"Baggage And Boxcars................................"

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

"Mrrrrrrrrrr Oiiiiiiiiiiillllllllll......................"

Good Afternoon;

So I guess you can tell by the text color I'm at the library.

The laptop wouldn't let me online and I've not had the time or ambition to get to it yet today.

Another beautiful day, a bit warmer than yesterday but with low humidity again.

It would seem to be good sleeping weather but my whole body is just one big ache from Sunday night's unexpected E & E manuevers (escape and evasion...lol), and my joints are really insanely painful too. It's back to the doctor's next week, (or a walk-in if it get's worse before). This morning I felt like the Tinman before Dorothy gave him that hot oil massage and lap dance...(hey you watch version and I'll watch mine.......lol!)...and for a minute I thought my arm was going to snap off like a turkey wing being torn off a carcass by Henry the 8th. I literally thought it was going to break....this is something new, just what I need.

Yesterday was a 'good day', absolutely nothing happened worth writing about!...so I didn't.......lol.

Time is nearly up here so I am heading out to the Giant and then the coffee shop, where i am going to try to figure out wtf happened to the laptop between the time I shut it off last night at Starbucks and when I tried to go online in the shed this morning. I did have a viable Internet connection from the FedEx store, but I could not bring up any pages.....weird.

If I can't figure it out myself, I'm going to call Erik, from "Pikesville PC", www.pikesvillepc.com , who gave me the laptop and see what's up.

Later...........(hopefully)............Dave

" 'Poisoning Pigeons In The Park'....................And I Think I Swallowed Some........................."

Good Morning;

Just a pharmacological tip here, and a tiny rant;

Ranitidine, generic for Zantac, (150 mg. twice a day) is as about as useful for preventing or curing heartburn, indigestion, & gastroesophogeal reflux disease, (GERD), what have you, as tits on a boar!

I woke up at 2:45 am. in pain....and....out of Tums, which are not covered by the prescription plan of course since they are only $3.00 for 150 and the drug manufacturers and insurance companies can't gouge the government and or employers providing the health care plan enough to make a profit. And besides, the damn Tums work....quickly and effectively, thereby lessening the amount needed to buy.

I've been up, sitting up to try to slow the rising burning sensation in my chest by accessing gravitational forces, and listening to Tom Lehrer on two albums from the 1950s; his first from 1953, recorded in an hour for $15.00 in a studio in Boston- 'Songs of Tom Lehrer', and a live album from 1959, 'An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer' recorded at Harvard. Great old stuff, parodies, satire, and political and topical commentary. He was (is) a clever, talented, and witty musician/singer/songwriter, mathematician, teacher/lecturer, and TV writer.

Still funny and occasionally still topical over 50 years later.

I also wanted to stay awake until feeling and strength returned to my right hand and arm. Numbness and/or pins and needles and even though I could flex and operate, (though painfully) my fingers......I had--have, no--little ability to grip anything and hold or lift it.....even something as light as an almost empty plastic pill bottle, and my fingers were as dexterous as sausages, (I'm fumbling through this post left handed), I could not pick up a coin. I don't know if this related to the recurring pain that has returned just under my lower left rib cage, or if both and the low, low back pain are an aftereffect of the abnormal gymnastics I was performing Sunday night....but I was not going to attempt to get back to sleep until it faded or subsided, which the hand issues have.

Now I'm taking BP meds and my pain meds....it's a 50-50 crapshoot which way it will go, sleep or insomnia, they affect me both ways, with no pattern I can discern.

Oh well, see ya...hopefully not sooner...........but;

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

Oh simply friggin' lovely, now the right foot is numb as an Eskimo girl's knees after some quick nookie with Nanook!

"Outside Of First Watch With The First Post Of A People Watch............................."

Good Evening;

I'm sitting outside the First Watch Cafe on the bench in shorts and a tee shirt and I'm a little bit chilly, even somewhat cold every time the breeze picks up....AND I LOVE IT!!!!!...........lol!

I may have to put on the sweats that are not raggedly sheared above the knees tonight, or even slip inside the bag for a while. I could take this kind of weather for 80% of the year, no problem.

I'm getting caught up in the www.invisiblepeople.tv/blog/ just watching and listening to the stories from across the country.

Again, just mouse over and click to visit the site.

I have been taking notice of and meaning to write about some of the regular homeless people I see on the bus and the train, or in the Pikesville area almost daily. Particularly a couple who are suffering from some type or combination of mental illnesses, but who seem to be totally unaware that they are.

A lay diagnoses of personal observation and my own experiences as a baseline only, not a professional opinion, would be all that I offer.

One fellow I've seen for years in and around the area is Barry, who I think is about my age and who I've referred to as "Rainman", as in the movie of the same name. In part be cause he looks and sounds a little like Dustin Hoffman playing Raymond, and in part because of the similarity of his actions/symptoms. The repetitive sentences, the OCD movements, the lack of social skills beyond a certain range. He is also very smart, though I would not say a savant type, and his level is above that of the movie character in interacting with people...not way above, but above....lol. He sometimes goes into the city or where there is a holiday/ethnic/community festival going on and makes and sells balloon animals, and he is damn good at it. He also seems to hook up with women who are also 'not 100%' and who get a check of some sort, for a time and disappear for a while. It's as if they've reached a certain limit and can't deal with his incessant chatter....and so....seeya!

For most of last week and the week before he was sleeping at the library under the side portico, and on one occasion on the bench in front. He used to sleep under the loading dock of the Staples across from the gas station and on the same lot as the 'Dunkin' Dumpster'...(he was another donut diver)...until the office supply store moved out. I saw him when it was so hot out last week sleeping on the concrete on top of a unfolded cardboard box with his shoes off and in the open, and with his head and shoulders inside another still together cardboard box with the flaps torn off. He is normally somewhat paranoid, but was out like a light when I went past 3 times last week and called out his name meaning to offer him some of the extra pastries.....no response.

He used to be covered with bug bites last year from sleeping out under the loading dock, I know he has used the shower at Prologue, but will not use any other services. (As per his own words.). He also will not seek Medical Assistance or Foodstamps from D.S.S., and when he was given some sort of psych meds at the E.R. at the hospital refused to take them. Sometimes he used to travel with another homeless guy who also had some sort of M.I. issues, but who was taking his meds. I remember Barry getting all loud and out of control on the bus one day a few years ago when his buddy, (who is not around here anymore), suggested he should take meds. It got ugly and if they had not been getting off at the next stop....they WOULD have been getting off at the next stop.......lol.

I have not seen Barry around for a few days, I'm wondering whether his too visible choice of sleeping locales got him moved on or picked up.

Anyhow, this is all just me recording and reviewing what I've seen.

And I see that I need to recharge the battery, and that it is almost 1:00 am.,

so...I'm going sleep while the sleeping is good.

More maybe tomorrow on 2 other street 'seen' people from the area.

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

Tiny Cob House and Straw Bale Workshops plus Earthbag, Hemp and other materials

Good Evening;

I ran across this on FB, lots of really cool ideas for natural and sustainable houses, and links to lots of related sites. Many are too expensive or impractical for simple shelter type housing, but some are not. Also many ideas may be incorporated into standard or traditional construction methods and materials, or adapted to make use of what ever may be at hand.

Just mouse over and click on the link below, but if you get into this type of thing....prepare to spend some time linking around the Interweb....lol.

Tiny Cob House and Straw Bale Workshops plus Earthbag, Hemp and other materials

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

"Don't Drive Drunk.................You May Lose Your Car Keys!..............."

Good Evening;

So it's 8:00 pm. and I'm sitting here in the coffee shop trying to figure out where to get bus fare for tomorrow, (and the rest of the month, but 'one day at a time' as the saying goes to keep the stress levels down to a minimum).

I have meds, or active M.A. to get refills for the rest, and enough grocery credit to last the month, but cash is in short (as in none) supply. If push comes to shove, I can spend the next 3 weeks in and around the library, and hope to get Jenn to pick me up a couple times for showers or watching the kids.

Today I woke up cold about 4:00 am. and pulled the blanket off the shelf to cover up with. The cold front really made a difference with the humidity, and today's temps. and breeze made for a wonderful day. The next 2 days are forecast to be the same and you'll not hear me complain!

I was up at 9:00 am. and texted Jenn to see if I could come over for a shower asap. I was so funky I could not stand myself due to the weekends heat and humidity,.... and an incident that happened this morning just before it got light and I was walking back to the shed from the gas station. I had just come around the corner of the lot when a drunken a$$h0l3 lost control of his car as he was speeding down Reisterstown Rd. and tried to turn into the gas station entrance. He came up on the curb and across the sidewalk headed right at me and I grabbed the guy wire coming off the telephone pole and levitated my big, old, fat, white butt like I was Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympics on the uneven parallel bars, lifting my legs up and out of the way as the car skimmed the seat of my shorts! The driver kept going over the other curb, into the lot, missing the pumps by inches and stopped the car with the motor running and the door wide open next to the ice machine, (and out of sight of the windows and glass doors of the station), while he went and stumbled inside. I crouched there trembling as the adrenaline coursing through my system from the activation of the primeval lizard brain 'fight or flight' reflex drained away to a manageable level. After the tunnel vision, hyperventilation, and involuntary muscle spasms stopped........the rage took over. I began to surrender to the reflex but luckily as I bent over to pick up a piece of broken asphalt about the size of a brick........the reaction hit my back and I almost collapsed. Now, you may ask, "how is that a good thing?". Well I'll tell you....if I had not had that period of sudden intense pain to counteract my anger and distract me from my intended course of action.....I'd either be in jail, the hospital, or the morgue.

So what happened was.....'SOMEONE', anonymously reached in and took the keys out of the ignition, (his hand wrapped in a paper towel to avoid leaving any traces of his presence), and locked the doors and made sure all the windows were up, (and the car was the type with the metal frames all the way around the window too), and tossed the keys into the dumpster.....only scant seconds before the trash truck pulled up and emptied it and drove off. I, on the other hand quietly slipped back into the shed where I washed the 'fear sweat' off as much as possible....and eventually fell back asleep as my heart rate and blood pressure fell from nearly critical care levels to near normal.

That is why I not only desired but NEEDED a shower today.

Closing time here,

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

"Tropic Thunder...................................."

Good Morning;

Too tired to be clever....

This morning I got out early because of the heat and went over to RiteAid to pick up my BP meds, then rode the subway up and back for a couple hours trying to sleep and take advantage of the A/C until it was time to go to Monkee's and pick up other meds.

Went to Starbucks....it poured buckets, the humidity skyrocketed and is now dropping just as rapidly as is the temperature as a cold front moves through, though it looks like the rain will miss the area.

Talked with Rachel, she spent the day with her Bubbie and her Mom, so they never made it to the coffee shop.

Read, ate, listened to the steel drum band performing between Whole Foods and Starbucks, before and after the deluge.....laughed as two guys soaked themselves as they tried to dump the rapidly accumulating water from the two portable sunshade/dining fly/canopy structures hurriedly set up over the drums....left with a bag of 'hole foods' from the coffee shop...thanks guys...donuts and bagels....lol.

And that's it.

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

"Spontaneous Ejaculation................................"

Good Evening;

I'm sitting here melting into a puddle of oozing slime in front of the library, it's only 76 degrees but the dew point and humidity are way up there.

It has been a day of minor annoyances, starting with the thunderstorm and downpour this morning that turned a fair day into a muggy mess, continuing through with the poor timing and missed messages with Jenn that had me going back into the Giant as soon as I got out, and missing buses in the process, to the dry powder fire extinguisher at Starbucks that mysteriously and spontaneously erupted, spewing a nasty pasty white powdery fog all over everything on the side I was sitting, and in my lungs. I at first thought the power outlet was on fire because the dispersal pattern and A/C currents directed it along the wall at floor level, then rising where I was sitting, so I kicked the plugs of mine and another guy's power cords loose, bending them slightly. And up to this point and the stupid bugs that are swarming around me and landing and getting stuck to my arms and legs and face......and it's again beginning to thunder and lightning in the near north east.

Other than that it was a fine day, I bought some steaks and potatoes and broccoli and headed over to Jenn's and cooked and ate and showered and picked up my clean undies. We watched the Belmont Stakes, it was one muddy track... and I then headed over to the coffee shop. The bus driver was on this route for the very first time so we took some interesting detours and nerve wracking u-turns, and three point turns as the bus had to back up....IN TRAFFIC!!!

On the way back over here I listened to two 20+ year each drivers and light rail operators talking about derailments and operators falling asleep at the switch, etc.....the frequency of these things happening is so often that I am almost afraid to ride any of the trains!

As I was riding up on the #59 route to the library I was talking with my driver friend Simon from Kenya, a mutual friend and countryman of Daniel from the gas station. He said he had been thinking of me and wanted to know what's up with Social Security, he said he had had a feeling something eventful happened this week, (and I had not seen or talked to him since before everything hit the fan this week!). I gave him the rundown and as I was leaving the bus he handed me bus fare for 2 days, saying he noticed I had a day pass instead of my monthly pass. That was pretty damn nice of him! Both the gift, and noticing.

Okay I'm all "wrote out" now. If the shed is not too nasty I'll be watching my normal Friday line up of 'Criminal Minds' and 'The Unit'.

Tomorrow hopefully I'll be heading down to Monkee's early to pick up meds, as I am totally out of 'bupe'. I dropped off my BP prescription this afternoon and will be at RiteAid in the morning first thing to pick it up.

In the afternoon I am hoping Rachel's mother will drop her off at the coffee shop for lunch, if she is not at the pool. She gave me a full stroke by stroke and float by float rundown of her visit to the pool at her apts. today when I talked with her this evening.

Alright, done goodnight...

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

P.S. Wasn't that 'People Of Walmart' video friggin' awesome..... and scary as hell too! These people BREED.........prolifically.......................lol!

People Of Walmart Song

Good Morning;

And welcome to the combined Sociology and Circus Freak portion of our blog:

Please take 6 minutes out of your tired, overwrought, too busy life

to mouse over and click on the link below;

People Of Walmart Song

You can thank me later.... ;-)

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

"Maybe It's Not Exactly 'Manna From Heaven'..........................But It Beats The Hell Out Of .......'Donuts From The Dumpster'............... ;-)

Good Morning Again;

After signing off a little while ago I walked over to the shed and checked it out, surprisingly it's dry!? I then walked over to the gas station to wash up and Daniel told me that the hour or more of heavy rain only a couple miles down the road at Jenn's was barely 15 minutes of hard but quick downpour up here....ha!....big thanks for small blessings. On the way back to the shed I stopped at the payphone and just for sh*ts and giggles, not really expecting any changes, called the 1-800 # to check the balance on my Foodstamps card. Well thank goodness I did 'cause when the recording announced that I had nearly a full months worth of credit, (pro-rated from today through the end of the month).......I started giggling so hard I nearly sh*t myself!.................(LMAO!!!!!)

Again, I have to salute the efforts of Mr. Saunders at D.S.S., who very easily could have with all propriety just left the paperwork and the account to cycle through to the end of the month and have the July benefits reflect both June's pro-rated adjustment and July's full amount, (I've had and seen it happen that way before), but because of his compassion and empathy, took the added time and effort to fast track it.

Thanks Again Mr. S. !!!!!

Damn good timing too, I'm already tired of living on bagels up to now this month.....lol.

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

"Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow...................................."

Good Morning;

Well it's just past Midnight and I'm sitting outside the library composing e-mails, and writing poetry, (or snippets thereof....as my muse engages me), and being annoyed by flying ants and gnats with a death wish for 'suicide by inhale'.....lol!

This is one of the letters I've e-mailed tonight.

After a couple weeks of indecision and ambiguity, I realized that part of my alternating insomniac/narcoleptic sleep issues was the constant feeling of unease and growing discomfiture with my relationship with Prologue.....so;

To: Michelle P., Case Manager, Prologue Inc., Homeless Outreach Program

From: David B. C.

Re: Termination of services

Date: June 11, 2011

Shelly,

After some careful thought and soul searching regarding my current and future needs and desires, and Prologue's requirement that I transfer my D.S.S. case to a Baltimore County office from it's current Baltimore City status, I have come to the conclusion that I would be best served by a severance of our present connection and a termination of all services and representation.

At this time, any foreseeable relocation I will be making or considering, and any future mailing address that is practical, will be on or within the Baltimore City limits. The county D.S.S. offices are beyond my normal range and impractical also for reasons of time, travel considerations, and simple logistics.

I am appreciative and grateful for all that everyone associated with Prologue has done and tried to do over the past year. I hope that by removing myself from the active client register that someone else who is a better fit for your program may have a chance to benefit from your advocacy.

Thank you and best wishes;

Dave C.

As I stated in the letter, I am grateful, but for the above reasons and other, more personal ones, it was time to leave.

If/When I seek another organizations assistance, it will be one that has less stringent jurisdictional strictures, or if push comes to shove, one tied to Baltimore City, primarily because of public transportation access issues.

Anyway,

right or wrong, coming to a decision and taking action has given me a feeling of release...of the lightening of a figurative if not literal burden.

Battery is fading......so am I.....

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

"Almost Nine Months Wasted.......I Coulda Had A Baby,....................And Graciousness Begets Gratitude.................."

Good Afternoon;

So, yesterday was another ridiculously hot day, 100 degrees at the freakin' airport, which means that it was 103 at the Customs House which is the official measurement site for Baltimore City, and there are pockets in the city that get hotter than that. Then in the evening some serious thunderstorm action kicked in.

But first.....

I left the shed to go to S.S.A. at 1o:00 am. to find out the status of my claim and to get a statement to take to D.S.S. informing them of the still active status I thought I had. Well silly me, there I go thinking again! The case WAS inactive due to s denial in October of 2010!!!! When I asked about all the things I thought were done, such as the "request for reconsideration", the "..'good cause' filing deadline extension", and the "request for a hearing by an administrative law judge".....imagine my "surprise", which is putting it mildly, when I was informed that no records existed of any such filings. So the past 8 months have been a total waste of time and I, AGAIN!, am starting over from scratch.

Not A Happy Camper!

One bright spot rising above an ocean of sh*t was the S.S.A. worker who interviewed me and restarted the process, Ms. Brown. Some of you 'loyal readers' who have read the earliest posts may remember that one of the reasons I started this blog was in attempt to say thank you to and bring notice to both the known and unknown souls out there who reach out to help or go that extra mile to find a solution or an answer to a seemingly insurmountable obstacle or bureaucratic roadblock. So many in positions designed to assist or guide people through the maze of rules, regulations and paperwork required to get assistance obtaining the basic services needed to subsist are often deliberately obtuse or obstructionist that when encountering someone who not only does their job, but does it cheerfully and empathetically and even above and beyond their official duties. Sometimes by offering other options or possible avenues, sometimes by simply listening and allowing one to vent the built up frustrations at redundant or repetitive processes they are forced to go through. The worker at D.S.S., Mr. Saunders, was another who streamlined the process by the simple act of pulling a complete file and looking at it, where another would have requested more copies of things already filled out.

After leaving S.S.A. I went to Jenn's and dropped off my bags and walked down to D.S.S. with the the requested forms from S.S.A. I would have taken the bus but by the time one arrived I was almost there. I then had the pleasure of dealing with one of the aforementioned idiots in the previous paragraph. The woman at he desk told me I had to take a number when I asked if I needed to see the caseworker or could I just leave the papers at customer service and get a receipt. Well, after waiting an hour for 20 numbers to be called I finally made it to the desk......where the (deep breath.....calm.......calmmm.....), ahem, 'woman' told me, after barely glancing at the papers, that I need to leave them with customer service. When I confronted her and asked why the hell couldn't I have done that an hour ago when I first showed her the papers, she said that customer service was closed then.......which it was not!........at this point all the other people behind the desk looked at her very strangely and moved as far away as they could as the supervisor said to her,"No it wasn't, and you know that"........! I just stared at her for a loooooonnngggggg minute without saying a word, (though I may possibly have 'sotto voce' let slip the phrase 'lying c*nt'.........yeah well, I'm not perfect), as about 8 other people came up to the desk clamoring for the supervisor's attention with similar issues. At customer service I was in and out, over and done with in 5 minutes...with a receipt of acceptance.

I walked back to Jenn's house, and even though the heat was 100 degrees it did not feel as bad as 90 did today. I think it is more humid out there, especially after the damn rain last night and just now soaked the ground. I showered at Jenn's and ended up crashing on the couch because it was raining THAT hard everytime I needed to meet the bus. I ended up watching "Shark Boy And Lava Girl" for the umpteenth time with the grandmonsters. This morning I showered and gave Jenn some things to put in her wash load for me, and rolled out about Noon, using my next to last $1.20 for bus fare. After eating breakfast at Jenn's I have a couple bagels from Wednesday left and a few scrapings of peanut butter in the jar left for dinner. Tomorrow I'll stop by Jenn's at some point, when it is least congested in competition for the shower...lol, and pick up my clean undies and grab a bite to eat. The rest of the weekend is still an exciting game of 'Catch As Catch Can' or the "Leftover Lottery" regarding food. If it's not TOO hot, and I catch it on the way out the door, there is always the 'Dunkin' Dumpster'.....yummmmm donuts............LOL!

Anyway...........I'm done for now....and on the way back to the shed to see if the sauna has become a steam bath.

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

"Another Morning On The 'Group W' Bench................................."

Good Afternoon;

So......went to D.S.S. this morning before 9:00 am. and was seen by 10:15 am. and out of there by 10:45 am. They had the wrong address so the re-cert. appointment was sent out and I never received it. The Medical Assistance is still active either until or through October, I don't remember because I was focusing on the other 2 things. I think! my Foodstamps will be reactivated next month. The TDAP is tied to pending S.S.A. filings......and according to D.S.S. I have no active filings, only a denial last October?!? WTF!!?? I know I appealed that decision as it was one of the automatic blanket denials built into the system! I also filed in January for 'Request for Reconsideration' and an "HA-501-U5", 'Request for Hearing By Administrative Law Judge", which was sent of by FAX by my caseworker at Prologue.

Now I have to go S.S.A. at the Plaza and see wtf is going on. S.S.A. refuses to give Prologue any information unless I am present also, even though they are my authorized representative and have a signed release from me.

So what's the point of having them? I'm, being pressured to switch to the County

offices of D.S.S.....well, until I things straightened out and benefits restored, that's not MY priority. Which my caseworker's partner did not seem to grasp.

And I was so stressed out I made my own mistake today when I gave the D.S.S. rep. my mailing address and transposed numbers, which I noticed as soon as I got out of the car when they dropped me off and I immediately called the number of my rep. and left the correct address on his voicemail, and which I will also confirm in person. Hopefully tomorrow after I head down to S.S.A. I will be able to take a letter from them straight to D.S.S, which is 6-8 blocks away, walking distance if push comes to shove,....and I've walked between them plenty of times.

I sat down on the recliner at Jenn's and went into low power/standby mode, half listening to the grandkids and half sleeping. Then I went OUT!, I slept poorly last night and Jenn said I was also snoring so badly she came in to try to wake me and couldn't......even 3 year old Devin was reaching through the crib rails smacking at me......lol.

I'm here at the coffee shop now, half nodding off again, so....

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

It's decision time, ala "The Clash"................?

"Don Quixote,.................Meets Saint Jude......................."

Good Morning;

I'm on the way out the door of Jenn's house where I spent the night. I came over after the coffee shop closed getting here around 10:00 pm. thinking the kids would be asleep and there would be less commotion....yeah, rigghhtttt.....LOL! That's what I get for thinking, Edward is out of school so the sleep schedule is being readjusted so that Jenn gets to sleep in later in the am. A morning person she's not. I showered and ate and ended up talking to Tom until late and then could not get comfortable to sleep. so it was back and forth from the recliner to the couch all night long.

I am being picked up by my caseworker from Prologue and going down to D.S.S to try to get the TDAP, and Foodstamps, and M.A. problems corrected...then open a whole new can of worms by switching from a Baltimore City office to a Baltimore County one because Prologue is 'chartered' or whatever you would call it so that they get their grants to assist county residents.....like everything else in this country it's about getting paid.

The back is getting worse and so is the problem with my left foot, so it is a good thing I will be going to the doctor's ASAP to get more paperwork that is already filled out and in my file re-submitted and refiled from the doctor to D.S.S.

The temperature is again expected to be at or above 100 degrees today and tomorrow at least and maybe Friday too, I'm really looking forward to that. More late nights sitting outside reading until the shed is 'cool' enough to grab 2 or 3 hours sleep.

Okay I have to run now,

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

"More Random Ramblings..................."

Good Morning;

So it's quarter to 1:00 am. and I'm sitting on the cement steps outside the FedEx/Kinkos because the benches outside the First Watch have a piece of yellow plastic caution tape stretched across them. Hmmmm? Were they refinished today, or is this because they don't want me sitting there at night eating and doing the Wifi thing?

(I'm pretty sure that the security cameras have the benches in their field of view)

I'll see tomorrow morning...and when I come back at night, what's up then.

(I hope it's the refinish option....concrete is doing my butt and back no good....and let's not even think about my hemorrhoids,.........oy vey!.....lol!

As I was coming past he side of the library after dropping a book in the after hours return I saw 2 cars with their lights on stopped in the lot at odd angles, one with the door open, and a man nd a woman talking to someone near the pay phone. I heard a voice repeating the same statement and similar sentiments, "You're not bothering me, I don't mind if you sleep here" over and over, belaboring the point. I realized I knew the voice and it was Barry, aka 'Rainman' talking to another homeless guy who had stretched out his blanket near where Barry has been sleeping recently, under the overhang on the side of the library. I don't know what the folks in the cars were doing, but they did not seem to be rousting them.

I had once considered sleeping there, but I felt too exposed....I try to follow the 'out of sight-out of mind' philosophy, (and 'stay out of sight when I feel like I'm going out of my mind' also), for safety, security, privacy, and the avoidance of possible confrontation due to mistaken identity, or annoying or antagonizing those members of the public who go all 'nimby' at the thought of a homeless person in their neighborhood, and/or forcing a neutral police officer to take note of a presence, and 'SEE' something he/she would usually let slide.

Especially if there are 2 people, which could lead to an influx of complaints.

Today it was really tough getting up off the ground, my back and leg were sore as hell. It was another wake up at 8:00 am., and reach full consciousness at 11:00 am. day....if I'm not up and dressed and moving when I take my morning meds....that's what happens 6 times out of 10.

I went to the Giant and washed up and bought a big jug of Sunny-D for a buck, because I feel like I need more vitamin C. I then ended up spending the next 3 hours either waiting for buses which never showed, waiting for the subway which was running all screwed up, or sitting in a subway car waiting for it to begin moving again while it sat in the tunnel or on the elevated section, between stations, before getting to Starbucks about 2:30 pm.

I talked with my new friend Visa (sp.?) about her daughter who is a budding Olympic hopeful swimmer and asked about the infestation of young girls from the pool last weekend. She did not know what that was all about but told me that this weekend there is a very large swim meet drawing girls,(and boys I assume), from all over the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

I better stock up on saltpeter so I don't get overstimulated and blow out an already damaged cardio-pulmonary system....lmao!

Okay, gotta run...battery dying and no plug handy...

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

"Every Litter Bit Hurts....................................."

Good Evening;

Well, since I had to be up and on the bus early to go to Jenn's of course I could not get to sleep after I signed off this morning, and when it was time to get up, I wanted to stay in and sleep....lol.

I got there about 9:15 after stopping at Giant to grab some ground beef and burger rolls (on sale AND reduced!), and saw a ham steak @ $2.00 off too.

After emptying then filling the dishwasher, cleaning out and refilling the litter box and taking the dirty litter and a bag of trash to the dumpster I had to stop and sit for a while because my back started to spasm......When I was lifting my arms to throw the dirty litter in the dumpster it felt like a live electric wire ran from my left lower back through my ass and hip and into my left leg and I thought I was going to fall for a minute.....I went back in and washed up and sat in the recliner, set at an angle that put the least pressure on my sciatic and the spine, and took a muscle relaxer and my pain meds and dozed off and on for an hour. I got up and then cooked lunch and dinner, and breakfast for tomorrow. As I was about to eat Tom brought the grandkids home and than took off for a job. I fed the kids and Jenn got home as they were finishing so I showered and dressed and took off for the subway.

I took the trains to the coffee shop and hung out there for 2 hours and took the trains back out to Old Ct. Station, since the O's were in town tonight the light rail was still running and I was back here by 9:30 pm. After sitting on the bench in front of First Watch Cafe reading and checking some things out on the laptop, (Google 'tessellations', it's fascinating if you go deep enough into the math....and they are seen in art and architecture and plane geometry equations.), and eating dinner I went over to the gas station then came here to the shed.

I watched 'Criminal Minds' and noticed a glaring, obvious error....all the street level hookers were not only gorgeous, but had perfect teeth.....lol. This show is usually much better than that for it's character portrayals.

I've got to lay down now and try to find a position that is the least painful for my back and left side.

Hopefully I'll fall right asleep and get 3 & 1/2 hours sleep, so if I wake up at 5:00 am. like I have been I'll be nice and rested and ready to watch Elvira's Movie Macabre--"Bucket Of Blood" 1959 Roger Corman Comedy/Horror Classic!.....lol.

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

"Invasion Of The Little Mermaids......................."

Good Morning;

So it's 2:45 am. Sunday morning and I'm about to try to sleep.

Friday was an awesomely beautiful day weatherwise, and it was pretty good peoplewise too. I met a woman who has been following the blog for a while, at the library. We had tried to meet a few times before but circumstances intervened.

She, (I am keeping her anonymous because I do not know if she wishes her name used at this time), is an Orthodox Jewish woman who lives in the area and sent me an e-mail that she wanted to offer some cash to assist me after D.S.S. messed me up this month. This came at an extremely good time because combined with the gift from the new friend I made Thursday I was able to wash clothes, get some food then, and have money for the next few days for food and bus fare. I left the library and went to Jenn's and showered, did laundry, and ate. I headed out about 6:30 pm. and went over to the coffee shop for an hour or so. As I was leaving there one of the barristas gave me a bag of donuts to take with me, (as he did Thursday night with a huge bag of pastries...I took a few and gave the rest to a man on his way down to one of the missions to volunteer.).

{This is too funny..."Cold Case Files" is on and the voice track is way out of sync! Watching a cute blond girl's voice come out of a big black man's mouth, and vice versa, is a hoot!.......lol!}

Okay, back on track....

Today, Saturday was another day with no pressing reason to get up early, so of course I was up at 3:30 am., and again at 5:00 am., and finally at 8:00 am. I got up and went to the Giant to make a cup of coffee and brought it back to the shed.....where I had about 3 drinks of it and fell asleep...lol!

I got up at 10:30 am. and went over and got some stuff for lunch and dinner then took the bus and trains over to the Starbucks. A low key day and evening, well except for the fact that there was some sort of girls swim meet or event over at N.B.A.C./Meadowbrook swim club and the coffee shop was full of very blond, very wealthy, very cute, young girls................................................................................. ..........................................and their MOMS!............I know what you were thinking! LMAO!!!!

That's about it,

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

P.S. 14,065 visitors to the little old blog here as of 2:00 am.

"A Distressing Morning......................De-Stressed By A Beautiful Afternoon........................."

Good Morning;

Was it not a lovely day today! Warm, windy, & with low humidity.

I made it to Jenn's to grab a shower, coffee, and something to eat, and a couple already cooked hot dogs and some 'cheese n' cracker' pkgs. to go. On the way there I stopped at the library to try to fax some information to D.S.S. regarding my case and why I never received this month's benefits, nor a notice to come in for a re-certification, but the fax number either rang and never connected, or rang-connected-disconnected in 10 seconds, so no luck there.

I am scheduled to go to the Balto. City NW office on the 8th with my caseworker from Prologue so I may wait rather than go down twice, because the soonest anything will be corrected will be July 2nd anyway.

I took the subway and the light rail to the coffee shop from Jenn's after playing with the grandkids for a bit. Ed is now a first grader in waiting, and reads at a third grade level...at the least! Now if only the attention span and common sense would catch up. Devin was going to the audiologist today and finishing the evaluation and getting a referral to speech therapy. She seems to be breathing at the wrong times, talking on the inhale some of the time and her words sound wet and slushy, for lack of the proper term....lol.

No problem with the old vocabulary though....both of them, and Rachel too, are like little walking thesauruses..(thesauri??....lol!).

I made a new 'talking friend' today with a woman I have been on a nod and smile and 'hello' basis with for the last couple years at Starbucks. The other day when it was crowded I offered the other side of the table I was at and grabbed an extra chair for her, and she was there for a few minutes until a table opened up where she prefers, (that's what we regulars do...table hopping and musical chairs until 'our' space is available....lol. (More later)

OKAY, Gotta go, I'm sitting outside the First Watch Cafe using their Wifi, and not only is the battery about to go....the wind has shifted and picked up, and it is chilly.....as I can testify because it is blowing up the legs of the loose and baggy shorts I have on. If it was a movie, 'The Iceman Cometh' would fit, or MJ's music video..'Chiller'.................lol!

I'm going right to sleep both to try to catch up for last nights worrisome, restless sleep, and because I need to be at the library in the morning.

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

"Hanging On By A Fraying Thread..........With Out A Net........................"

Good Morning;

Well, I'm royally screwed right now, I can't get the D.S.S. to fix my benefits before next month, and I can't get to there with my caseworker from Prologue before the 8th.

I'm going to try to get things started my self later this morning just a walk-in.

So I am currently without; money, coffee, food, monthly buspass, current ID from MTA, clean clothes, a place to store my stuff and easy access to a shower and laundry facilities after Jenn moves later this month, a city address to use as a mailing address, a way to counteract all the tiny little pussy ants that suddenly reappeared this morning, (and which are currently crawling all over me, and I cannot find where their entry point is, they just seem to appear out of nowhere as if beamed in on a tiny Arthropod version of a Star Trek transporter.....lol). And quite honestly, I've about given up hope that it's ever going to change or get any better.

I've got to head out now to see what if anything I can get moving at D.S.S., and then hopefully get to Jenn's and shower some of the residue from the 3 near 100 degree days in a row we just had.

I don't often seriously ask for money here on the blog, but I've reached a point where I'm at the end of my rope.

If anyone feels so inclined, I'll gratefully accept and appreciate

whatever you want to give.

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

"One Sudden Last Thought........................One More New Worry..................."

Good Morning;

As I shut down the laptop and reached for my night meds.....it hit me,

OH F*ck.......what about my Medical Assistance?

When is that due for 're-con', and will I be able to refill my scripts?

I'm tired as hell, but I really don't expect to sleep to night....

...............ain't that wonderful!

Back to the gas station.....

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