More random people watching in portland today. why am I looking at them when I have so much to do? I think it's a defense mechanism. About 40% procrastination, 40% creativity and 40% exhaustion, and 40% anticipation.
That's no worse than 40% iron, 40% titanium and 40% nickel, si? Hecho en Mexico!
On my way to lunch I passed a guy sitting under a tree talking to himself. I'm sure he was alone with no headset, trust me on this one. I thought briefly about stopping and offering to take him to lunch. I didn't. My key reason was that I was meeting other people and I knew they wouldn't have appreciated me bringing a homeless guy to the restaurant. Hell, the restaurant probably would have objected too.
I think I'll do that next time. Let's move them from their normal comfort zone.
11 Comments
first of all let me say ….Thats Paul……lol
I do the same thing alot each day I walk about six miles and varing the route every few days takes me to some different places in North Dallas. I have found some of the homeless justr want to feel human again and some are the way they are because they dont want to be human anymore. The best story is the guy wanting some change. I did have cash so on my way back I got him some food at Wendy's. When I gave it to him he looked at me strange and laughed..dumped the food out and filled the bag with leaves then put it his pile. I guess it made him happy so mission accomplished in a wierd sort of way…
any way…….thats all…….
flowing in
and filling up my hopeless heart
oh never never go
dust my lemon lies
with powder pink and sweet
the day i stop
is the day you change
and fly away from me
I've always liked this song…
kay, not to ruin anyone's good karma, and rain on the liberal parade, but alot (and I mean mucho) homeless are discharged from long term locked wards, (thank you so much Pres W and NORTHSTAR) and should be somewhere safe with meds, but are instead, homeless and illagally self-medicating. Really, some in-from-the streets homeless on the locked ward tried to stab people with bananas and crayons cause they wern't allowed pens and pencil, etc. So Go you guys for noticing and wanting to help, but, please, be careful. self-medicating NEVER WORKS, and can cause wicked bad lash outs, where they normally would be harmless. There, now I will retire to go overprotect someone else, and let your more than capable moms have thier jobs back. Sorry for preaching.
Mel
uh huh. so since some of them might be violent, I don't need to offer help to any of them?
YES!! Exactlly! I'm so glad you get it! Most would write me off as paranoid and overprotective…and I'm much better than that. I'm complusively, nurotically overprotective. Hand them money from a safe distance and walk away. Oooo, better still, give money to a shelter, and call them and tell them they need to help those people! Or, email anonmously, even safer. Other people I don't love can do the up close stuff. Snakes, Asps, could be dangerous, other people go first.
and again, I now return you to your previously scheduled mother.
mel
Paul did you forget to lock up the soapbox? I have never had a problem with a mis-placed soul. There is a sense that is developed over the years about people. And knowing who not to go near. Life would be very sad indeed if everyone whould shun everyone that they or society deemed different or unclean. A very Republician view indeed. Bomb them all and let some god somewhere else sort it out. Its the people you dont fear that will screw you over…Politians Clergy Teachers….etc. I acknowledge your fear, have yet to see a bases for it. This comes from living overseas and out of the middle america comfort zone. Rmember the knife in you back usually comes from the person standing closest to you..Now back to middle aged fringe dweller mode…..
the only thing I liked in the movie Fahrenheit 911 was when the guy showed how people in Canada don't live in fear like the people in America do.
I reserve the right, Mel, to pick up anyone I want and take them to lunch in my car any time I feel like it.
If they knife me and steal my wallet, then so be it. At least I won't have to pay any more bills!
Dear God, Can you two men be anymore clueless???
Let us first establish some facts:
Yes, yes, you are both big, all powerful, war-trained macho men, with primative defence insticts and hairy chests. I bow completely to your macho independance, and call my silly middle class fears mean spirited, hateful and souless. Do you both feel better now? Invite hordes of homeless to your cars, houses, RV's and vacation homes.
I was trying, in a clearly misplaced manner, to alert you both to some inherent dangers of dealing with the self-medicated mentally unstable homeless. I was overlplaying my mom hand to try and make you laugh, while telling you both that I love you and want you to be careful. Who am I, silly, pointless overprotective creature, to tell you anything? Oh yeah, the one who spent time in the locked ward for two weeks, WITH some of the homeless who had been brought in. I'm only the one who sat with them in therapy sessions as the meds kicked in while they spoke of their fears after being released. I'm the one who listened to the Drs and the nurses who explained why they were being released, and Oh Yeah, the one who also was threatened by the really dangerous ones before the nurses could intervene. These things made me so heartless that upon release I've only donated clothing, toys (omg, children are homeless too?) food, and on rare occasion, time to the homeless shelters in Colin County. So really, what the fuck could I possibly know about any of this??
I went for high irony, and extreme example, trying to say I love you, please be careful. Instead I seem to have hit shrill, narrow mindedness, wtih the both of you.
Via con dios, I do have three children, I'll confine my protective efforts to them in future.
hahahaha
I work in a downtown church. I know this means nothing to lots of people who read the blog (yeah, right, lots), but I work with homeless people every day. I know there's nutters out there, but there are nutters who aren't homeless too. don't get all pissy with me young lady. It's impossible to convey the whole story in a few short paragraphs.
I only laugh because we are in agreement.
* Public Service Anouncment *
This is my last thoughts on this subject. I resent the personal attack and believe that it wasnt high irony of any kind. I agree with what you say mostley but for completly differnt reasons. Close mindedness really sucks. But that was pretty much what you were dealing out. The is no possible way you can mirror your experiences to that of other people that to be honest really dont know much about. True you have some background in this subject firsthand. And with this you seem to think no one else has dealt with it. How do you know what my experiance is with mental illness? Or how my judgement mechanisms work? You ask me to take your words as gospel while mine are crushed by what you veil as an atempt at humor. Believe me Mel…If I wanted to call you mean spirited and silly I would direct. And I would like it if you would not try to judge my world compared to yours because it wont work. Its the same as dicussing politics and relgion. There are no right answers for everyone. The world is not that black and white. I can go on but its pretty much a dead horse now. Your warnings are dully noted as I said before. However your opions are just that and do not really apply to my world as I see it.
P.S. Sorry Paul it got this far out of hand but I still believe in doing whats right for people homeless or otherwise.
as an aside, we talked about you in my high school sunday school class this morning. Note, i didn't say we prayed for you… only that we talked about you and our own feelings around the subject of when it's right to dive in and help and when it's best to stay away. It is an interesting topic. And it does bring up lots of discussion. I managed to get commitments from several people in the class to help with the family shelter that we run (yes, we, and yes, it's family because kids are homeless too) based on the discussions you helped spark.
So before the flame wars begin… I remind you, it's impossible to carry on a real debate in a few short paragraphs on an informal blog.
Thanks for the input. And even though we didn't pray for any of you, I might have made fun of the fact that you live in Texas. I'm pretty sure I did. OK. I admit it. I did.