gotta get this down

Ben: Ben is about 40 years old and was dressed quite nicely in a clean sweatshirt and jeans. He was insulating his concrete living area under an overpass with some thin translucent plastic. He said he might not be staying there long, but was happy that someone else may reap the benefits of his insulating work when he leaves. Ben travels around the city during the day and collects scrap metal to sell to the local recycling/salvage yards. Ben may have had the standard “pickup with tall wooden walls” to collect his metal in. He may have alternatively used a grocery cart. Ben also ran errands for and visited his mother during the day; she lives in a nursing home.

Andy: I learned nothing about how Andy lived, lives, or wants to live. He was quite interested in Christianity/spirituality. Andy is an interrogator. His first question: do you know Jesus? (he knew we were Christians) My easy answer without getting into a complex theological discussion: yep. His response: do you know what he looks like? how can you say you know him if you don’t know what he looks like? He enjoyed his stumping question…and our confused responses. Andy had a book with a few poems (?) he had written in it. He was adament that he wrote the words on the paper, but that the words were not his; they were the words of an angel. Andy said that we couldn’t be in a constant conversation with Jesus because we were filling our lives with…our lives. He said that he was always in a continuous conversation with Jesus…because he wasn’t clogging up his life with usless endeavors. Andy was a bit crazy, and had some wacky ideas, but I think the world would be a better place if we all listened a bit closer to the wisdom he was conveying.

Brian and Jill: The couple looked to be in their 30’s, they had only been living under a bridge for a few months, they expected to be in an apartment in a few months, and they were 1 month pregnant. Brian worked at a local business for 11 years as a machine operator. His employer had to shut down for financial reasons and consequently Brian lost his job. Brian was now being employed by a clothing manufacturer through an employment agency.  The next day (Sunday) he was waking up a 3:30am to catch a city bus up to his job; he was hoping to work 15 hours that day.  Brian’s parents are no longer alive, and Jill’s parents wouldn’t invite them in; her siblings were shunning her because of her past drug addictions. Brian helped her get off coacaine by locking her in a room for 4 or 5 weeks. He felt terrible when doing it, but knew it was the right thing to do. Jill spent some time in prison, and became quite interested in the bible when there. During our visit she whipped out the bible and spent 15 minutes talking to one of our friends about it. Brian was incredibly happy Jill was sticking with him out on the streets. He knew that she really shouldn’t have been out there with him. The couple and another man slept together on a bed-sized (queen maybe) slab on concrete under the bridge, right next to the sidewalk; all they had between the three of them were a few blankets…and maybe one pillow.

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