General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If you are in the 1% you are nothing but an exploiter [View all]tymorial
(3,433 posts)You're invisible. No one wants to see you. They walk by and pretend you aren't there.. even if you aren't asking for something. You were just like them once but they don't realize it. They think you're nothing... you're inconvenient. You wonder if they think, "why don't you just go away or die. Why aren't the police getting rid of you."
At first you stay at the shelter as much as possible. Eventually you will find there is no room and you are all alone in the night.
You get no sleep because you are afraid that someone will hurt you, rape you, or murder you. You try to sleep during the day but you can't. You're still afraid.
You find soup kitchens but its never enough food. You are hungry all the time. If you still have clothes you might try to find a day labor job but after awhile, no one wants you around because you are homeless. You're invisible.
You get sick and you've never been sicker. No warm bed to keep you comfortable. No couch to curl upon and watch TNT primetime in the daytime. You have no medicine. You have no Nyquil or Tylenol. You suffer and hope it will go away soon... god, please don't let me die.
Some turn to drugs and alcohol to get buy. It makes the pain go away for a while and less afraid, maybe you can sleep. Maybe just a little sleep. Eventually the other homeless begin to recognize you and you find some sense of community even though you can never truly trust anyone. At first you dreamed of your home, your warm bed, your 3 meals a day, your job, your family... after a while you dream of finding a blanket somewhere or paper that you can pile up to keep you warm. If it is cold you dream of hot days when its hot you dream of cold. You think maybe you should try to move south but its too hard. You're so very tired. You know the streets here... where it might be safe at night. As time goes on the harshness of your life makes you lose all sense of pride. You start to beg both for food and if you have a habit to feed it... it makes the pain go away... I gotta make the pain go away.
Please do you have any money? Just a few cents? No, god bless.
Can you help me? I am homeless and I need food. thank you, god bless.
Please can you spare a dollar so I can get a coffee to make me warm?
Thank you God Bless... and we mean god bless because we so very hope God will look at us.
I made $40 today, I can make the pain go away and get some food. I will save and buy new clothes so I can get a job and get off the streets. That is what I will do.... its so very cold tonight, I need to drink to stay warm even though I know it doesn't really help. There goes my savings. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow I will start to save.
Please do you have any money? Just a few dollars? Thank you sir. Thank you so much.
Timothy - 2005