World In Strides

Ethereal · Jun 21, 2011

So there's this "friend" of mine (really somewhere between a friend and an acquaintance) who has recently embarked on a journey of epic proportions - some of you may find this very interesting and/or entertaining, so I thought I'd share it with you. At the very least, I think you will find his writings enjoyable. He is basically traveling to Seattle as a drifter, and I really don't know what better way to put it. He packed a bag full of necessities such as a sleeping bag, toothbrush, clothes, some water/snacks, etc. and set on foot headed towards Seattle; sleeping in parks, behind buildings, in bushes, essentially living life as a homeless person, but with some sense of purpose. He is documenting everything through his blog: World In Strides. He frequents Starbucks in his travels because they have free wi-fi and he can use his phone (which has no service) to connect. Some of the shit he writes is pretty entertaining IMO.

Here is the short conversation I had with him on Facebook:

In my expierences hanging out with Nick, he is a pretty quiet guy and keeps to himself for the most part. It wouldn't surprise me for a second to learn that he battles w/ depression or some other mental condition. With that said he is very, very cool, easy going, and never gets caught up in trying to fit it, be cool, or worrying about trends, etc. So I'll post some of the entries of his blog, or you can go there to read them all. Depending on the reactions I might continue to post them in here to keep the thread active and so it's more convenient.

Day 1

Today is the day I leave to pursue my dreams of being happy. I woke up at 1:30 pm. I was actually pumped about that because I slept like a baby and could use the rest before I go. I packed my things... -sleeping bag, blanket, 1 pair of extra clothes, medicine and toiletries( minimal), jacket, socks and underwear, gloves, a few bars, 2 ready meals, 3 waters, phone with no service, an a small picture of my nana and a broken watch from her. Oh and a pocket knife for protection. I will shower, eat cold pizza with hella ranch. Then walk north from San ramon CA.

Posted by Nick at 5:51 PM

Day 1b

Yesterday was my first day out. I left my cousins house walking but turned around after 100 yds because I forgot my belt. Ya that's right. I left for good after that. I walked half a town over to AT&T headquarters in San Ramon and stopped on some grass for an hour to rest. I then walked to the end of town to Starbucks to use wifi. I ran into two friends there(met through cousins[ Josh Van Pufflen and Jeff Esposito]) and they talked for a bit, said they supported me 100% and when I walked off they chased me down and gave me $20 each, I tried to deny it but they insisted, then they gave me a hug and said good luck. It really made my day and I smiled for hours after that. I then made my way to southpark in Danvillewhere I would rest for the night. It was there I really began to think clearly about my journey. It was about 10pm when I was laying on a slide on a playground there where I was looking at the moon and began to speak to my inner self for about 30 minutes. An idea came over me... Here I am on the streets traveling for the world. I have NO bills at all. My only expense is food which I can keep extremely cheap. That's it! Besides of course misc emergency things that may come along. I am a big hearted generous person for those who deserve it. I think I can become the ultimate giver to people around the world in need. Although I will be more like a worker for the people who donate to my cause. It is great because I can support and help to the world when natural disasters hit. Which it seems lately has been happening a lot. I can live for close to nothing and maximize the potential of donation money. I know there are organizations like this already but I don't think they will go to the extreme of living on the streets to save all they can and provide the MOST for others. I will mail my mother the donations, but keep a modest emergency fund with me. I will save the peoples money and when it becomes enough, will travel to places where I can help. Right now my interest is traveling to japan to help post quake and tsunami efforts. And after that I would like to continue wherever else I can. I want to do this from the ground up, literally. And have a feeling this idea could have some serious potential inthe future. Maybe a whole organization of people being selfless and living this lifestyle to prove to the world they are here to help. I want to be a blessing to others who are in need and deserve the help. If comfort or wealth come later then maybe it comes. But for now I think this is the place for me to be. I tossed and turned most of the night and was cold and hardly slept. But my thoughts were extremely comforting and free, and that to me is an amazing life...

Posted by Nick at 6:11 PM

Ethereal · Jun 21, 2011

Day 2

Whoa! Last night was rough, but I made it through... Back up to yesterday morning. Waking up in Danville south park. I woke up hearing a leaf blower from a guy about 20ft away from me. He ran it for a minute or so probably hoping I would wake up and leave. Then he turned it off and yelled "hey!" I popped up and out of my sleeping bag. He told me I couldn't sleep in the parks. I kinda figured I might be woken up by someone kicking me out so I wasn't too suprized. Just glad it wasn't a cop. I told him sorry and I'm just passing through. He asked if I was homeless and I told him yes but by choice. ( I have many places I could live but want to live this lifestyle by choice ) he laughed at me like I was either crazy or lying and walked off. I kinda laughed at that. I got up, rolled my bag up and packed up. I put on sunscreen and brushed my teeth and took off walking. I walked from there north to downtown Danville In search of a Starbucks( my new sanction ). I couldn't find one so I stopped at a bagel shop where I wanted to take off my extra pair of socks and jacket. I packed them away for the heat of the day then I began In my journal. I was about a sentence in when a young man climbed up the deck on the railing where I was sitting, and asked if I was headed north. He had seen my sign when I walked through the parking lot and offered to take me up to concord. Him (Yoav) and his either girlfriend or friend (Andrea) drove me in their van with their dog up the freeway north. It was my first ride so I was very exited. They asked questions where I revealed my journey and plans. They were very supportive and thought it was amazing. I take motivation from their support and it means very much to me. They dropped me off at a cvs or rite aid or something and when I came around the corner there was a Starbucks right there. It worked out very well. Thanks again guys : ) I went into Starbucks to use the Internet. A man sat next to me and I helped him plug his computer chord in. He (yevheniy) and his girlfriend had coffee and used his computer together a while. When he was ready to leave I again helped him get the chord and he pointed to my sign and asked where I was going. I explained the worldinstride project and they were both very supportive. They gave me some kind words, we exchanges information, then they shook my hand and said good luck. I was happy they were so kind. Then yevheniy returned inside and said it was so nice to meet me and shook my hand again. In his hand was a donation. I told him thank you so much and it will go far. That really made me feel great and I can now see this is really something good. It was a great moment finishing a great morning. I left there feeling very motivated and know I will not let anyone down because this is where my heart is. I then left there walking north of concord. I walked for a good part of the day, so much that I created a nice blister on my right big toe and behind my right knee began to feel pain. Being out of shape doesn't help. But I'm sure those things will pass. I walked even far into the night and was having a hard time finding a good place to crash. So I just kept walking. I walked for so long I became extremely tired and finally just had to settle for a place to get some shut eye. I crawled up a freeway on ramp embankment in the dark. I tripped a couple times over roots and finally crawled behind some bushes where I couldn't be seen, made a quick bed and laid down. The problem was I was on such a steep slope that I kept sliding down into thornbushes and waking up from pokes on my legs. The freeway was about 20ft up the hill and was really loud and heavy with traffic. I slept in maybe 20 minutes increments and my whole body ached from being so uncomfortable. I remember sliding down then crawling back up probably 100 times. Took a while to fall back asleep each time with the traffic. Not to mention the big rigs would shake the entire embankment each time the passed on the freeway, which was often as 680 in a busy route for rigs. And I found out sleeping on freeway on ramps gives you the weirdest creepiest dreams of your life. So needless to say the sleeping situation of being homeless is rough. I was already expecting it and have kind of accepted it though which made it a bit easier to deal with. At least it wasn't raining or sprinklers didn't blast me and wake me up. I know it will be worse soon enough. The cool thing about it is that as alone as I feel there are many people I join in being without shelter. The thought that I am under the same sky as those in japan who are faced with the same thing eases my mind and adjusts my attitude about it if I even begin to feel sorry for myself for a second. I actually am suprized how good my attitude has stayed. I think it's peoples support that helps me to maintain a humbled state of mind. I'm a believer in miracles and I believe good things are coming from my efforts to live for the world. And I know I have matured a long ways because 5 years ago I would have been the guy screaming curse words at guys like me now, walking down the street homeless. Or I would have thrown things at them - god forgive me for I am a changed man. I am now completely sober over 6 months now and that is important to me. I know my thoughts are not impure or diluted and as crazy as I seem this is where I want to be. I think a crazy person couldn't handle doing this. And whatever I face after I go through this will be easier to deal with. All this could not be done without the moral support of everyone and I will need that along the way. Thanks for viewing and I will check in tomorrow as long as I'm around wifi. Much love

Posted by Nick at 4:22 PM

Ethereal · Jun 21, 2011

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Day 3

So when I woke up yesterday (next to freeway in concord) I was ready to get the he'll out of there! My body was uphill so me head was right at the top of the bushes. I lifted my head up just enough to see over them and it was jam packed traffic at the intersection of sun valley / willow pass where I bedded. The night before there were no cars there. I knew when I sat or stood up all the cars would easily see me. I had no free slot of time to het out. Too many cars were stopped at all times so I was screwed. The worst thing was I still had to shake out my sleeping bag and blanket and then roll them up. Mind you my sleeping bag is red, and big. After a few minutes dreading it I finally decided I had to do it. If I drug my stuff out to the sidewalk and did it there it would only be worse... I put my blanket inside my sleeping bag and need to roll it up tightly so the elastic fits over both, it is only made to fit over the bag. So I started shaking out my bag and blanket then tried rolling them up but the hill was too steep and I couldn't get a tight enough roll. I needed level ground. There was a spot more level but I had to climb higher up the hill whichaaq meant being more visible to the cars. At this point I was frustrated so I just went for it. There I was up on a hill waving a big red sleeping bag in the air with about 40 cars at stoplights looking at me. I told myself not to look at them but did anyways and instantly regretted it. Oh ya and my jacket is also red and stands out. I finally rolled the sucker up tight enough and wrapped it and booked it off the hill and out of the bushes. I felt like I was on a stage and got boo'd off by people honking their horns at me heckling. I hurried to get out of there. I was thinking it's extremely unlikely I will ever meet or even see anyone from there, ever. But if I do I will laugh at it along with them... I walked down a busy street for about 45 minutes before a for truck made a u turn in front of me and pulled over asking if I wanted a ride north? I said very energetically "yeah!" and asked where they were headed? They were going back home up to fairfield. I was looking at a map the day before and actually thought Fairfield or Vacaville would be good places to stop for a day on my way north. Worked out well and got me over the Benicia bridge also. The two men were Paul and Paul, father and son who worked in landscaping and hauling. Their truck had plywood guards around the bed and was obviously used for their business. They were off work for the day and in concord picking up a navigation system off craigslist. As we drove towards Fairfield they played some good music and had a clean sounding system in their truck. They dropped me off at Starbucks next to the Westfield mall. When they dropped me the father mentioned he always though about doing something likeI'm doing but never did. I have been hearing that a lot lately. I got a picture of Paul jr who was driving the truck. (picture above with tan truck in background)...the rest of the day I tried to take it easy to let my blister and knee rest. I was talking to a girl in Starbucks who asked where I was going. She was a new hire there and was sitting next to me in the lobby reading through company handbooks ect. She asked all the worst possible questions about personal hygiene which made me really feel like I needed to bathe and wash my clothes soon. She was very nice and open about the reality of my limited cleaning. We talked for a while and she said goodluck. After that I decided to look for a laundromat near the area along with a couple other things. I needed new cereal bars because all I have are fiber one bars. Those are like the easy button at circuit city for when u wantto dump and they give u gas. Bad idea to pack only those as my food supply while backpacking. Right down the street was a laundromat, grocery outlet, and goodwill all together. So I decided it's time to clean up and get a few cheap things. I went to grocery outlet and for 8.95 bought: bag of trail mix, bag of goldfish, 6 cereal bars, small body wash, small shampoo, and deoderant. They have great deals there. I went to the laundromat next and bathed in the bathroom. I scrubbed the pits bits and tits and washed myself with a clean shirt I had then just washed that too. During the time of waiting for my laundry I picked out foxtails from my blanket from the night before for at least an hour and maybe got a quarter of them out. Laundry coated me 5.75. After laundry I left feeling fresh and clean and way better. I went to goodwill and bought a plain yellow hat to write the blog page website on and a pair of sun glasses because I forgot mine at my cousins and don't want to squint in the sun so much. I spent 4.58 there. When I left there it was about 6pm and I wanted to find a place to crash earlier so I wasn't stuck being uncomfortable or embarrassed when I would wake up. I headed back to the mall to check out a park across the street. On the way back a Hispanic man on a bike stopped next to me and asked where I was going. He told me he just came from a shelter a few blocks down but it was fille for the night, but he was heading across town to a church that let's homeless people sleep inside and he could get me in to stay there if I wanted to. He was a very nice man probably around late 30's. I thought about it but it was way across town where I would have to walk there and back tomorrow. And I wanted to rest my knee and blister the rest of the day so I told him no thanks. He also said monday through Friday they feed the homeless near the mall in the mornings but knew by Monday I would be further north. I told him thanks for the offer but I would figure something out near the mall and freeway. I should have taken a picture of him but forgot. He said he will pray fir me and he left riding. I yelled to him "thank you!" I got to the park I was wanting to check out and I found the coolest spot to sleep. There was a stone wall dividing the park and houses, I found a part of the wall that had a tree draped over the wall and the branches were so thick you couldn't even see through it. It was all blocked off except for a small hole enough to crawl through at one of the ends. Inside it was clean and no weeds or branches congested the space. It was roughly the size of a 10x10 room but in the shape of a half-moon. We have all been kids and tryst me when I say this, most awesome natural fort ever! I knew that was where I was crashing that night. There was still daylight left and I wasn't ready to sleep so I went across the street back to Starbucks to use the Internet and hangout for a while. I stayed there til they closed at 11. The staff were very friendly and asking questions. They were very nice and said bye to me when I left. I got to my "fort" and made my bed ( on perfectly level ground!). I said a prayer to please not have a kid in the morning come to his favorite fort and find a homeless man in a red sleeping bag there and I went to bed. That would ruin the spot for him forever. I slept like a baby last night.

Posted by Nick at 4:11 PM

Ethereal · Jun 21, 2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Day 4

This day was busy and my journal entry was long. A lot happened so bear with me.

It makes me happy to help people, and to help people help people. This journey has been a blessing to my life. Even if I don't raise enough and have to fly to japan using the money raised plus my own money the journey is still more than worth it to me. My life is changing a little everyday in a good way, and I love the effect I am having on others to help their lives in any way as well. Yesterday I was made aware of that in a big way and it really opened my eyes...

Morning

The day started waking up for no other reason than being done sleeping. No leaf blower, no traffic, no kid screaming to his father that there is a bum in his fort. I slept without waking up all night and it was awesome! I honestly didn't think that was possible being homeless in a city. It's almost like I woke up and there were no people in the whole town of Fairfield. No cars or people or any noise at all. Kinda weird. I laid there for a few moments and it was nice. I climbed out from under my tree "fort" and snapped a picture of my bed (with my awesome iPhone) before I would clean it up and take off. I walked out and onto the walking path of the park and sat on a bench to brush my teeth. The park was really nice and had pretty landscaping. I looked around for a minute enjoying the layout. I brushed my teeth and took a vitamin and left walking. I headed out of the park and across the street to the same Starbucks where I had been the day before. I was a little embarrassed because I noticed the same crew members from the day before working again. But aside from that it was nice to see them again and I realized they were the first people I've seen in consecutive days since I left. They were sure to welcome me and one said it was nice to see me again. Even though I only get free ice waters they are still really nice. And little did they know those same cloths from yesterday I'm wearing are washed! It's weird how I feel so clean still after sleeping on the ground in a park in all my clothes. I began to write my journal entry. I wrote for about 20 minutes when a pretty girl came up to me and asked where I'm heading and what I'm writing about. At this point it's too much to explain to people so I tell them I'm raising money wherever I travel to go to japan to help out, and I write about my journey to keep people posted on the Internet. She asked what was north and I said I was heading to Seattle. (I have the north sign on my backpack at all times[refer to picture on day 1]) she said she has a group of friends who go to an event near Seattle called rainbow gathering. I never heard of it but it is supposed to be just like burning man but free(music and art event). She asked for the webpage address and then needed to get back to work. She wished me luck and said she would check it out. As I was wrapping up my entry a disabled vietnamese man came into Starbucks in an electric wheelchair. He was very thin and looked like he had very little use of his body. As he came in he was greeted extra warmly by the crew and they knew him probably as a a regular or semi regular customer. He ordered a drink and pastry and an employee cam out to set it on a table for him. He had a big smile. I had a feeling if I talked to him he would be friendly to me. But I have had that same feeling before where I was completely wrong. I decided to say something but wasn't sure what yet. Just then he dropped a nickel on the ground and was in no shape to pick it up. I jumped up and grabbed it for him. He smiled. I asked him how his day is going. He tried very hard to answer but could not get the words out. He was making such an effort that he made noises but couldn't quite get his word off of his tongue. He finally blurted out good. I asked "If u don't mind me asking where were you born?" and again he struggled to speak. But finally he said guess? Gasping it out. Not to get side tracked but I'm probably the worst person I know at guessing a nationality based off of looks. I was once told r Kelly was right next to me and I starred at an Indian man thinking I was in the presents of a famous musician. R Kelly turned out to be the nicely dressed black man next to the old Indian guy. Anyways. I really didn't want to guess but didn't want to be rude so I guesses, are you Japanese, he smiled and after much effort said guess again, I said Korean, he smiles and said no. An again every word took a while and was a struggle. He then said it starts with a v. And then I was pretty sure it was Vietnamese and when I said that he smiled and became very exited moving around in his chair. He tried to say something again but I couldn't understand him. He kept trying but eventually I gave him a paper and pen and he started to write something down. As he was writing he knocked the same nickel off the table again so I picked it up and sat at his table waiting for him to finish writing. When he was done he handed me the paper and it said these exact words "you want to seat on my table?". Then we both laughed because I was already there. The paper he wrote on is in the picture above. I asked what his name was and he immediately went to his keychain where he had an item with his name on it. I think he did that knowing it was easier than trying to say it. Me and trung talked at a slow pace for over 2 hours! At times he would write things down when communicating was too tough. Trung is 32 years old. He will be 33 in July. When he was 3 months old his mother was told he would never walk. When he was 11 he moved to San Francisco from Vietnam. Highschool was hard knowing little English but he eventually learned the language when he was done in school. He has a big family (which I saw pictures of) including members in San fransisco. He worked for 10 years at pride industries helping disabled people. He rode his wheelchair to work a half a mile each way. He loved his job. 3 years ago work became too tough for him when doctors diagnosed him with a bone disease and he was in intense pain. He had surgeries but was left with no feelings in his arms and other areas. Another surgery to attempt to help him has a better chance of leaving him paralyzed than helping him. He deals with pain all the time even just performing very simple tasks. Trung is my friend. He visits Starbucks often from his house a mile away where he lives alone. He wanted to show me his favorite music on an audio device he had, we listened to Vietnamese music while we talked. It was pretty cool. At times we were laughing at things together hysterically. He has a great sense of humor and is intelligent but just has a herd time getting things out with all his pain and limitations from his illnesses. You could tell his laugh was good even though it was mostly held in. His gestures were priceless. He had questions for me and I explained my story to him. He seemed a little confused at first as to why I would trade such a good lifestyle to do this but after some more questions he said he understands. He also said I am a good man. I liked that. After a nice conversation with trung he had to be going to meet some people ( I think he said it was something to do with his illness ). Before he left he asked when I would return? I told him I wasn't sure. Then before he left he leaned way in towards me and said "be careful". There are bad people everywhere. He asked if I will come visit him when I get back. I said I will be back but not sure when and I will visit. Right then he leaned back into his wheelchair and reached down the side and slowly pulled out a book. He really struggled to keep a grip on it and shook rapidly as he moved it towards me. He said to take the book on my trip and when I get back to return it. He also said he hopes I can do that before he dies because he doesn't know how long he has. Right then I noticed his eyes became watery and he was sad. I told him thanks for talking to me. (book is pictured above as well as trung) trung has had a hard life. I was really happy to meet him and whoever sent him into my life, thank you. We exchanged emails and before he left I took a picture with him, threw away his garbage, and grabbed the door for him as he headed off.... How amazing is that! What a great man. I got an email a few hours later from him pictured above with the blue background....

Late afternoon wwoofer

I left Starbucks around 3 and began walking north on frontage roads hoping to catch a ride but had no luck. I found another Starbucks further north in town so I would stop there. Im finding it hard to pass them because good things always seem to happen when im there. When I was walking a girl veered into my path. She was wearing a backpack and looked to be here from out of the country. I asked her where she was headed and she said she was on her way back to where she works. She was visiting here from university of Pitt, pa. She's originally from china and moved here a year ago She was here working as a wwoofer. ( a wwoofer is an organic farmer, I just learned it from her) she stays with a family working 5-6 hours a day for shelter and food. She mostly wanted to come here so she could visit CA. As I got close to Starbucks she actually said she was stopping there too on her way back to the farm. She joined me in Starbucks to continue our stories. She is here for a month but really has only been in Fairfield around the farm and in the town. We ended up talking for a little over an our and actually shared many of the same thoughts in life and travel. She thought what I was doing was very cool and wants to follow the journey. We talked a little more about her stay here and she said she really wanted to see the beach here before she leaves but is not sure if she will get the chance. She doesn't really know too much about CA or where to visit. I told her I would see if I could find someone to volunteer and maybe show her around the bay for a day. I said no promises but I will see what I can do. She lit up and if she could do that it would really make her stay here in CA. She is very nice and deserves it. If anyone would enjoy showing Jenny around for a day please email me. I would hate for her one stay here to only be in Fairfield( nothing against the town but there is so much around here she could see, and at least the beach I hope) Jenny and I exchanged information, took a picture together and she headed up the hill back to the farm 2 hours of walking from there...

Safeway; pissers, pukers, tweakers

I left heading north walking along the free way frontage roads. Hoping to find a ride again I had no luck. I found an abandoned building with a cool spot next to it with cover hidden away where I might be able to stay. I checked it out and it seemed like a cool spot to maybe sleep for the night but when I checked it out there was a man who already setup his stuff there. So I kept on north. It was getting dark and I was now passing through mostly residential and was starting to think I wasn't gonna find a good place to sleep for the night. I walked through housing for miles and finally came to a shopping center and was exhausted. There was a Safeway there open 24 hours so I went in and used the restroom because I had a serious case of mud butt. I hung out inside Safeway at the seating area for a few hours and wrote in my journal. It was about 2 in the morning when my eyes were closing and I needed rest. I went out to the parking lot looking around for a little spot to hideout in trees or something but there was nowhere where I would be out of site. I walked behind the Safeway and saw nothing there either. And there was a homeless man back there next to a wall on the concrete sleeping under a garbage bag. Right there in the open. So I wasn't going to stay back there. When I came back from around the side I saw a party bus with a few people outside on the side of the dumpster area. It was a guy standing next to 3 girls in dresses and they were all popping a squat (urinating on the ground) and they saw me and said "don't look". I told them I wasn't and I'm looking the other way. The guy then yelled "it's ok man they are just taking a sh*t". And quickly I replied "ok cool because I just got done dropping one back there" pointing my thumb back towards the rear of Safeway. I heard the girls say eww and the guy started rolling laughing. From how I look carrying my sleeping bag and backpack I'm sure they actually believed me. They finished their business and got back into the bus. Then a girl stumbled out and puked on the ground for a few minutes. Then they finally took off blasting their stereo. It was pretty funny to see that because I've been there so many times (before I was sober) after a late party night where things get crazy... I laid down on a brick wall outside of Safeway and tried to shut my eyes laying against my sleeping bag. I for sure didn't want to make a bed there because it was to exposed and I didn't want to get into trouble. I was shivering cold and couldn't sleep but it still felt good to rest my body. As I was laying there a girl in raggedy clothes came walking up. She got close to me and noticed I was awake and said "what are you doing out here, you don't look homeless" that was actually nice to hear. And her face had many cuts on it and looked like it had been picked at. I didn't want to make much conversation with her because I was so tired but since I was awake she began talking to me for an hour even though I really only answered to her vaguely. She was actually very pretty underneath her abused body. But she looked like she had been through a lot of rough things. She was a blonde and almost looked like The mother of eminem in the movie 8 mile. She told me she had been to prison. She was a rapper in prison and she was well known around the area for her rymes. She loves to do speed ( I kinda figured that ). She said she used to deal drugs but when she took over another ladys clients the lady shot her in the breast with a needle injecting pure hepatitis c, and then rubbed dog feces all over her body before kicking her out onto the streets naked. Her grandfather doesn't let her into his house anymore when she knocks at night. She was begging for change the other day and ran into her uncle asking him for change and she was so high she didn't realize it was him. He got pissed and told her off. And she said she also sleeps with guys around town for drugs. I was trippin out and she just kept rambling on. She found a sweater in the ground but put it on inside out because she doesnt want to have the fabric touch her body where it touched other peoples. She said she was going to go into Safeway and do something crazy. I laid there and at this point realized I probably wasn't going to sleep all night. She came out of Safeway a few minutes later walking fast and yelling. She called the lady who chased her out a cow and a weak slave. She said she doesn't know hard work and and couldn't handle her life. She yelled some other curse words until she was out of sight. I went into the store to ask what happened and they said it was just the "tweaker lady" trying to steal lighters and the donation change again. She was banned from the store a while back but still comes in to try and steal stuff. The cops have been after her for a few months but she always gets away. I told them some of the stuff she was telling me and they said "ya she's crazy". so I was walking out of safeway and would start waking north again. As I came out there was the tweaker again trying to open all the car doors in the parking lot. I kinda laughed and asked what she was doing? She said the people in Safeway are rude to her so she was gonna steal their stuff. I told her to stop and not to make me go back inside and tell them your trying to break into their cars. She said if I do that I'm a pussy. I looked at her and laughed then turned around to head back into the store and she was yelling some more nonsense. I was so tired I don't remember what else she said and wasn't really paying attention. I told the lady at the cash register she was trying to get into the cars and she went to call the cops. Then I left again. I didn't see the tweaker when I left and really hope I never see her again.

Finally

I walked north from there passing a bunch of other homeless people sleeping under trees on the sides of the roads in that same area. After getting out of that area I found a nice park on the north peak of town maybe 3 miles up the road. It was a nicer residential area and I for sure felt more comfortable. It was 6:30am and I was beyond tired. I laid out my bag right in the middle of the park on the grass. Since it was daylight it was more like I was napping during the day there so I wasn't worried about being seen or getting kicked out. I put on some jack Johnson on my I pod and finally went to bed at about 7am. Finally...

Dhadnot · Jun 21, 2011

good stuff.

Mr. Nice Guy · Jun 22, 2011

Ethereal said:

They all come to Seattle :dead:

lol good post though. Interesting read.

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Dhadnot

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Dhadnot

Mr. Nice Guy

Sicc OG

Mr. Nice Guy