The Life In Decatur

I was in the Army a grand total of two years and seventeen weeks.  I had the luxury of having an older brother who was already in the Army on recruiting duty and told me the exact things to ask for because, he told me, the recruiter would not volunteer that information.  I got in.  I got out. Training was intense, but aside from the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995, there was never any thought that I would be going anywhere further than Ft. Carson, Colorado. That morning for about an hour, we thought the world was coming to get us; that we were under attack and I was ready to go.  That was as close to combat as I ever got. My father was in the Navy, two of my brothers and one of my sisters went into the Navy also.  My oldest brother and I chose the Army.  So did his son and daughter. Spouses, nieces, nephews, cousins...suffice it to say, I come from a big military family. When people say, "Thank you for your service." it makes me ponder what ...

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 ...

Let's talk about money... Money is an uncomfortable subject for many. No sugar coating here, most of the people who are asking you for money on the street are not so much scamming you, but embellishing a story. There is good and bad to what I am about to share with you.  Most of it is stuff you already suspected.  Still, keep in mind that the people who ask you for money are a small part of the homeless community...a very small part. The key to doing this project, is that I blend in and people tend not to notice or bother me.  The people who ask for money when I have been around have not noticed me watching them and seeing what they are doing with it. No, I have not found a welfare queen who begs for money on one corner and hops into a Cadillac on the next corner. How to... The key from what I have seen is to either be very specific or very vague about the amount you need and why. "Hey, I just need $.55 to get on the bus."  There is a specific ask in that sent...

It has been a while since I have done and there have been some changes, but there are still certain truths and inevitable realities to this world.  The thing you need is somewhere it just depends on what you are willing to do to get it.  Tonight I am going dumpster diving. I remember a decade ago when I did this the first time.  There was a young man who was trying to give me advice because it was obvious I was new.  He was a wealth of information and told me lots of things I will never forget and that I wish I had never heard.  Food is the key for many and he was telling me where I could get it.  He was telling me about local shelters and when they "feed".  I tend to lock on to certain words and the way they are said. The way he said "feed" was so animal-like. "This place feeds at 5 p.m." "You get good feed at such and such a place" He even told me about a local pastor who would trade oral sex for a place to sleep and some food. In any ...

People have asked the same question, or some derivation of it, of me several times in the last 48 hours "do you get to bathe?" yada yada yada, hygiene... Last night, there were storms that rocked the area.  When I was a kid, I would watch the flashes and I was told that if you counted the seconds between the flash and sound of thunder, you could tell how far away the storm was, some convoluted childish logic about each second being a mile.  Last night, there was no time to count and not only could I hear the thunder immediately, I feel my skin perk up and the rumble of the earth beneath my feet telling me that it was close. It was very close. Not miles away, but yards...feet. I found cover beneath an awning and bundled up against the wind and rain.  The last thing on my mind was body odor. I woke this morning, hungry, not thinking about smell. A lot of homelessness from my observation, is about dignity and little ways of maintaining it when you are out and about....

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 spend a great deal of my time eavesdropping and observing while being out here.  I am working on a major composting initiative and as part of that, I spend about 60 percent of my day, starting at 5 in the morning, on my bike, visiting homes and different neighborhoods in the area.  ( See: Don't quit your day job here ).  In between long rides to different destinations, I stop to charge up my phone, my tablet and check in. I keep up with social media, the things that are being said to and about me.  It has been interesting to say the least.  It is a vast change between now and the way things were a decade ago.  Facebook is what started this whole thing back then, but it was not as big of a deal then.  People at least in my circle, were not on it constan...

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 ...

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. Day 1 I wonder how many people have been in this position...for real. This was always the moment I had wondered about, right here, right now.  This moment; the moment where one steps out the door for the last time, not knowing whether they will ever walk back into a door of their own.  I always wonder about the soft click of the lock, and what that means. I am coming back to it in 30 days.  No amount of role playing (which is essentially what this project is; role playing) can prepare you for that feeling; not knowing.  No matter what, I know that I have my keys right in my pocket. Last night I closed the door and walked to the MARTA station with just about everything in a bag and the warm(-ish) air was inviting.  There was a hint of spring. How do you start be...

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. When I decided to come to this community, I wanted to see what was here in Decatur and what was missing; how to grow in this place.  It's a lot of work getting to know a place, however small and cozy.  There are new streets to learn and people to meet. I have decided to up the ante. While it is difficult to be homeless, there is actual work to be done.  When we look at how the average day is spent when you are on the street, the work is primarily logistical in the beginning.  Sleeping is one thing, but where do you go when the sun is up and you can no longer hide in corners? For many, it is part of a routine.  Once you get used to it, there is a pattern to packing up, a place to hide what you cannot carry with you, an awareness of where you can go and when. Fo...

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...

Almost a decade ago, I packed up some clothes, my tent, a cold weather sleeping bag and stepped out of my condo in Chamblee, GA into the cold.  A week before, I had been shopping at REI and got all sorts of things that I would need for my trip.  I bought a new MP3 player and headphones.  It was the end of October, so I bought some long johns.  I didn't need too much else.  I am an avid camper and hiker and 30 days outside was not much of a push.  I locked the door, slid my keys into my pocket, and went to the MARTA station. I wasn't going hiking or camping though.  The idea that this was simply another camping trip was the first thing I had to get out of my head.  I wasn't going to the woods.  I was going to Little Five Points.  Little Five Points, or L5P was a little neighborhood close to the center of Atlanta.  Then, it was the center of the Bohemian South.  It was exotic and weird and there were people there playing music ...