Downtown 8/14/2010

With a rare Saturday off from work I went downtown around noon. This may have been the first Saturday I've gone down there since my truck driving days. Traffic was worse than I anticipated getting there and the retail sections of town were pretty busy. I started by going to the garment district since I was low on socks. When I go on Sunday's the wholesalers are closed so I wanted to take advantage of those stores being open. After leaving there I drove around that area and found Charles from Wisconsin. He was sleeping in the shade of a tree on the sidewalk on Broadway and 13th. He was 54 and had been out here awhile now. He was quite thin and happy to receive the food and water but declined on shirts. However, when I mentioned I had socks he perked up right away. I noticed the wooden cross he had around his neck and used the opportunity to pray with him. Of course, since he was from Wisconsin I didn't pass up the opportunity to talk about the great Packers teams of the 60's either.
One of the surprises of the day was finding John from Connecticut. I hadn't seen him since last summer. He was near where I had seen him last (different freeway off-ramp) but doing the same thing. I didn't recognize him at first because his hair is a lot shorter now. He told me for awhile things were going well for him. He had gotten a small studio apartment in El Monte, but apparently couldn't maintain it. He was hoping that with a buddy of his he would be able to get some employment and a fresh start soon. I pray he will be able to, he is so very young (25 yrs).
While driving down Washington Blvd I found Tyronne. I had seen him last Sunday sitting on a bus bench. Today he was pushing his shopping cart and seemed actually happy to see me. Usually, he seems in kind of a fog. There have been times when I have sat with him for 10 minutes or so and he's barely spoken. He doesn't appear to be very healthy. This was the first time I've ever seen him up and walking (slowly) around. Just off Washington Blvd on Paloma I found Sam from Ohio. He was sleeping in the shade of a building but woke up right away when I offered some food and water. There was an abandoned truck parked across the street that was full of household stuff with luggage on the top. It had a flat tire and I wondered if it was Sam's but when I asked about it he said he was laying there on the sidewalk when the people abandoned it. Just around the corner and a couple of streets down from Sam I found Peter with his dog. He was sleeping too and the dog was curled up next to him. He had no other possessions with him and awoke quickly. I was surprised the dog didn't bark. I asked him what the dog's name was but he said he hadn't
named it yet. Peter was from Louisiana and here by way of Las Vegas. Along with the food and water, socks and a t-shirt I also gave him a gospel of John booklet. I had to smile as I was driving away because instead of going through the food bag he was actually looking through the booklet first. Praise God.
I wanted to take another trip a little more south of L.A. so I drove down around 42nd St and Central and then worked my way west from there. I ended up meeting Sheila in a short alley off of Broadway and 36th. She thought I looked familiar but I don't think we've met before. There were two or three make-shift 'homes' there in the alley that she said her husband and her brother lived in with her. I gave her the last bag of food and gallon of water that I had. I then told her I had something else for her and gave her a gospel of John booklet too. She seemed pretty happy and even a bit overwhelmed by it all. After pulling away and back out on the street I noticed I had two more cans of soup in a bag in the back seat so I drove back around and gave them to her also. I said, "Now all three of you can have one." and then asked if there was anyone else living there? She said, "No, just the three of us." I told her I'd check in from time to time to see how they were doing. I thought how very difficult it must be to be homeless in that area. Can you imagine how hot it must get living in cardboard boxes on concrete and asphalt during the summer without any shade above you? --Until next week. John