending on the cut and style I can usually wear a 10 & 1/2, or 11, or 11 & 1/2; using a wider or smaller width to compensate. Not here, either crushed toes or slipping and sliding heels and insteps. Needless to say I was not happy, and this type of shopping trying on 20 pairs of shoes and getting more and more frustrated brings on the damn anxiety attacks. I did get a pair of jeans, the ONLY pair in my waist and inseam size in the store. Of course they have a damaged but still functional zipper, (the 'pull tab' is bent out wards at a 90 degree angle at the end...weird), but they'll do. By the end of this experience I was soaking wet and trying like hell to keep from hyperventilating, and my field of vision kept narrowing ever smaller. I think I kept most of it hidden, because I really did not want to freak out in front of my caseworker, (and her partner), there is not the close rapport that I feel the previous person and I had, and I am always a feeling a bit on edge as it is.

Anyway, when we stepped outside and walked across the wide open windswept parking lot, you can imagine the thrill as the cold hit my damp clammy body....lol. I had left my heavy coat and vest in the car because it was too bulky to keep putting on and off or carrying around while trying on clothes and boots.....yaeh.....big mistake........lol! They dropped me off here at the library and now that I am dried off I am going to get something to eat, (for the first time today, other than instant coffee), and something hot to drink.

Oh yeah, I also found out that the 60 days I am supposed to have to appeal my second denial of S.S.I. has passed....thank you very much JAI, I needed the Neurosurgeon's appointment and the Hematologist's also...so now I have to find out whether I can get an extension or have to start the whole process over again

I'll be back tomorrow at some point, when I am forced out of my nice warm cocoon

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

"Chili Today.........Hot Tamale!................."

Good Afternoon;

Well last night was the coldest night so far this season, 20 degrees, (though tonight is expected to be a few degrees chillier yet), and once I got the 'burrito bed' arranged and slid myself inside I was about as warm as an Aji or a Cayenne pepper, around 40,000 units on the Scoville scale, a rating of 7. This is actually an average because my feet were double wrapped and topping out at a Habanerro or Scotch Bonnet, 250,000 units, a 9 rating; and my nose was at the bottom end, a Cherry or a Mexi-Bell about 250 units, a 1 rating........LOL!

The water in my water bottle froze almost solid, and the Power-ade, because it was at room temp. when I brought it into the shed only had moderate sized icebergs floating in it. I had to keep adjusting and readjusting the blanket around my face because being so soft it would not stay in a position that allowed the air to enter. So it was freeze the tip of my nose or wake up suffocating all night long....lol.

I need one of those cone shaped neck collars the vet. puts on a dog to keep it from licking or biting at a wound.....but reversed!....LMAO!

I had a call from Allan again last night asking if I wanted a ride from the Starbucks, and he met me and I emptied some of the accumulated debris from his car for him and then ran into the Giant and bought a piece of cake for him. Between the false left leg and the busted all to hell right arm in a sling and the walker, getting in and out of the car for even such a simple thing is real chore for him. We sat and talked for an hour or so before I went into the shed, and I was glad to be there for him so he could unload some of the weight and pressure that he is carrying. We are close, but yet we are not too close, so there is sort of 'neutral buoyancy' between us that acts as a buffer.

It was about 11:30 pm. when he left and about Midnight when I got to sleep for the first time. Just about every hour on the hour I woke up and readjusted and fell right back to sleep.

I finally got up and out about 11:00 am. after warmomg my clothes and dressing and then rolling and folding, etc. The walk to the Giant is only a few dozen yards away, but as soon as I closed up the shed and came around the corner the wind picked up and it felt like a mile. Did you ever notice how much farther and colder it seems when your destination in sight.....and you really, really, really have to go to the bathroom?......lol!!!!

I have to go now and get a bus down to Prologue to meet with my caseworker. I have to check on some filing deadlines and then Hopefully, go to Walmart and find a pair of boots. Shopping is not my forte', and my feet are so damn hard to fit properly. Not to mention that they are so flat that a foot doctor wistfully told me that they made him homesick for his boyhood home on the prairie......LOL!

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

P.S. To L.G.

I'll post the new mailing address next time I'm online.

My e-mail is at the top of the page in the Intro., Please send me your e-mail, so for privacy and security, you do not have to use the 'Comments' to send me your address for me to send you a copy of my poetry,

Thanks...

..........D.

" Allan ........Again......"

Good Afternoon;

Regular readers of our blog here will recall my writing of Allan C. who I met at the Owings Mills Starbucks about a year and a half ago and to whom I became somewhat of a confidant and then pretty much of a BFF....lol. We were both in need of a male friend of the same generation, (he's only 5 years older), and similar experiences, (though he is not homeless), who we could relate to and bounce ideas off of. I lost touch with him during the 'Month Of Snowstorms' (Feb.-Mar. 2010). When I last saw him he had been operated on for a broken foot and it was noty healing well, (he is a diabetic). I ran into him at the coffee shop about a month ago and we started to catch up. After fighting an infection in his foot, he ended up losing his left leg below the knee, developed a nearly fatal MRSA infection, went into kidney failure, pulled out of it through dialysis, was fitted with a prosthetic leg and foot, went through physical rehab, was discharged, lost his mother (to a stroke or heart attack..?), and was 2 days out of the nursing home/rehab when I saw him. We were in contact for a week or so and the last time I saw him was at Whole Foods as he was sitting in the cafe' with his head on the table. He said he had fallen on a stone, he is using a walker still, but he would be okay. That was a month ago. It turns out he broke his humerous in 26 places!! He has had surgery and a plate in his arm, but he met me at Starbucks last night and gave me a ride back to the shed and we sat and talked for an hour or so. I just saw him at the library and he says now the doctors are talking about a shoulder replacement!!, Not to mention the kidney transplant that is inevitable they said.

Holy Sh&T!!!

It keeps me in perspective about my troubles

Lateer.........Dave

"Give Love To Those Who Gave..................."

Good Afternoon;

Well I'm starting to recover from the depression brought on by the loss,...in the last 3 minutes of the game....as usual!!,... the Ravens to the Steelers. I gotta stop getting my hopes up so high and the adrenaline build to such an extreme level, the resultant crash and endocrine hangover is almost as bad as going through detox.....(LMAO!!!)

I made a comment on a story in the Las Vegas Sun, (www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/dec/05/dignity-hurtful-speech/allcomments/ ), {you may have to click on the "Homeless Part 3" video, then scroll down below to the "Indignity Of Hurtful Speech" link to get the text story and the comments page}, that I was referred to by the invisible.tv site on Facebook and I would like to welcome and thank the slew of new visitors who stopped by to check out my little bit of self indulgence here, that I like to call my "Exercise In Exorcism".....lol.

[And to 'Anonymous', Read from the archives of the blog and you will find the answers to your questions and clarifications to your misconceptions]

It is quite amazing this here new fangled Internet, enabling a dialogue with people across the country and around the world. I am very happy to see all the 'out-clicks' to various sites I post and the interest in the plight of the homeless across the country. It is fascinating to read and listen and watch the differing and divergent viewpoints of folks in other areas and especially climates regarding the homelessness situation and proffered solutions and opinions. It is one way to measure the attitudes towards and the many misperceptions of the homeless in general and to illustrate and share ideas and responses that are 'outside the box' in many cases, and succeeding where traditional or bureaucratically stagnant answers fail. It also exposes people to the fact that although many of those who are currently homeless are within the realm of the stereotypical public perception of alcoholics & addicts, or the severely mentally ill dumped directly to the streets to fend for themselves during the Reagan/Bush years, there are many, many more who are classed as the 'nouveau homeless' brought to their current level by the credit crisis and the resultant drastic spike in both job loss and foreclosures.

Then there are those who have been cruelly used and used up by the society that professes to love and honor them....then abandons them with a 'Thank You, Great Job...just don't tell us the truth about it because it might upset folks and tarnish our image', and a 'No Blood?-No problems!' attitude.

Our National shame, the largely hidden number of homeless veterans out on the streets.

And with that I am going to segue into my appeal for your support of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

www.nchv.com

A clearinghouse of information and services, legal support, and a resource of laws and legislation, in effect and proposed, affecting our troops and the men and women who are now back, on the streets, and in need of our assistance.

Today is December 7th, 'Pearl Harbor Day, a day to remember and memorialize those fallen in one of the most devastating attacks against our country, and one which had the power to debilitate our military effectiveness and morale....if we had let it.

But to the surprise of Japan and the world at large, but not to those in our country, our parents and grandparents, who took it upon themselves to prove the world wrong and not only rebuilt and renewed our military and industry, but turned our country into the world's first super power. The men who fought and returned were welcomed home as the heroes they were, and those who died were honored and remembered for their sacrifice.

Is it any less important and crucial today not to honor and support our veterans? Is their sacrifice any less deserving?

Did we learn nothing from the lessons learned by the shameful and disgusting treatment of the men and women who served in Vietnam?

Another war, 2 wars, in distant lands, against an enemy foreign not only in nmae but in nature. Yes, these days our troops are welcomed at the airport with bunting and brass bands, but then they are told to reintegrate into society, and don't upset or scare anyone with stories or memories of buddies being blown in half, and losing legs or dying, by often unseen enemies. Go back to your old job, if it still exists, and make like nothing is different. Is it any wonder some of them can't relate and function 'normally', and that some end up on the streets, unable to understand and misunderstood by those once closest to them.
And until recently the government refuse to acknowledge that there was even a problem.

So, again.....

www.NCHV.com

I'm outta time........

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

"Random Noise............. & ..................Gusty Winds..............."

Good Afternoon;

So I'm back at the library on the desktop computer where it is much easier for me to both type and compose, (except for the woman next to me who is talking on her cell phone again playing cards online...for some reason she is allowed to spend hours on the phone, Everyday!, when everyone else is told to go to the lobby for any extended conversation....it's time to complain to management, it is not equitable or fair, and she can get loud and annoying when she fusses at her partner....and then there are the Russians across the aisle who always act as if they do not understand English and ignore the posted signs.....the library just ain't what it used to be......lol.), than on the laptop at Jenn's. Part of it is because I always feel that Tom is pissed off and only barely suppressing his annoyance, (but then he is always pissed off at something...but that's another story), and part of it is that there is no place in the apartment to get the proper height and angle an seating that is comfortable.

Anyway...it is cold as a polar bear's butt out there! Mostly, it's the wind chill that is the problem. When I left Jenn's I had to stop by the shed and secure the door that had blown open yesterday night when the wind picked up. I had only wedged it when I left there in the morning because it was calm at the time. I jury rigged a latch out of two shelf brackets and a bent screw that I can lift from the outside by inserting a knife in the crack of the door and lifting....or when that gets too frustrating in the cold and dark...I can just slam my shoulder into the door and pop it open...LOL! It will keep it shut against anything but gale force winds or above though...lol!

Tomorrow I am supposed to meet my caseworker from Prologue and headout to Walmart to look for boots in the afternoon, I'll let you know how that turns out.

I also have to ask her to look in my file and tell me the date I have to file my appeal to Social Security for S.S.I. in by. The fiasco with JAI has screwed up the timetable because I wanted to have the Neurosurgeon's report, and the hematologist's also, first. I hope I get the appointment/referral soon

.

I'm out of here for now, I guess it's the Starbucks until close then the shed

and my self made coccoon until morning.

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

P.S. I have not been able to get together with Rachel yet, she was over her bubbies yesterday,and was running a fever today, and the whole household is in an uproar trying to pack everything up for the move into their new apartment next week.

Which is on the way to the coffee shop, and near enough to walk on a nice day, and on 2 bus routes too. I will be able to see her much easier and much more often!...hooray!!!

Homeless man’s death shakes family, friends

Good Morning;
In the story below a minister from Providence Ministries makes a statement that "He KNOWS..." that if you give a homeless person money
they will spend it on alcohol or drugs. Then he talks down about how some of us won't come into shelters because of the rules and regulations.
The article also goes on to say that they have a'disciple based recovery program'.

Nothing about individual problems, or the dignity each human being craves and deserves...It's no wonder many people choose to stay away.

Homeless man’s death shakes family, friends

I'm at Jenn's and Devin wants her snack now...gotta run the 'boss' is getting impatient.
Later...................Dave

"Cold Comfort?.........................In Need Of 'Southern Comfort Is More Like It!..............."

Good Afternoon;

Well it's time to break my old familiar and and oft' uttered phrase;

"COLD WEATHER SUCKS!!!"

And feel free to quote me on that!

With daytime temperatures for the week predicted in the mid to upper 30's and nighttime temps. in the mid to upper 20's, today's cloudy, grey, and dreary skies are a perfect reflection of my opinion. And it's not even winter yet! Thank goodness there is no snow forecast, (although when I went into the Giant you would have thought a blizzard was coming!.....crazy crowded, and every one had bread, milk and TP in their carts!....Oh?..Wait what's this? I see now I overlooked the small type at the online weather page...."a SLIGHT chance of flurries"....LOL!!).

Sleeping in the shed as I am, one would think that this would be the thing I hate most about the cold. Actually, once I'm in the old bag I'm set; warm, dry and cozy with only my face, (or on the coldest nights just the tip of my nose), exposed, and on some occasions I have to unzip the bag and position the folds of the blanket to allow body heat to vent and dissipate...(are you surprised?....after 2 years of reading this?.....producing an excess of 'hot air' should be obvious....LMAO!!!).

No, the worst times, other than being out in the weather day or night, is having to crawl out of the bag and get dressed, especially if I do not have time to grab my pants and pull them inside with me to warm up first. Then, the packing, rolling and folded needed to store and stash my bedding every morning, (I would love to be able to leave everything out and just dive in in the evening, but between a lack of security and the chance of a weather related roof malfunction...it's not an option), and securing the door as much as possible, by the time I am done my hands are numb, (I can't use gloves for most of this). Having to answer nature's call in the middle of the night and the nightly ritual of laying out the bedding and putting on my sleep wear switch back and forth for second place.

Putting on cold shoes, especially boots with the leather stiff and unyeilding, and tying laces with fingers that feel as fat, swollen, and as dextrous as blutwurst is no thrill either.

I really miss the Starbucks (that closed in May of 2009) that was the main reason I first moved in to this shed 2 years ago. It was less than 30 yards away and with a pair of 'single seater' restrooms that locked for morning ablutions and dressing rooms, plus being central to pahrmacy, foodstore and library. It was also the source of quite a few chance meetings with regulars who came to be good friends and supporters. Ahh......'Nostalgia'......lol.

Anyway....On Friday I DID make it to JAI and got the address/appointment mess corrected. Guess what?.... The address in the computer WAS the one I had changed it to?!?! WTF!!!??? So "how come the mail is still being sent to the old address?" I asked. The knowledgeable and informed answer was.........................wait for it......................................."I dunno"...!!!

Am I surprised?....HA! The appointment I have with my PCP, (who does NOT do the scheduling, just put a note on the chart for [return in - 7 days, 30 days, etc.]..) for tomorrow, Monday the 6th at either 2:45 pm OR 5 pm., which were both written on the card, and which I was told over the phone was for December 12th is actually on January 12th 2011, or so says the new apointment card I was given. I'm going to call tomorrow to see what date I get given then.The 'scheduling coordinator' was gone for the day so I have to wait for the mail to see when the neurosurgeon and hematologist appointments are.

Since I had to watch the grand kids on Saturday I went to the coffeeshop and stayed until closing and then took the bus to the Plaza Giant and killed some time until I was sure they were asleep, (and found a medium size frozen pizza on clearance/discontinued item sale for $1.50!!!, it's a shame Jenn's freezer is so tiny and full or I would have bought them all, and it was damn good too, sliced mozzarella with choppd tomato!), then got over there about 10:30 pm. It was not a good night for sleeping between the insomnia I had going on at full speed and then when I was ready to sleep the worry about my son-in-law who was not home from a DJ job in Gettyburg yet at 4:00 am. He was finally able to get through on his cell to Jenn and told her he kept almost faling asleep at the wheel so he had to stop for a while. She sat up and 'talked him down' for the rest of the drive, and i was sitting up keeping her awake...lol.

Saturday was a fairly tense day, what with the lack of sleep and Edward in 'Full Goose Gonzo" idiot phase. Trying to keep him in check and not lose what little sanity I had left was an effort. After the funeral Jenn and Tom got back and passed out for a couple hours and I let them sleep. I had been planning to shower and leave, but they were both wiped, (so was I, but Tom had to work that night and Jenn had a family X-mas party to take the kids to), so I stayed and showered after they both left and had some time alone with the cable and the remote. Jenn got home and I was about to hit the door when she asked if I minded while she went to the Giant 'for a minute' to get milk for the morning, then Tom got home and I kept the kids out of his hair while he unloaded the truck, so I ended up leaving about 10:15 pm. to go catch a bus, (which was 20 minutes late of course), to the shed.

Once I got settled I tried to read and gave it up after reading the same sentence 20 times and not remembering any of it. The phone rang about 11:30 and I just ignored it with out looking at. I woke up at 8:30 am. and crawled out shivering and shaking so bad when the air hit me that it was luck not skill that kept my pants legs dry....lol! I dove back in the bag, there being no pressing reason to get up on a Sunday morning, and took my morning meds andfell back asleep until 10:30 am. when I started to get up.....it was 1:39 pm when I looked at my clock next, it must have been aliens kidnapping me...that's the only explanation I can figure for the time gap.......LOL!!!

Okay, times is up and the library is about to close.

I'm going to bundle up and get the bus over to the coffee shop and kill a few hours.

It sucks that it is full dark already at 4:30 pm. these days!!!

I have to watch Devin tomorrow around 9:30 am. while Jenn and Tom meet with their priest....and I'm thinking of seeing if I can come over after the kids are asleep again, 9:30-10:00 pm. or so. Getting moving and catching a bus first thing in the morning, in the cold, to be there in time is not appealing, and you see how much I can be relied on to get up and out.....LOL!

See you at some point tomorrow,

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

"Snug As A Bug In A Rug..................AND...................More.....'Idiocy In Action'.............."

Good Afternoon;

So...I've got my bag and blanket system down so sweet that I had Tom drop me off at the shed when he came home at 11:30 pm. last night rather than spend the night on the couch at Jenn's! Warm, snug, and cozy, (except for my fingers which became numb), I finished the book I was reading, ("I,Sniper" by Stephen Hunter), at 2:30 am., pulled in my hands and cinched the top of the bag tight around my collar and stuck my tingling fingers underneath me to warm them up, (basically lying there with 'my thumbs up my butt'....lol....figuratively that is....geez, some of you have such dirty minds.....LOL!!), and luxuriated in the contrast of the warmth of my body and the chill nip of the upper 20s degree air on my forehead, nose and mouth, (the only parts of me exposed to the air by the hoodie I had on).

I was welcome to stay at Jenn's but the idiot up stairs always seems to turn on the ghetto music after 11:00 pm. at night, (and don't get me started about when he comes home drunk with the delicate and graceful 300 lb. 'baby's mommas' he prefers, whose size 13-EEEE extra wide 6 inch platform heels create thunderous boom and echoes as she stumbles through a strip tease and lap dance routine before they stampede into the bedroom and collapse onto the bed, which creaks and groans in near catastrophic failure.....[but the bedroom is over top of Jenn and Tom's bedroom so I only hear the muffled residual cries, screams, and crashing from that]......LOL!), and it is either thumpa-thumpa-boom loud enough to bang on the ceiling to legitimately complain about 20% of the time, or, like last night, 80% of the time it is barely noticeable in the middle of the room but due to the shoddy construction of the apartments sets up a harmonic in the walls that is subliminally annoying and perceptible enough to subconsciously penetrate sleep, and of course the couch and/or the recliner is always near a wall, no matter how the room is configured. Add to that the 'morning madness' and the fact that my hips and side have been bothering me....and the shed won, hands down. The only problem was that I wanted to get up earlier than I did and go to JAI....oops, oh well, I HAVE to be there Monday anyway....

or do I?......I just called as I am writing this and asked what time my appointment is, because I cannot decipher the time on the card, is either 8:45, no am. or pm., or 5pm. on 12/6/10. The receptionist who answered the phone says I have an appointment on December the 12th, (and I forget the time already, because of a combination of arguing with her, frustration, and my CRS). I am signing off here in a few minutes and taking the bus down there to get this straightened out in person. I also have to ream their incompetent asses out about the screwed up neurosurgeon referral and appointment they mailed to the wrong address, (and another piece of mail AFTER the correct address was given them),......if it was not for my Doctor.....I'd not be in the damn 'hood where they are at all. The clerical people must get their training at "Shaniqua's School Of Medical Records Training, Hair Braiding,.......And Mandatory Walk-In Lobotomy Clinic", with graduate work at the MTA and D.S.S.!...(NO LOL!!!!!). Simply F*ckin' Loverly!

Anyway...between here and Jenn's yesterday afternoon I went to Starbucks and ran into Rebbecca, the nanny, who was all excited over an 11th hour job/family interview/screening she was about to go to bt Patterson Park. I don't know whether any of the resources I pointed her towards were involved or not, but she was grateful for my support and help. I showed her the best way to get to where she could take a taxi to the people's house, which they said they would pay for, without running up an outrageous fare, which may or may not be good for 'brownie points' with them.

I have to watch the grandkids again tomorrow morning while Jenn and Tom go to the funeral of the sexton of their church, (yes I am Jewish and so is Rachel and Jenn is Anglican....more on that another time...lol), who had been there seemingly forever and was liked by all. I'm going to the coffee shop after I raise hell at JAI in a bit, then I'm heading over to Jenn's after it closes and the kids, hopefully are asleep. I am spending the night so I can ride herd on them in the morning while Jenn and Tom get ready to go out.

Tomorrow being Saturday, and Edward having no school, should be less hectic and crazy, or at least the craziness will start after dawn...lol. I will also most likely be up watching the cable late, so the noise should not be an issue...and if it is...it will be late enough for a 'legal' or 'legitimate' intervention....and most likely piss Tom off too.....LOL!

Last night while I watched the kids and showered etc. Jenn went to Target. She had told me about a digital camera from Polaroid that was an 'in store' sale only. I told her to check it out, ask about, and if she thought it was a good fit for her sister, (Rachel), to pick it up. She did, and as a bonus...it's pink too......lol. I have to talk to Rachel's mom and see when is best to get it to her, since they are in the middle of moving out to a new apartment right now. It was around $22.00 on sale from about $45.00 and I think it will be well received, and easy to use.

Okay my time is up.....

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

" Attack Of The Inter-Galactic Illegal Immigrants................................ OR.....................Lo Quiero Taco Bell..."

Good Morning;

For real today, it's still 45 minutes until Noon.....lol!

It got cold last night! I was on the bus from the coffee shop to the Plaza subway station to transfer to the bus to the shed and just as I was passing Jenn's apartment complex I had the urgent need to use the bathroom. Since I had a 20 minute wait and at least a 10 minute bus ride ahead before I got to either the Giant or the gas station I texted Jenn and asked if I could run in and out between buses. While I was there I swapped my lighter jacket for my 'Big Ben', as the heavy lined denim coats made by S.U.I. (State Use Industries) and given to inmates are known as. It may not be fancy...but it works! (In fact, there are commercial manufacturers who put a few pieces of corduroy or flannel fabric on the collar and the inside of the cuffs etc. and sell them for designer prices....mine only cost me 14 months of my life.....lol!) It's 10 years old and the patch pockets are ripped but it is roomy enough to wear over layers of clothing and it's warm and rugged, so fashion be damned, I'll wear it.

It dropped into the mid 20s last night and did not bother me a bit, until I had to unwrap and unroll and unzip in a hurry to get up and pee in the middle of the night. I was comfortable, warm and cozy.....even if I did look like either a giant burrito or one of the 'pods' from "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"..................LOL!!

Okay...gotta run, Monkee just called and I have to run over to the east side to pick up my meds, then I have to stop by JAI on the way back and see if this address SNAFU can be resolved and get my referrals and appointments to the neurosurgeon, (the cold had my hand numb yesterday to the point where I could not work the buttons on my phone, and the right leg is getting steadily worse), and the hematologist, (I have been feeling a swelling in my right abdomen, that is tender almost to the point of pain....what's up with that???).

I am monster-sitting/showering/washing clothes at Jenn's this evening so I'm probably heading directly over there after JAI, instead of going to the Starbucks for a while..........unless I get extremely lucky with bus and train connections, and then find someone with an IQ higher than today's temperature at the computer at the doctors. Based on past experience......I'm not gonna bet on it......lol. Jenn says they'll be late tonight so I may be on the couch.....I have to see how cold it is and if the bus is still running or not. The question is a matter of balance of lateness vs. tension vs. comfort vs. convenience vs. 'morning madness' as to whether I crash there or not.

Anyway, Jenn did some research on digital cameras online for me, so I'm going to look that over because I want to get Rachel a decent, fairly rugged, not too complicated, inexpensive video/still camera for Chanukkah. The Little Tykes and Playschool ones seem too young for her and too simple, she would outgrow them quite quickly I think. She is already talking about uploading videos to her mother's computer and making photos on Bubby's printer. Advice and suggestions are welcomed, (Hey Craig, you've always been a techno-gadget guy.....any thoughts?).

Once I get meds and a bus pass for the month and plan food for the next week, the remainder of my cash is for Rachel's Channukah gift(s), so I'll be looking for a way to make some bucks real soon. I have an order for one more copy of the poetry book, so that's at least $10.00. Anybody want to buy one...makes a nice gift for the wordsmith or poet? Support the arts AND help the homeless AND get a material return for your money? $10.00 if we meet somewhere and I hand deliver it, $10.00 plus the cost of an envelope and postage if I mail it to you. (And if you want to increase the donation....well you are not going to hear any complaints from me......LOL!) I've got a new mail drop address, so contact me by e-mail or 'comment' for the update.

See you tomorrow, or maybe tonight if Tom leaves the laptop home.

Later.........Dave

P.S. Besides the

http://www.invisiblepeople.tv/

website I have found another interesting site that also has homelessness as one of it's focal points,

http://www.change.org/

(among many other legal and social issues), and a site that helps the homeless to get online in various ways, from e-mail to social media to twitter, in order to be able to access agencies or organizations and to stay in touch with family, and to be able to tell their stories too, it is

http://www.wearevisible.com/ ,

Look-Read-Think-Act

"Drip Dry.................And Through The Mangle.............."

Good Morning;

And I mean that only partly facetiously...even though it is 3:32 pm.,

I just got up an hour ago. Wow! Talk about tired, I was in the shed and had dripped, blotted, twisted, and wrung myself out by 10:30 pm. last night, having been caught in a short duration but intense downpour walking from the Starbucks to the bus loop at Mt. Washington. Of course I was equidistant from any form of shelter, ahead, behind, or to either side....lol. I was both too tired and too sore, (not to mention too old and too fat...lol), to run, and it was still warm at the time....so the hell with it I just kept strolling. My feet already resembled giant prunes because I had the 'leaky sneaks' on, having misjudged the time the rain would start. I had intended to read for a bit but the rain began to really come down and a cold front started coming through bringing with it very gusty winds and the combination of the two plus the steady, monotonous, hypnotic rhythm of all the dripping leaks had a soporific effect lulling me to sleep. (Hmmm, if I was to record it and put it into a white noise generator/sleep machine....????).The 2 Dogfish Head IPAs at lunch and the fact that I slept about 45 minutes the night before at Jenn's may also have had a little to do with it....lol!

I woke up with the light on and sore as hell from the cramped position I fell asleep in, and from 3 out of the past four nights on Jenn's couch, (I think I have figured it out...more than twice in row or 4 times in a week, consecutive or not, and my body does not have time to untwist itself from the positions required to get comfortable....lol), around Midnight, turned off the lantern crawled into the sleeping bag, (the temps. were dropping rapidly at the time), and went to la-la land until 8:30 am. when the sound of the still pouring rain and the internal hydraulic pressure forced me to get up....or have a brand new 'water bed' of the wrong kind...lol. I took my morning meds and went back to sleep and the next thing I knew it was 1:35 pm.!

I took the old beat up, but generally water resistant boots and relaced them, (I use one of the heavy yellow braided laces as a 'belt' to tie around the beltloops of my jeans so I don't have that 'ghetto/thug/prison couture' look....lol!!), dressed and headed over to the Giant for some lukewarm instant coffee, (yes it's as bad as it sounds, they have turned the temperature of the 'hot...HA!...water down again, and to wash up. I grabbed a bag of potato chips that were on sale with my last buck to go with the 2 sausage egg and cheese muffins I snagged from the trash can at the coffee shop when the way to intense corporate clone shift leader was not looking. She is the one who would rather commit a moral crime and throw away an outrageous amount of donatable food items, (which, when I can I'll pass out on the train and the bus, because I cannot eat all I get sometimes nor store it safely), than break or bend any of the anile rules or regulations laid down by lawyers and bean counters. The other barrista just rolled his eyes and shook his head with a conspiratorial smile and looked away.

With the can of soda and the one instant coffee I have left, (and possibly the 2 beers I have had for the past 10 days but not really wanted), that will be enough food for today.

I should..(knock wood, cross fingers, rub the lucky, (for me not the bunny...lol), rabbits foot), get my little bit of monthly cash tomorrow. Thank goodness I held off on canceling my card when it went missing, or I'd be S.O.O.L. for another week or more.

OOPs....I'm out of time....see you tomorrow.

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

"Open Wide......................And Tell Me You Love Me........................"

Good Afternoon;

So after I left here yesterday I went to Monkee's and talked with her for a while trying to help her find a solution that is both confidential and affordable that will let her get away for '28 days' and still be able to return to work. It is tough out there for the working poor. Between keeping the house from foreclosure and finding a place the insurance will cover, and keeping the job, the functional addict can be caught in a cycle of Catch-22 interminably. In many ways tougher than for someone one the streets who can just surrender and walk away from the life they are living. What have we got to lose in such a situation? Getting clean can lead nowhere but up. I feel for her and thank God that it is the one major worry I do not have to deal with anymore.

I left there and went to the coffeeshop and talked with a young lady I recently became acquainted with named Rebbecca, who is in her own kind of hell. She is a professional nanny, a native of New York who lost her job here, (which means also her home), not too long ago due to the economy. When Mom is laid off, the nanny is the first thing to go. She made the mistake, (in hindsight...which is always 20/20!), of moving in with someone she thought was a friend, but as soon as her savings were depleted the friend turned psycho and gave her a week to move out. She has desperately been searching for work as a live-in nanny, which she has been doing for the past 13 years, but pickings are slim to non-existent. Some people are trying to take advantage of the current economic situation and offering only room and board and demand housekeeping work and the like, (including chauffeuring with no recompense for gas, etc.) with no pay. Vultures are everywhere!, or would it be jackals?

Anyway... I tried to steer her to the want ads in a few local papers and to JCS and some other sites online that may help. She is now 4 days away from the street in a strange city with no car. I have been there and done that and know the fear and terror that can overwhelm one....how much worse is it for a woman, I cannot begin to imagine!

I met Jenn after her HG and we went to the Giant and then back to her place where I crashed on the couch, so I could be able to get up early and shower and head over to BCCC by 9:00 am. for my final session with Michelle at the dental clinic....sighhhhh. Because this was a morning clinic I got be looked over by a different set of Instructors/Dentists, all three of whom were quite lovely and one of whom had the most delicate, gentle touch. Damn!!! you know I'm a lonely guy when staring into the eyes of a beautiful woman............while she has one hand on my jaw and the other on my cheek...pulling back my lip and peering at my gums is as close to Romance as I've been in years......LMAO!!!! A stranger that is, Michelle and I have been dear friends for the past 11 years, and there have been some wild times, so having her dig around in y mouth with pointy metal instruments is really kind of on the tame side....LOL!

After today's session she took me out to lunch at the Mt. Washington Tavern, (Kobe Burger and a couple of pints of Dogfish Head IPA...MMmmmmmmm!), and we sat and talked for nearly 3 hours. I then showed her thw back way to FedEx/Kinkos so she could have some laminating done for a school project, and afterwards showed her "the shed". It was an education for her.

She dropped me off her at the library, and now I am heading over to Jenn's to get my bags and then to the Starbucks.

Times up...Gotta Go

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

" A Grateful Weekend With 'Chef Rachel'....................."

Good Afternoon;

A belated Happy Birthday, (Anniversary?), We turned 2 on Thanksgiving Day!

So I hope everyone survived Black Friday?

My Thanksgiving started that after noon when I went over to

Jenn's [after they had left to drive to Dover, (across the Bay Bridge, not up I-95 and the infamous Toll Plaza where a 21 mile back up is currently par for the course), then US-301 to a mathematicians wet dream of Md. & Del. #ed Routes and side roads that only the locals ever call by name....LOL!, she said she'll never go I-95 again!], and Rachel came over about 2:00 pm. We had a wonderful weekend, just staying in the apartment except for 2 walks to the Reisterstown Plaza Mall, Saturday to the Giant, and then on Sunday to the payphone. We baked a cake and cupcakes and cooked dinner together, (and Rachel made me a variety of dishes using the plastic toy food and vegetables, with the Tea Trolley from Devin's 'Beauty And The Beast' tea set as the stove, and the plastic toy fireman's helmets from a visit to a firehouse as mixing bowls....what a great imagination. We talked and played and watched movies and TV and snuggled. It was a wonderful and sorely needed weekend alone with her.

She left about 4:30 pm on Sunday and Jenn and Tom and the kids showed up 15 minutes later, earlier than expected because Tom had a Kung Fu lesson that he did not mention to Jenn, (who could not let me know), until they were at the hotel. I finished the laundry I was doing, (mine, and the sheets and towels and odd items that I had in for her), played with the kids and listened to their stories for a while, then caught the 7:00 pm. bus out to the shed. It was a matter of no money and no place else to go, so I just crawled into the bag and read for a while. I turned off the lantern before 8:00 pm. and woke up at 11:45 pm due to a full bladder and a cold right foot. The rest of the night I tossed and turned, with my feet, mostly the right one, either cold, or, when I had wrapped them, and after that unfolded the big blanket and wrapped the whole sleeping bag using the excess to triple wrap my feet, constantly tingling and/or numb. I fell into a fairly solid sleep about 7:30 am. waking at 10:30 am. and getting up, dressing, and packing up. I stepped outside and it was much warmer than in the shed, I had forgotten how it holds the cold as well as the heat. I went to the Giant and as I walked over it took about 10 minutes for my hands to warm up and stop tingling. My feet felt as if they had become swollen and walking and balancing was like having footballs strapped to my feet. I really hope that I get this neurological referral/appointment soon, and that JAI has not 'effed' me up too bad with the holidays, etc.

That's it for now, I have a lot of running around to do, from the East side then back to JAI, than I am meeting Jenn at the coffee shop later. I have to reach Michelle to find out for sure what time our appointment is at the dental clinic tomorrow, (I THINK it is at 9:00 am., in which case I will be heading over to Jenn's late tonight to crash on the couch.......[just a bit of humorous homeless trivia here.... This weekend with Rachel I tried to sleep on the bed in Jenn and Tom's room again, and could not get to sleep until I went out to the couch, as lumpy as it is. In the past 2 years since I have been in the shed I have slept in a bed about 10 times out of 20 opportunities between Jenn's and some motel stays. Only twice was I able to sleep at Jenn's in a bed, and twice at the motel I ended up sleeping on the floor....lol. Between becoming acclimatized to the cardboard and the beat up beds I don't know what is going to happen if I get a chance to sleep in a decent bed....lol!].

I'll be back...???, maybe tomorrow evening, but I'm not sure. Michele said something about treating to a good old fashioned 'liquid lunch' after the demolition work on my bottom teeth....lol, so I may not be in any shape to type, (hopefully...lol). You wouldn't want me to get a BUI, (Blogging Under the Influence) would you?!? (it's the equivalent of DD, 'Drunk Dialing', and we know how THAT always turns out, do we not?!?........lol!

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