A Beautiful ugly Eye Opener

I woke up early again to prepare sandwiches with Tony. He is a very intimidating man to me so I normally keep to myself around him, but not today. He told me that he does not have a sob story but that he just dropped out of society. At 64 he can honestly tell you that he loves what he does, even though he only makes $46 a month. (He made the best soup for the soup kitchen that I have EVER had in my life!) He talked a lot about the morbid social workers who come into the house because they want to hear about the abuse, drugs, crimes, and alcohol; but Tony has none of these. Now he is my 5’ 18” friend who I would not replace with no one! He even told someone that I adopted him as my dad.

While talking someone came in and asked why there were policemen and an ambulance outside, we looked but could not tell what was going on so we went back to work. Later that day many of us got in trouble for not getting whoever was on house duty because they promise to be a buffer between the homeless and the police. Last summer in the yard a homeless man was arrested as he told police officers to stop stomping on a handicap man who just laid there unable to move. No wonder Winston calls them the city pigs! The man they took away could not breathe, most likely for the hot temperatures and unfortunately that happens a lot.

James Walker is an ex-Navy Seal who comes to the house every day to serve. He is about as real and authentic of a man I will probably ever see again. He aims to please and pays attention to everyone’s needs in the yard and in the dining room. He has been doing this for 20 years and use to live in the house and he still continues to leave everyday with a big smile on his face.

Yesterday I served with James Walker but today I got the not fun task of handing out vitamins; however, it allowed me to see more of the process before people get to eat. I did have another angry moment today though. While handing out vitamins a Spanish speaking man came to me and pointed at his shoes. I could not understand a word but I let him take a breath from talking and said one moment. I looked up to see a very, very angry partner who scolded me. He told me it was not my job to do anything and that I needed to stop. I just wanted to treat this man like a human being and try and listen than point him to someone who could help, but I guess the vitamin person is not allowed to have a soul or compassion what so ever and is just suppose to push the person away from their presence.

The Bible Study today was over how we interpret the Good Samaritan and while I did not understand a single point the speaker was trying to get across I was touched by many responses; Ira’s response in particular. He is a very shy, serious man but when he laughs, he sure laughs! Ed asked Ira “how did you feel when you did not have a mailing address” and Ira said “I felt like a nobody, but since coming here I feel like somebody”. That should be Open Door’s new motto. Ira takes care of special needs such as making sure the men shower, giving them new pants, and new shoes. He holds this job with pride and is constantly working to keep things stocked up so he is ready to help at any moment.

I spent time today cleaning the public bathrooms and cleaning the basement until dinner time. I got to cook with Tony and he is the best cook I have ever met. We had lots of laughs in the kitchen, normally at my expense because I would say dumb things, and a lot of talk about fake scenerios and how we would react. At one point I was Jane Doe, Senator of Alaska, proabortion, and liar. Not that I remember why but I sure did learn a lot from him. Later as we blessed the meal Tony decided that I could not leave so he told everyone I cooked and that Hyundai’s are suppose to die tomorrow (blue ones too, ironically). I sure am going to miss Tony and Ira who decided to join in on the fun for the rest of my stay.

I snuck away for a few hours over to Angelo and Marie’s apartment for some down time and when I came back Tony was waiting outside for me to make sure I was safe. I walked in to sign back in and saw a note that said “James left the community Tuesday night”. I ran to Calvin and asked him if it was just for tonight and he said forever. This crushed my night. James was here to heal but once he walked to a familiar place he gave in and went back to life on the street. Just today he talked about how awful he felt about not having a mailbox and how he was ready to heal and now he is gone. I am going to miss him giving me encouraging words and singing to me! Make sure to check out the videos I made of him though! I hope and pray that he is doing ok out on the streets tonight!

In a daze I walked to the basement and saw Darryl doing laundry. I asked him about the James situation and Darryl talked more than I have heard from him my whole stay. He told me what he would change and his irritations with the house and they all seemed legitimate, but just when I thought he was sane this 41 year old started telling me about this book he owns. It was copyrighted in 2077 and was written by the federal government. It talks about how Armageddon is going to be in 2077 and what the government is going to do about it. (Let’s just say you will need $650,000,000,000 to survive but only $450,000,000,000 if you buy now) He told me that the front page says you will be arrested for life if found with this book so he keeps it hidden; but since his friend fount it in a Marshall’s evicted house it is definitely legit. I hope Darryl keeps talking more tomorrow!