June 28, 2011

Sorry for the delayed post.  Taking a break from homelessness requires more time than being homeless.  The song of the day today is "When the Levee Breaks" performed by some old guy.

I had to do some grocery shopping yesterday and I stopped by the library on my way back to Tent City.  The Doctor was outside breathlessly explaining something to a security guard and another homeless man.  "After the bill is passed in the House, it goes to the Senate for approval" he says.  "Now the Senate can do  one of two things:  Pass it, or vote it down."  The other homeless man seems surprised by these two choices.  "Oh REALLY?!"  he exclaims.  I guess he was thinking that the options would be to either pay it or not pay it, and I hope that The Doctor doesn't realize this and start all over.  It doesn't seem to faze him, and he goes on explaining the process of the former option and states that the governor can veto the bill, sending it back to Congress.  I'm certain that the other homeless man thinks that V-Toe is a medical ailment which exempts the sufferer from paying bills when he says that his wife received government disability before she passed away.  It's a good thing The Doctor does not mind if his audience is getting what he's saying and he keeps explaining how a bill becomes a law.  Many conversations between homeless people make no sense at all.

I arrive back to Tent City and sit down next to Pops and some other residents.  We talk briefly about the heat and then turn our attention to a newer enemy:  Flies.  The flies have seemed to multiply in the past week or so, especially outside the Administration Building.  Pops says that he has quit brushing his teeth since he can open his mouth and let the flies do it.  He laughs out loud at this revealing his toothless smile, and it's obvious that he loves the contradiction in this statement.  Another resident says that he would go get a can of Raid, but that he doesn't have any money.  I doubt that bug spray is what he would spend his money on since this guy is always bumming smokes from other residents.  Cigarettes seem to be the highest prioriy for the homeless.  Food needs can be taken care of by attending free meals in the evening, and clothing can always be found for free at multiple places.  Most other necessities are provided by Tent City, and many of these people have no desire to save for big ticket items.  Alcohol is high up on the list of items Tent City residents would buy with expendable income, but an unofficial poll reveals that most would buy cigarettes before they would buy beer since cigarettes provide a longer period of enjoyment per dollar than alcohol.

Rufus comes over and decides to have a seat.  He takes out some tobacco and begins to roll a cigarette as he talks.  Rufus is pretty calm now, and his familiar growl has been replaced by a softer and breathier tone.  I notice that he has a bit of a speech impediment when he's in this state of mind.  He stutters like an old lawn sprinkler at the beginning of every sentence, sputtering and not releasing anything of value.  This is always followed by an unbroken stream of quickly spoken english that falls easily on the ears of anyone in a ten foot radius.  "I-I-I-I-I liketosmoketocalmmynerves"  he says to Pops and me.  Pops responds that he likes to smoke to have something to do.  Despite his calm state of mind, Rufus still has short descriptions for the things that he sees. "R-r-r-r-r-rottenrottenrottenallthewaytothecore" he says about some former residents of Tent City.  Pops and I can't help but agree with him, and I'm impressed at Rufus's ability to evaluate others.  "Th-th-th-th-th-therelotsadoorsacamelcaintgetthrough" Rufus says, and I have no idea what made him say this.  Pops laughs for a while before looking at Rufus and saying "Yep.  There ain't nothin' wrong with Rufus' mind."  I look at Rufus as he smiles innocently.  Embarrassed, Rufus gets up and walks over to an ant bed several yards away.  He whispers something at the ants and disappears inside the Administration Building.  He returns seconds later carrying a packet of sugar which he opens and pours over the ant bed.  Most residents spend their time trying to wipe out the bug population, but Rufus seems to enjoy the ants. 

Rufus is still observing the ants when a man everyone calls Jimbo approaches Pops and me and begins speaking loudly about something.  It takes me just a minute to realize that he is drunk instead of crazy when he eyes me suspiciously.  Although I've met him before, he asks me what my name is as he crosses his arms.  He says that it takes a while for him to warm up to people and that he's sorry he hasn't met me before.  He doesn't look all that sorry as he is still standing with his arms crossed, never taking his eyes off me.  I'm pondering asking him what he keeps in his fanny pack when he asks where I am from.  I tell him I'm from Amarillo, and it quickly becomes apparent that Jimbo has strong feelings about the place when he throws his hands in the air and yells incoherently.  "AMARILLO?!?!?" he asks me, incredulous.  "You know Amarillo and Lubbock have this big...." he searches for the right word, but I nod when he pounds his fists together and he quits searching.  He tells me that I'm pretty brave for saying that around here and I tell him that he was the one who asked where I was from.  I get pretty nervous when he stops and stares at me like he took offense to my last comment until he says, without breaking eye contact "Is that your bike?" pointing to my bike a few feet away.  I tell him that it is and he begins to detail all of the adjustments that I need to make for it to be rideable.  Jimbo has barely finished outlining everything wrong with my seat when he abruptly walks away without saying anything.  I turn my attention back to Rufus who is still staring at the ants.  It looks like Rufus has picked up on the bad vibes brought by Jimbo when he scrapes his foot over the ant bed, covering it with dirt and walking away.  Rufus giveth and Rufus taketh away.