Skip to main content

Let's chat about homelessness...The Life Of Little Ease.

The Little Ease was the name a prison cell in the Tower of London.  It was called the Little Ease because it was designed to be a small and solitary room without windows in which the prisoner could not get comfortable.  The room was so small that an average person could not stand up, lie down, stretch, or anything else.

The idea of this room came to me the first time I did this, but it did not stick with me past the first shower when I got back.  The problem is what one has to think about and never quite being comfortable without a home.

The rain came down in fits and starts two nights ago.  Before taking this on, I had splurged on a new sleeping bag rated to be warm in 0 degrees and waterproof.  There would be no setting up a tent so I thought this might be the best option for sleeping out.  Then came the rain.

The night was warm, which meant sleeping with the bag only slightly open.  Then came the rain.  Waterproof sleeping bags are great on cool nights when you can zip them up all the way, but it was warm and while they keep water out, they also keep water in.  Rain falling in while one is asleep stays there.

When the sun came up, it was not cold, but just cold enough to be chilly especially when one is partially wet and drying out.  So, shivering as the sun begins to rise, I try to go about my day.  Still, everything is a little wet and it's too cold to take off layers.  As it gets warmer, though the layers can come off but you are forced to carry them where ever you go.

Homelessness brings a distinct and constant discomfort.  There is a feeling that everywhere you are, you shouldn't be there.  It is always a little too cold and later too hot.  You are always tired, but there is no place you can sleep.  These are the things that you have to deal with on a visceral level, these are the lowest things on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.

This is only day four and more rain is in the forecast.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5 feet from a sandwich...Let's Chat About Homelessness, day -1

Starting tomorrow, I will be living on the streets of Decatur, homeless for the next 30 days, taking an in-depth look at homelessness in this area, and revisiting places nearly a decade after having done this before. I will not mention any names, though I should mention names.  It's not that their business would be hurt or that even a basic understanding of the world would allow you to figure out who and what I am talking about, but I will not mention any names. Suffice it to say that there is a coffee shop chain that throws out three or five sandwiches every other night or so.  Outside this particular coffee shop are people who have not eaten all day. Those sandwiches have to go in the trash. These are the things that I will never understand.  The people who work at this particular coffee shop are good people and they would love to, at the end of the day, hand those sandwiches out to people who are right outside of the door who have not eaten all day.  Thos...

Let's Chat About Homelessness: Let them eat cake?

I am not trying to call anyone out.  They are trying to run a business.  Perhaps you recognize the packaging and maybe want to do something about it but in the picture is a bag (one of two) full of cake.  I watched the guy throw it in the dumpster as they were closing up for the night. Let me be the first to say that cake in large amounts is not good for you.  This is good cake from a great bakery.  Rich creamy frosting.  Soft cake.  Good ingredients.  They just didn't sell a lot that day and they are left with two bags of cake. The question to be asked is, what do we do with all this cake?  Seriously, I am asking. A bad diet can make other health issues even worse.  Future blog posts will talk about the aging homeless population and how many people are dealing with health issues, both mental and physical and I cannot stress enough that cake, in large amounts, is not good for you.  I want to believe that we, as a society, can ...