This was the first trip of fall and the weather was right on time. Much cooler temperatures and there was even a little rain/drizzle the day before. Gregory told me that after the bit of rain on Saturday the air smelled so much better than it normally does. Usually the smell of urine permeates the streets where these folks live. So I got off the I-10 freeway at Mateo St to begin this trip. I was about to turn left onto Mateo and take it to Olympic, but I saw a homeless guy sitting by himself on the side-walk a little ways north, so I turned right and drove up the street to get to him. It was about 6:00 pm. As I pulled up to where he was I could see he was trying to shoot-up some drugs (welcome to Los Angeles). He was having some trouble finding a vein and didn't look up when I asked him if he was hungry. Another homeless guy had just walked by so I pulled on down the 30 feet or so to get to him and gave him some food. He asked for another sandwich and pointed to a van back up the street the other way. He said his girlfriend was in the van and could he have a sandwich for her too. After taking care of him I backed-up the car to get to the other guy again. He was still trying to find a vein and had put the needle down on the ground. I ended up throwing a sandwich to him and a bottle of water too (he wasn't getting up anytime soon). Then I told him the story of a guy I had met a few years ago. When I met this other guy I noticed he had a big chunk of skin surgically removed from his forearm. He told me that he too had set a hypodermic needle down (while attempting to shoot-up drugs) on the ground and it had picked up some kind of germ that landed him in the hospital (unconscious). When he came-to they had removed this patch of skin, probably 2" x 4"in on his forearm and it had left his forearm deformed because he could no longer bend his hand straight. With no health insurance there's no physical therapy at the county hospital. So I told this guy yesterday about it. Remember me saying about the smell of urine permeating these streets? Of course, human urine isn't the only thing left on the streets that make the area smell bad.
Remember the woman from last week who didn't want food, but wanted beer? I got her to take a bottle of water last week instead. This week I drove over to where she was specifically to see her. Once again, she didn't want food, wouldn't take any water this time and said she only wanted money. That's what she usually says, she only wants money. I always tell her (and others) I'm not here to give out money. I took her picture which she wasn't too happy about and told her I'd see her next time. As I drove away, I thought about it and decided that giving her a couple of dollars might be worth pursuing this relationship. So I drove around the block and pulled up next to where she was and handed her $2. She had to get up and come over to get it. I really didn't say anything to her and drove down the street to an intersection where I could turn around. When I came back 30 seconds later she was gone and I saw she had walked over to Olive and was headed north. Next time I see her I'll ask her what she bought with it since she didn't want any food. If she comes back with "I bought a beer." I don't know what I'll say! Here's her picture:
So I helped a few other folks, one guy was sitting on the sidewalk by a Yoshinoya fast food place. He had a bunch of junk spread out all around him. I ended up giving him two sandwiches and said, "Take some water from the ice chest in the back seat." He ended up grabbing four bottles!! I wasn't expecting that. It wasn't hot so maybe he just wanted to stock-up for later. I had another guy who after I gave him one sandwich demanded two more! This time I wasn't too happy. It took me a while to get over it, but I decided that since I had made extra sandwiches I'd be OK.
So finally I made it over to the burned-out church where Maria and Keisha live. Maria wasn't there, but Keisha was. You may remember last week Maria was there, but Keisha wasn't. I ended up leaving a sandwich and bottle of water on Keisha's bed when I left last week. Yesterday, I asked her if she got the "package" I left for her. She asked what it was and when I told her she told me, "No, the cats got it." While I was with her yesterday, two cats came around, both of them young ones, but not kittens anymore. We talked for quite a while and she admitted that something was bothering her, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. Maybe another time.
So oddly enough, this trip was kind of filled with troubled people. Usually, you can attribute it to hot temperatures or wet/cold weather, maybe they're hungry, but usually it's something physical. Yesterday, people seemed to just have attitude problems. About the only one who seemed fairly happy was Gregory. I don't expect everyone to be happy when I see them. After all, how happy can you be when you're living on a sidewalk or alley? But usually the folks are happy to see me and respond well to the happiness and hope I bring them. Yesterday wasn't the norm. It reminded me of the story of the one leper returning to Jesus to thank Him. I took it as a clear lesson to me....to be more thankful of what I do have and what I do receive from God. It's time for me to be thankful for even the small blessings I receive. Until next time. --John
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