The song of the day today is "Make It Rain" by Tom Waits. Blogger's video application is not working at the moment so you'll have to click the link to watch the video.
I am asked a lot of questions about my safety during this month. This was a concern of mine leading up to this experiment, but all my worries quickly faded. My thought was that, if I could stay out of "shady" situations and places, I would be perfectly fine. My only concerns were: 1) Being found out that I was not actually destitute, and 2) random acts of violence. The first has not been a big deal. I've found that I look sufficiently homeless especially when carrying my backpack (almost always), and definitely when I have gone several days without showering. The second has not been a concern at all. The "shady rule" covers me as I never walk alone at night, and I don't go anywhere with anybody. Some might argue that Tent City is a shady place, but anyone who has been there will argue otherwise. It is in a part of town where the crime rate is about mid-range, and it is surrounded by neighborhoods with high crime rates. But, the gates are locked every night and someone is always on duty. Besides, what would anyone want with homeless people? The thing about being homeless is that everybody assumes that you don't have anything they want, and they're probably right. So, I would say that I feel just as safe sleeping at Tent City as I did sleeping in my house.
