Monday, July 18, 2011
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Article
This article printed by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal features Tent City. It's worth a read.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
July 5, 2011
Sorry for the delayed post. I took a break from the internet. June 30 was my last full day at Tent City. I spent another night there over the weekend just for the heck of it, and it was a pretty good time. I'll probably make another post soon about the month; a sort of "final thoughts" thing. The song of the day today is "Too Long In the Wasteland" by James McMurtry.
A couple of weeks ago the young, mexican couple (see June 2, 2011) moved into Tent City. One day the new mexican resident had introduced himself to me as Carlos when his girlfriend was at work. I've noticed that she always wears really baggy shirts (sometimes sweatshirts) and I wonder if she is pregnant. After talking to Carlos for a little while, I ask him how long he and his girlfriend have been together. Carlos thinks for a moment before he answers in a Tex-Mex accent "mmmm 'bout six munts." I'm thinking that the matter of Carlos's girlfriend's gestation status is still in question and Carlos continues "but we known each utter longer." I tell Carlos that I'll see him later and head to cut Sweet Cheeks off in the campground. He seems to always know the latest gossip so I want to test my theory out on him. Upon hearing that I've met Carlos, Sweet Cheeks launches into a breathless and meandering narrative about how they fornicate all the time (even in public restrooms!) and he's pretty sure she's pregnant and she works at Taco Bell while Carlos sits around all day and he should take some responsibility and he saw her make him a sandwich the other day while he just sat there and another resident told him that she saw her cleaning out their tent when he was supposed to be out selling papers but he was really just hanging out at various spots around town (omg). This is all a jumbled mess of pronouns and heresay that I find hard to follow, but I do learn that my suspicions are shared by another resident. I walk back to my tent trying to make sense of everything I just heard.
A couple of weeks ago the young, mexican couple (see June 2, 2011) moved into Tent City. One day the new mexican resident had introduced himself to me as Carlos when his girlfriend was at work. I've noticed that she always wears really baggy shirts (sometimes sweatshirts) and I wonder if she is pregnant. After talking to Carlos for a little while, I ask him how long he and his girlfriend have been together. Carlos thinks for a moment before he answers in a Tex-Mex accent "mmmm 'bout six munts." I'm thinking that the matter of Carlos's girlfriend's gestation status is still in question and Carlos continues "but we known each utter longer." I tell Carlos that I'll see him later and head to cut Sweet Cheeks off in the campground. He seems to always know the latest gossip so I want to test my theory out on him. Upon hearing that I've met Carlos, Sweet Cheeks launches into a breathless and meandering narrative about how they fornicate all the time (even in public restrooms!) and he's pretty sure she's pregnant and she works at Taco Bell while Carlos sits around all day and he should take some responsibility and he saw her make him a sandwich the other day while he just sat there and another resident told him that she saw her cleaning out their tent when he was supposed to be out selling papers but he was really just hanging out at various spots around town (omg). This is all a jumbled mess of pronouns and heresay that I find hard to follow, but I do learn that my suspicions are shared by another resident. I walk back to my tent trying to make sense of everything I just heard.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
July 1, 2011
I plan on making a couple of posts covering my last couple of nights at Tent City and recapping the month, but Hobo Time abruptly switched to Business Time so Spare Time is at a premium. Please keep checking back for updates.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
June 29, 2011
The song of the day today is "What Sin Replaces Love" by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. Fast forward to the 0:30 mark to skip the frankensteinian Henry Rollins.
I arrived at Tent City last night around 7:00 to find about twenty-five residents gathered around the Administration Building. It is rare to find many of the residents in the same spot at one time. Usually at any given time, the greatest number of them found together is around eight with others scattered around town or in their tents. Most residents get government assistance of some sort with checks normally arriving on the third day of each month. By the end of the month, though, the money has dried up for most leaving them with nothing to do but hang out here.
I arrived at Tent City last night around 7:00 to find about twenty-five residents gathered around the Administration Building. It is rare to find many of the residents in the same spot at one time. Usually at any given time, the greatest number of them found together is around eight with others scattered around town or in their tents. Most residents get government assistance of some sort with checks normally arriving on the third day of each month. By the end of the month, though, the money has dried up for most leaving them with nothing to do but hang out here.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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 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.
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