Small Batch: You’re listening to Delilah

This was a very delightful exercise, almost like a trip down memory lane, because my days of driving forever to get to a store or pretty much any destination have been left behind since moving to Georgia. Everything is so conveniently located here! I barely drive more than 15 minutes at a time. But back in the days of looong drives on almost a daily basis, NPR was a wonderful companion.

It was difficult to choose one podcast from the NPR site since there are so many great ones. But, I went with one from the pop culture happy hour, just for fun. I choose a David Greene piece about the Delilah radio show, featuring an interview with Delilah. I’ll confess that I’ve listened to that during at least a few nighttime drives. Schmaltzy but still … it draws you in!

So, enough back story. One thing I liked about this podcast was its smooth transitions between segments. It’s seamless. For instance, at one point, Delilah says that everyone thinks she’s so nice but she feels like screaming that she’s really just exhausted (a false dichotomy, but this isn’t about logic …). Greene picks up the next segment by talking about all the things she juggles in her life. Another thing I liked was the clarity with no competing sound in the background. Along with that, there was no talking over one another as might be the case on some podcasts in which rapid fire dialogue results in more than one person talking at once. Of course, this is NPR, so we can expect exemplary standards!

The podcast is available by scrolling down to Aug. 17, 2016 on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour website.

Segments:

0:00 – 0:10 Intro music
0:10 – 3:20 Dialogue between Linda Holmes, editor of Pop Culture at NPR, and David Greene, host of the Morning Edition. In this dialogue Holmes “chats” with Greene about his interview with Delilah. He gives an overview of the Delilah show.
3:21-3:41 Greene speaks to Delilah (interview). This is just the introduction as he greets her and she gives her signature words, “This is Delilah.”
3:42 – 3:59 Voice over by Greene
4:00 – 4:15 Greene plays a clip in which Delilah is talking to a caller.
4:16 – 4:26 Voice over by Greene
4:27 – 4:40 Greene speaks to Delilah (interview).
4:41 – 5:01 Voice over by Greene
5:02 – 6:36 Main part of interview of Delilah by Greene begins
6:37 – 6:44 Voice over by Greene
6:45 – 10:00 Back to interview with Delilah
10:00 – 10:09 Song chosen by Delilah to end interview begins to play softly in the background while interview winds down, gets louder and louder
10:10 – 10:20 Song plays at higher volume after interview ends
10:21 – 10:31 Greene gives concluding synopsis of piece and does sign-off
10:31 – 10:44 Song plays at full volume

Brainstorming list

20 ideas (first 10 are from previous post):

Is the decline in numbers of homeless in Athens-Clarke County part of a broader trend statewide or nationwide? Is it particular to some sectors of the homeless population in our community or more generalized? What has it taught us about what worked and what did not? This story would look at efforts to reduce homelessness in Athens within the broader frame of trends and successful solutions nationwide.
How have factors associated with increasing rates of homelessness, from the 1980s onward, played out in Athens? These factors include: decrease in manufacturing jobs/decreased wages for those at the lower end; deinstitutionalization; disinvestment in social programs; gentrification/less affordable housing. This story would look at factors known to contribute to homelessness in terms of their applicability to Athens over the decades since the 1980s.
The Housing First model has been recognized nationally as a successful strategy. It calls for priority to be placed on finding housing without erecting barriers (such as requiring sobriety or other issues of compliance). This story would investigate use of the Housing First model in Athens.
How coordinated are services within Athens-Clarke County? Coordination of services has been cited as essential to help individuals benefit from resources and avoid waste of time and resources. This story would focus on providers, their roles in the community, and coordination among them, including successes stories as well as those who have fallen through the cracks.
How does the Athens-Clarke police force interact with the homeless community? In what ways is this beneficial? In what ways is it detrimental? This story would look at ordinances that disproportionately impact the homeless as well as their enforcement in the community.
We might call assumptions and stereotypes of homelessness a “master narrative” from which responses of the public are shaped and from which individuals themselves may view themselves. This story would look at assumptions/myths, responses they typically call forth, and realities that could change the conversation.
Among novel approaches to funding housing for vulnerable individuals is a call for Medicaid to include it among covered services! Here in Georgia we are a far cry from expanding Medicaid to include housing, but it is worth investigating where it stands elsewhere and perhaps plant the seed for discussion about it.
Starting with recognition of Athens as a compassionate community (with lots of evidence to show that!), this story would help direct compassion to as yet unfulfilled – or under-fulfilled – needs.
Athens, like other towns, has installed sidewalk meters that look like parking meters to collect donations for services for the homeless. The idea is to discourage direct contributions to panhandlers and funnel the money into a general fund. Is this a good idea? Has it “worked” in Athens or elsewhere? This story would look at rationales for the installation of care meters, amount of money collected and where it ends up, impact on amount collected by individuals on the streets.
Looking at one individual as a face of homelessness, this story would focus on Tony, the man I previously interviewed, in terms of his daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal routines and his use of resources in the community. This story would highlight what it is like to be homeless in Athens (for Tony specifically but with some implied extension to others), what has been useful to him and what needs remain unmet.

New ideas:

Sidewalks as a place for social exchange (in the words of Supreme Court Justice Roberts) where first amendment rights prevail. This article could bring in various things that take place on the sidewalks, including street performances, sidewalk preachers, and panhandlers.

Impact of being homeless on health –sleep deprivation, exposure to elements, lack of facilities

How community counts of number of homeless are obtained, as well as insights gained from the process of counting – qualitative in addition to the quantitative results

Awareness of subsets within the homeless population, including displaced families

Panhandlers downtown in contrast to those in outlying areas – differing access to resources, perhaps differences in demographics

Facing adversity – utility of a personal narrative of condemnation or redemption, connected to the bigger picture of personal storytelling in all of our lives

Diversity within population of homeless, including identified subsets and their differing needs

Homeless swag – not to sound too lighthearted but it’s interesting and informative to see websites devoted to how to get through the experience of homelessness, including this one on items that make it more bearable. http://www.swags.org.au/

Life after homelessness – how does one move on?

Keeping and caring for pets while homeless

Top ideas for profile story:

Looking at one individual as a face of homelessness, this story would focus on Tony, the man I previously interviewed, in terms of his daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal routines and his use of resources in the community. This story would highlight what it is like to be homeless in Athens (for Tony specifically but with some implied extension to others), what has been useful to him and what needs remain unmet. Sources for this story, in addition to Tony, could include: one of the founders of the PBJs program (which provides lunch and conversations every Sunday afternoon), founder of the Backpack project (which brings backpacks filled with useful items to those on the street), a community member who regularly interacts with Tony on the street, and a volunteer from Action Ministry (which provides breakfast and lunch Monday – Friday and bagged lunches on Saturday and Sunday).
Looking at an individual (or family) who has gotten past a period of homelessness, this story would perform the similar function of showing a face and a life to humanize the issue; it would describe what the experience had been like, as well as what it is like to move past the experience. It would also highlight community resources that were helpful and those that continue to be helpful. Sources in addition to the individual/family would be drawn from resources identified by the primary source (in a way similar to those described above).

Top ideas for trend story:

Yearly counts have revealed declining rates of homelessness in Athens-Clarke County as well as regionally. Is the decline in numbers here part of this broader trend? Is it particular to some sectors of the homeless population in our community or more generalized? What has it taught us about what worked and what did not? This story would look at efforts to reduce homelessness in Athens within the broader frame of trends and successful solutions regionally and nationwide. Sources could include Samantha Carvallio, who is responsible for conducting yearly counts; Rob Trevena, who heads the Housing and Community Development Department of Athens-Clarke County; Shea Post or Mary O’Toole representing the Northeast Georgia Homeless Coalition; and the individuals noted in the profile ideas above.
This story would focus on sidewalks as a place for social exchange (in the words of Supreme Court Justice Roberts) where first amendment rights prevail. It would bring in various social exchanges that take place on the sidewalks, including street performances, sidewalk preachers, and panhandlers and would look at threats to established ordinances brought on by a recent ruling that, by extension, would make current anti-panhandling ordinances unconstitutional. Where does this leave the community, particularly in terms of controlling aggressive panhandling? Sources for this story could include William Berryman, Jr., county attorney; Pamela Thompson, Executive Director of Athens Downtown Development Authority Board; individuals on the street, and (beyond the local scene) Anthony Laurielo, who is a JD candidate at Columbia Law School and who has written about possible resolutions to this dilemma.

Top ideas for pick-em story:

Behind the numbers – This story would look at data representing incidence of illness and mortality among those experiencing homelessness and would investigate conditions that bring on or exacerbate these illnesses. Sleep deprivation, exposure to conditions, lack of sanitary facilities, and possible threats to safety are certainly among those. Sources could include a representative of the health department, a representative of medical services at Athens Resource Center for Hope, one or two individuals living on the street, and (beyond the local scene) a representative of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Off the beaten path – A master narrative that guides reactions to homelessness, toward individuals experiencing it, and contributing to development of policies can be identified in terms of commonly held assumptions, revealed in sociological research. This story would look at those assumptions/myths and realities that could change the conversation. Sources could include a professor from the sociology department at UGA; Marina Fisher, public policy expert with University of California at Berkeley; and founders of local nonprofits that serve sustenance and emotional needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in Athens (whom I believe would give balance in terms of not operating from that narrative).

Budget critiques

I’m assuming each of these entries has been submitted by a different student (given wording in the assignment) and am also working from the definition of “budget” as given in Mod 4. With that in mind and from readings in Writing Tools, I’ll venture the following critiques:

All of these budgets lack background stories from which to draw. Not only is the need for previous stories in the description we’ve been given of budgets but would also constitute the gathering of “strings” from which to build a story, as mentioned by Clark (writing tool 44). For instance, the budget for “Rush” could include stories about effectiveness of physical activity to reduce stress, stress experienced by college students, and appeal of studios such as this (in compare/contrast to other types of physical activity). The same could be said about each of the other budgets since none includes researched background.
It seems that each of these falls short on the identifying the point of the story (writing tool 42). Rush and Barre Exam both sound interesting but the proposals come across as promotions of a particular workout trend. There is probably a bigger story that would move them beyond sounding promotional or limited in scope to say something about the fitness/lifestyle picture. The CAPS story seems more focused initially. Assuming that data upholds the statement about increasing usage of the counseling center, the questions posed are relevant and important. However, the question about eating disorders seems tacked on, without context. The proposal on the Indian Dance Revolution obviously appeals to a particular audience, which is not made clear; in addition, it does not lead anywhere. I feel bad for the teams that need help choreographing stunts … but the proposal doesn’t tell us that help is on the way. The #Whoevers story also sounds interesting but could be more finely tuned to the point. It seems to focus on couples’ and wedding planners’ reactions, which are valid questions in themselves. After all, maybe this would appear in a wedding planning publication (in which case it would also be interesting to consider how the couple would control guests use of technology!). But, a broader point could be how immersion in technology removes us from the moment, going beyond weddings to many other situations.

Writing tool 40, from Clark, focuses on having a mission statement as a guiding principle. Having a mission helps to put individual stories within that broader framework. It’s not possible to tell with any certainty from these brief budgets if an underlying mission has been developed. However, there are none apparent in any of them. As Clark suggested, it is a good question to consider at the onset. In the case of the Rush and Barre Exam proposals, for instance, a mission statement might help place these trends within the larger fitness picture, perhaps writing from the perspective that there is something for everyone and that each person can find what works best for him or her.

Brainstorming, re: homelessness

Brainstorming –

Is the decline in numbers of homeless in Athens-Clarke County part of a broader trend statewide or nationwide? Is it particular to some sectors of the homeless population in our community or more generalized? What has it taught us about what worked and what did not? This story would look at efforts to reduce homelessness in Athens within the broader frame of trends and successful solutions nationwide.

How have factors associated with increasing rates of homelessness, from the 1980s onward, played out in Athens? These factors include: decrease in manufacturing jobs/decreased wages for those at the lower end; deinstitutionalization; disinvestment in social programs; gentrification/less affordable housing. This story would look at factors known to contribute to homelessness in terms of their applicability to Athens over the decades since the 1980s.

The Housing First model has been recognized nationally as a successful strategy. It calls for priority to be placed on finding housing without erecting barriers (such as requiring sobriety or other issues of compliance). This story would investigate use of the Housing First model in Athens.

How coordinated are services within Athens-Clarke County? Coordination of services has been cited as essential to help individuals benefit from resources and avoid waste of time and resources. This story would focus on providers, their roles in the community, and coordination among them, including successes stories as well as those who have fallen through the cracks.

How does the Athens-Clarke police force interact with the homeless community? In what ways is this beneficial? In what ways is it detrimental? This story would look at ordinances that disproportionately impact the homeless as well as their enforcement in the community.

We might call assumptions and stereotypes of homelessness a “master narrative” from which responses of the public are shaped and from which individuals themselves may view themselves. This story would look at assumptions/myths, responses they typically call forth, and realities that could change the conversation.

Among novel approaches to funding housing for vulnerable individuals is a call for Medicaid to include it among covered services! Here in Georgia we are a far cry from expanding Medicaid to include housing, but it is worth investigating where it stands elsewhere and perhaps plant the seed for discussion about it.

Starting with recognition of Athens as a compassionate community (with lots of evidence to show that!), this story would help direct compassion to as yet unfulfilled – or under-fulfilled – needs.

Athens, like other towns, has installed sidewalk meters that look like parking meters to collect donations for services for the homeless. The idea is to discourage direct contributions to panhandlers and funnel the money into a general fund. Is this a good idea? Has it “worked” in Athens or elsewhere? This story would look at rationales for the installation of care meters, amount of money collected and where it ends up, impact on amount collected by individuals on the streets.

Looking at one individual as a face of homelessness, this story would focus on Tony, the man I previously interviewed, in terms of his daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal routines and his use of resources in the community. This story would highlight what it is like to be homeless in Athens (for Tony specifically but with some implied extension to others), what has been useful to him, and what needs remain unmet.

Organizations – homelessness

Regional and local organizations:

The Northeast Georgia Homeless and Poverty Coalition provides resources and assistance to groups that work with homeless individuals and families. Athens-Clarke County community development sends representation to meetings of the coalition.

Athens Resource Center for Hope provides many services for homeless individuals, including dental and medical care, advocacy, day care, and transitional housing.

Athens Area Homeless Shelter offers a variety of services as well as accommodations for homeless families.

The Sparrow’s Nest is run by a Christian ministry and offers day services on a walk-in basis to homeless individuals.

Action Ministries has a prominent presence in downtown Athens, serving breakfast and lunch every weekday and providing bagged lunches on Saturdays and Sundays! This is a lifeline for many individuals living on the street. Action Ministries also offers a variety of other supports and services.

Sources – social media

National experts:

Keri Buscaglia is Director Communications for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. She is responsible for all press inquiries. Organization’s website, which contains a lot of information, can be accessed here.

Rosanne Haggerty is President and CEO of Community Solutions, a group that works with communities to develop plans to end homelessness. You tube video of Haggerty is linked here.

Donald Burnes is a scholar and expert on homelessness. He is currently scholar-in-residence at the University of Denver, researching and publishing in the area of solutions to homelessness. He is also working with the city of Denver to implement workable solutions.

Barbara Poppe founded the consulting firm, Barbara Poppe and Associates, to help communities plan coordinated approaches to reduce/end homelessness. She previously worked with U.S. Intra-agency Council for Homelessness and is a nationally recognized expert.

Local individuals/experts/possible sources:

Rob Trevena is Director’s of Athens’ Housing and Community Development and as such is involved with funding for homeless assistance grants. Applications for the coming year are currently being collected. As an additional note, it was reported in the Banner-Herald just today that Mr. Trevena has announced his retirement.

Samantha Carralho works for Athens’ Housing and Community Development and is responsible for coordinating the yearly counts of homeless individuals

R. Scott Freeman is Chief of Police of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. It may be helpful at some point to get information or perspectives from the police department about a matter related to panhandling or the homeless.

Pamela Thompson (on Athens Area Chamber of Commerce website) is Executive Director of Athens Downtown Development Authority Board. Ways to reducing panhandling, particularly aggressive panhandling, have recently been discussed (with little progress made).

Zack Leitz is a UGA student (Terry College of Business) who founded the Backpack Project, a group that puts items useful to those living on the street into new backpacks and delivers them to homeless individuals on the streets of Athens. Tony, the homeless man I interviewed, spoke about how much this meant to him.

Rachel Deese is one of three individuals (the others being Erik Olsen and Michael Russo) who founded PBJ’s, a group that brings bagged lunches to homeless individuals on the streets of Athens every Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. An important part of their mission is also to socialize with people on the street. This group and their fellowship was also mentioned by the individual I talked to.

Old Stories – reposted from beat vertical

I’m adding this post to Mod 3 … just in case this is where it was supposed to be! It was originally made to beat vertical last evening.

————————

One idea I am considering for an article is to explore the daily, weekly, and seasonal routines of the homeless man I recently interviewed. It would serve as a means to portray the man and his wherewithal to persevere as well as provide information about useful community resources. This could be developed as a profile or perhaps as a “behind the scene” story. It could also be tailored to the Athens community (giving information about resources and the spirit of compassion here) or to a broader audience in terms of standing for the many and varied stories of homeless individuals anywhere and the types of help they need.

Some stories of interest, retrieved from NewsBank (my new best friend!) are below:

One pre-2013 article of interest is: “Beggars without golden voices”. Columbus Monthly (OH) – April 12, 2011. We probably all remember Ted Williams, a homeless panhandler who was discovered by a Columbus, Ohio videographer to have an unexpected quality – a deep and resounding radio-type voice. He quickly became known as the man with a golden voice. In addition to changing this man’s life, the story also challenged public assumptions of homeless individuals and panhandlers as an unredeemable lot.

This article used the Ted Williams story as a jumping off point to provoke compassion for a broader array of homeless people and panhandlers. It profiled several individuals in the Columbus area and provided some insights into their lifestyles and struggles. I would classify it as a story intended to raise awareness. This is probably just as relevant today and perhaps even more so since the sheer number of articles on panhandling has increased tremendously in recent years – likely indicative of its increasing incidence or problematic nature to the public. At the same time, I think the article lacked an action component. Readers may be moved to sympathy but left feeling helpless as to what they should do, what can be done, etc.

A second pre-2013 article of interest is “Long Way Home – Whatever happened to ending homelessness?” Written by Jonathan Walters, this appeared in Governing Magazine in 2012. The overall message of this detailed article was that there had been more promises regarding ending or reducing homelessness than there had been actual progress.

The article cited gains made, mostly in the form of understanding the complexity of causative factors. But it also highlighted forces – mostly governmental or structural in nature – that were impeding progress. This is a very instructive article. Regarding its relevance to us today, I would say two things – one is that as long as there are homeless individuals among us, the information is relevant; the other is that this article could provide ideas to follow up on. For instance, several promising approaches/programs were cited, and it could be helpful to see how they’ve fared out.

The third story I’ll present is from the opinion section of Athen’s Banner Herald. The title is “It’s hard to ignore homelessness when it has a human face,” written by an Athenian named Conoly Hester; published in April 2005. The author writes of uneasiness encountering homeless people on the streets of Athens and follows with a story of getting to know and coming to admire one particular individual. It speaks from the heart and is emotionally provocative. It is a story that is ever-relevant, regardless of time period. It is also particularly relevant to Athens for two reasons – one that it talks about support systems and compassion with the Athens community; a second being that it cites a figure of 436 homeless people in Athens in 2005. That figure is significantly lower today!

And just in case the last story does not qualify for this assignment (since it’s an opinion piece!), I’ll add one from 2011 that supports the idea that the number of homeless individuals is, in fact, declining in Athens. This March 2011 article in the Banner Herald was titled, “Count of homeless finds 407“. The article cites a figure closer to 500 in years previous to 2011. Taken together with information in the Hester piece above, it looks like there was a peak somewhere between 2005 and 2011. From previous research, I learned that this year’s figure stood at 225. In a previous post (Where I’m at) I wrote about errors inherent in the counting system; however … the downward direction seems indisputable!

Older Stories

Some stories of interest, retrieved from NewsBank (my new best friend!) are below:

Interview

Transcript of 8/22, midafternoon, interview with Tony, a homeless man sitting on a bench at the corner of College and Clayton.

After a quick walking tour around the streets of downtown Athens, I decided to focus on a man sitting on this particular bench. He was looking at a book when I first saw him. A cardboard sign reading “Homeless, please help” was perched against his backpack on the pavement.

I approached (with my husband accompanying me) and handed him a dollar. He accepted it with a smile, made direct eye contact, and said “thank you”.

Me: Can I join you here?

Man: Sure, sit right down.

He motioned to the space next to him. There was already someone seated at the other end of the bench, so I sat down next to the man. My husband sat on a cement wall until the other occupant got up to allow the three of us to be on the bench together.

Me: Hi. My name is Maryann … and actually, I’m taking a journalism class at UGA.

Man: Oh, that’s great (smiles).

Me: I’d like to interview you for a project I’m working on, if that’s okay.

Man: Sure. That’ll be fine.

Me: Would you mind if I record our conversation, or would you be more comfortable if I take notes instead?

Man: Whatever works for you. Either way’s okay with me.

Me (after getting recorder going): What are you reading?

Man: It’s a travel book. This one is on South Carolina. It has a lot of nice pictures. I had one on Georgia but I gave it to someone who’s traveling around. There’s a free book exchange up the street (points up College Avenue toward Washington Street). I pick up a book every week or so and read it, then give it to a friend if someone wants it. Or I bring it back up there. Then I get another one.

Me: So, what kinds of things do you like to read?

Man: I like science fiction and history mostly. Those kinds of things. But I read all kinds of books.

Me: Do you have a favorite book, from what you’ve found there … or anytime?

Man: Well, actually last week, after I got out of the hospital, I read the book Green Mile. The movie with Tom Hanks was made from that story.

Man continues, after I ask for clarification about book name (I’ve put the statement about being in the hospital in the back of my mind for now): It’s about him being a prison guard back in the early years and the green mile meant you were on death row. One of the guys that he had on death row was this huge, huge, huge black man but he had special powers. He helped heal the guard and also, he helped heal the warden’s wife. She was bedridden. And the guard took him out of the prison to the warden’s house. And he helped heal her. But the thing about it was … whatever was, whatever was in their body that was making them sick or whatever, he would inhale it and take it into his own body. Then all he had to do was blow it out (he demonstrates).

Me: Too bad that can’t be true.

Man: Yes (emphatically). Too bad.

Me: So, let’s start with …

Man: How I got here?

Me: Yes. Would you mind telling me your name?

Tony: My name is Tony.

Me: Tony. Okay.

Tony: I lost my job and my house at the same time. Um, I worked on a horse farm just outside of Helen Ga. Uh, we gave artificial insemination and raised ponies up to certain age, and we shipped them to Florida .. to the owner’s sons and they raised ‘em up for horse racing. I was there for about 8 years and there were nine of us that lived on the farm. Um, the owner passed away, from a heart attack. He was in his mid-70s. His sons I had always dealt with for years, just by phone, I had never met ‘em, umm… but once their father passed away, they came up, they put up for sale signs and said, “See ya.” No severance pay, nothin’. I’m originally from here. This is where I grew up.

Me: So you grew up in Athens and left to work on the horse farm?

Tony: I moved away before that. I worked for a book company.

Me: What book company was it? What did you do there?

Tony: Account administration and I went from that to receiving department. The company was Baker and Taylor. They’re right in Commerce. I stayed there for like 14 years and um … then I got into account managing, inventory control, that kind of stuff. I decided after 14 years I’d had enough of it.

Me: it just wasn’t the right thing for you.

Tony: Yup. So, I decided I wanted to learn how to build a house and I had no clue (laughs) so I went out and started toting lumber for construction companies that were building houses here in East Athens. And um, swinging hammer, learn how to read blueprints. I did that, probably for about 7 or 8 years. Then the last 8 years I was on a horse farm.

Me: What did you like the best of those things that you’ve done so far … or none of them?

Tony: I liked being on the horse farm. Yes. I would love to go back to the mountains. Yes. But, I’ve been back here about 3 years.

Me: Do you still have family in the area?

Tony: My son lives in Lawrenceville. Uh … he has no idea of my situation. I don’t let him know about that. I mean I talk with him, and we visit. I have two grandsons, one is four years old and the other one’s seven. And I talk with him and stuff. He’s doing very well and I’m very proud of him. He and his wife, both. But I don’t let him know what my situation is.

Me: How do you keep him from discovering that?

Tony: I go visit him sometimes but he doesn’t come here. Yup. If he knew I was out here, doing this, he would’ve already come and got me.

Me: And you don’t want that. Do you like to be on your own?

Tony: Well, I didn’t choose to be in this situation but that doesn’t mean I have to stay here.

Me: No, it doesn’t.

Tony: Yea; several people I’ve met since I’ve been here and I’ve asked them, “How long have you been out here and they say, you know, seven, eight, nine years. And I say, “Well, do you look for a job? And the first two words to come out of their mouth are “I can’t.” They’ not physically disabled, they’re not mentally disabled, as far as I know. I think the first words that come out of their mouth should be, “I don’t want to”.

Me: I see.

Tony (adds quickly): But you know just because this happened to me doesn’t mean I have to stay here.

Me: No, absolutely not (I know that this juncture begs a question about what he is doing to change it, but I did not feel it was the right time to pose that question. Instead, I just let him continue).

Tony: I’ve been here a little over two years, day and night.

Me: Where do you sleep at night?

Tony: Um … normally beside the church under the stairwell, because it stays dry. I have camped with some fellows, in a tent, that type of thing, I’ve done that. But no, normally for the last year or so, I stay by the church over there.

Tony: I slept in that stairwell for 6 months (points to stairwell going down to basement of Subway sandwich shop). I worked there for 8 months.

Me: At the Subway?

Tony: Yes (nods). I gave it up because my last paycheck, you get paid every two week, my last paycheck for 2 weeks was $19. I had 3 hours in two weeks. I worked there for 8 months and made not the first sandwich. Everything I did was downstairs. When the trucks came in, the freezers and the coolers and stuff, you have to bring everything out front, bring new stuff in. Rotate it. That kind of stuff.

Me: You were living on the street at that time?

Tony: Yes. Right there (points to stairwell).

Me: What’s it like being out here?

Tony: It’s not so bad. To me it’s like, umm, I keep an eye on who I associate myself with. There are people out here who are not good people. In my opinion.

(At this point, a young woman who apparently knows him came out of the Subway shop and told him she had been hired. He congratulated her then returned to our conversation, now talking about how the Athens has changed since he was a young adult, particularly noting increased number of students and new buildings going up. Another individual approached him, apparently a street person. They spoke for a few minutes. I interjected that I’d let him go and would come back to talk more another time.)

Tony: Oh no, please don’t. Don’t do that.

(I stay for a while longer and resume our conversation)

Me: You’ve got a lot of friends out here. I can see that for sure.

Tony (smiles, then says about the friend who has now left): “He’s very musically talented but since he’s been out here on the street, he’s kind of nuts (laughs).

Me: Hmm. So, you were saying that you get a read on people and know who to stay away from.

Tony: Yeah, that’s important. (Pauses) About 2 months ago I started having seizures. And I never had that happen to me before, ever in my life. They gave me anti-seizure medication and did an MRI and said that I had a brain tumor. The doctor said I could go to Emory. They’d cut in to see what it is or to just take it out. But right here in Athens they could do radiation. So, I did that. They took me off anti-seizure medication because it’s not good to take it while you’re having radiation. I was supposed to have 6 sessions. Then after 4 the doctor checks it and says it’s gone.

Me: Oh, I’m glad to hear that.

Tony: But, I had another seizure, so they said it wasn’t the tumor.

(A passerby asked for directions to the Mellow Mushroom and he said it was two block down on the right)

Tony continues: The neurologist referred me to a doctor across the street and she’s internal medicine. She put me back on anti-seizure medicine. But, I had another one last night. Right here (points to pavement). One of the ladies that works there, at the Subway, saw me. It’s like a blackout thing. My body doesn’t tell me that this is fixing to happen. And um, she got me to come to and brought me some orange juice and stuff, but umm … I didn’t go to the hospital last night. The last time I did that they kept me for like 6 days. And they strapped me to the bed because I was like wanting to leave.

Me: That can’t be too pleasant.

Tony: No, it isn’t. And I didn’t want to go. I go back to the doctor on the 30^th and she’s wanting to give me another brain scan and do some blood work.

Me (getting ready to leave): I’m going to check up on you, Tony, and see how you made out. I have to go now but I’d like to talk to you again.

Tony: Oh, yea. I’ll be sittin here.

Me: This is kind of your spot.

Tony: Oh yea. I’ve been sitting here for over 2 years.

Me: Well, I’m going to stop and talk to you another time.

Tony: Do that. Please do that.

I gave him an unopened bottle of water I had in my bag and wished him well. Before leaving, I asked if I could take his picture. He did not hesitate to say yes and added: I have no problem with that. I’m not wanted anywhere.

As we left, Tony said: Good luck with your class!

Author: Maryann