I'm headed to Scotland next week!!!

I feel sort of guilty for not really giving you guys any juicy insights into my personal life lately, but that’s because things are pretty static and there’s really not much to tell at the moment.  I’m still visiting with Vicki Day in London and scooping entrepreneurial business tips from her brilliant mind, which is fun, but nothing particularly dramatic like my trailer being towed from Wal-Mart or other such harrowing tales to regale you with.  Not just yet, anyhow.

Ooh, except that I’m apparently *~*~*finally*~*~* getting the first half of the book advance on Monday, which will catapult me into relative financial solvency, at least for now.  So, yay!  *does the book advance dance* Following which, I can give Vicki’s über-patient daughter Alice back her room and head northwards to bounce around the lovely country of Scotland some more.

Still haven’t decided when I’m heading back to California yet, but in the meantime, I’m “subletting” my trailer to another homeless gentleman, a friend of another woman staying on the same lot as me.  This way, I don’t have to worry about also paying rent while I’m out here, and I get the added bonus of feeling like I’ve helped somebody out (woot!)  Thanks so much to Sage for facilitating all of this, by the way.

So, I guess at least I’m making the most of my first time travelling out of the country!  I’m earning the very first stamp in my very first passport, dammit.

In the meantime, I have the weekend at my disposal, so today I’m off to run around London and take care of some important business in preparation for travelling next week.

Also, yes, I’m aware that HomelessTales.com has been down for several weeks.  I was initially under the impression that it was a matter of someone forgetting to pay the hosting fee or something equally simple to fix, but according to the gentleman who hosts it for Matt, the server was apparently hacked by a disgruntled former employee, the password changed, and the account closed.  It’s not irreversible, the files are still there, but it’s been one headache after another trying to rescue it and re-establish everything.  Sources tell me it’ll be back up Friday or Saturday… I’m really hoping that’s correct, though, because prior to this, I was under the impression that it would be up last week or even earlier.  So, fingers crossed  If you’re on the Street Voices crew, apologies for the delay!  I know you’re going through withdrawals and itching to post again.

Talk soon!

Here’s an interesting article that has me in a quandry:

City Hounds the Homeless for Dog Licenses

(First of all, I’m going to try and ignore author Matt Smith’s passing reference to “surly bums” and focus on the greater picture here – the “homeless with pets” issue.  BUT just for the record, I equate the word “bum” with a derogatory slur.)

I’ve blogged before about being homeless with a dog because, well, I was… and even with a job and income, I couldn’t keep it up long-term.  My Neo Mastiff, Fezzik, is currently cared for by the wonderful Sage, who has been boarding him for several months.  Even being in a better position than many homeless individuals, I was still only able to keep up care of a dog for two months while living at Wal-Mart.  It is simply very, very difficult to maintain an animal when you’re homeless.  Animals are expensive and time-consuming, and (surprise!) they will get sick at some point, even with the best of care.  It’s just what animals do.

I do understand why many homeless people keep animals, however.  Companionship and protection are two huge motivating factors.  I occasionally had run-ins with some creepy people during the Wal-Mart days, and I felt a hell of a lot safer with 160 lbs. of muscle and teeth snoozing between my bed and the trailer door.  Plus, as we all know – your dog is always happy to see you.  Rarely a day goes by for a homeless individual in which he or she is not looked down upon as a second-class citizen.  A dog doesn’t care about all that caste system crap, though.  A dog just wants to be fed, watered, and petted… in exchange he’ll devote his last dying breath to you.

So yes, I see the attraction.  And I even pulled it off for a while – Fezzik was licensed, had all his shots, was fed/watered/walked, and was the picture of health.  However, I’ve also seen well-meaning homeless people with animals that were clearly suffering.  Probably the worst case was a homeless regular that Matt and I saw outside of a local Starbucks, a few months ago.  His Chow was matted and mangy, covered in scabs, losing hair in clumps, and could barely walk.  I stooped to pet the dog and it gave my hand a few feeble licks, but you could tell that there wasn’t much energy left to speak of; it couldn’t have been too far from death.  Matt had to console me because I wanted to just scoop the dog up and run away with it.  It may be a hard life, but homeless people should not, as a general rule, drag their pets down that road with them.  I won’t say there aren’t exceptions and extenuating circumstances, but they are rare.

However, there’s also a bigger implication to the San Francisco article.  Slapping homeless individuals with tickets and fines for unlicensed dogs won’t solve the problem.  It just adds another unmanageable financial burden on a human being who often doesn’t even know where his or her next meal will be coming from – how is such a person capable of purchasing a dog license, or paying accruing fines?  If San Francisco wants to crack down, then they should look into having these animals adopted and rehomed, but nobody is helped by giving a homeless person just another nuisance citation.  As the author points out, when tickets pile up, they can result in an arrest warrant, which can cause a homeless man or woman to lose all possessions and social services benefits.  It simply accomplishes nothing.

So, my thoughts on this article are twofold:

1)  Homeless people – don’t have pets.  Really.  Don’t.  You’re probably not among the 1% of the dehoused population that can handle it.

2)  San Francisco – quit looking for picky reasons to ticket homeless individuals.  They need help, not another fine to mire them down.

Hi all,

As I mentioned, I’m in London right now, visiting with a friend and taking care of some business stuff before I head back north to Scotland.  I may be in the UK for a few more weeks, haven’t really decided yet.  But here’s a couple photos for you, of me in Trefalga Square, in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum, in front of the Buckingham Palace gates, and a very solemn-looking member of the Royal Guard, whom I unfortunately was not allowed to get close to and heckle like in the movies (thank you so much for dragging me all over London, Vicki Day!!!)

I also wanted to get a few quick links in to today’s Homeless News:

Here in England, four men aged 20 to 25 were arrested for a brutal assault on a 32-year-old homeless man on a train.  The man was treated at the hospital for multiple facial fractures.

In Santa Barbara, at least three homeless people died this weekend in the severe cold temperatures. This brings the (very new) year’s current total of homeless deaths in Santa Barbara to five (six in the past six weeks).

Teens in Lakewood, Ohio “showed solidarity” with homeless individuals by sleeping out in the cold for a night.  However, the article also points out the hypocrisy inherent in these “homeless sleepouts” (which I like, because that’s something most articles on the subject don’t touch on).

Riverside, which is where I currently stay in California, is opening a new one-stop homeless center that will provide counseling, legal advice, housing help, veterans services and other assistance.  It will also host an annual event, Project Homeless Connect, in which attending homeless individuals will be offered immediate medical and dental care, haircuts, food and clothing.

…Any thoughts, comments, etc. on any of these articles?  You know I love hearing my readers’ opinions!

Image credit: Wung, Flickr

Just yesterday I posted about the fresh and welcome feeling of seeing homeless individuals roundly and unanimously defended in the comments section of a news article, for a change.  Then I read this news item from Augusta, Georgia.

…Aaaaaaaaaand we’re back to square one.

Early Thursday morning, a 37-year-old homeless woman in Augusta was raped, sodomized, and robbed of $120 by an armed assailant pressing a gun to her head.  The woman was finally able to pull a knife from her pants and cut the rapist on the face, upon which he fled and the victim went to the hospital.  The article also mentioned briefly (I can’t imagine why though, as it seems completely unrelated to the crime committed) that the woman had consumed an unknown amount of alcohol prior to the rape.

And then the comments started rolling in.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

“Hmmmm, A Drunk Homeless Woman with $120. Yeeah Right”  ~spdermn78

“Just because she is homeless doesn’t mean that she can’t turn tricks…..or dealing……”  ~fishman960

“And here silly ole me was sitting here trying to figure out if it was rape or theft of services.”  ~MarshCroaked

“Does seem kind of odd for a “homeless” person to be carrying that kind of cash on them.”  ~Emerydan

“Emerydan, a woman with that kind of cash in that neighborhood at that time of night who had a sip or three doesn’t surprise me at all. Did she perhaps escape from Harrisburg?”  ~MarshCroaked

“Sounds like prostitution was involved in this somehow.”  ~Emerydan

“Somehow the thought of sodomy on a homeless woman seems, how should I put it, nasty.”  ~Jake

“YUCK. Jake, you got it right, buddy.”  ~ustabe

“Yep, the the incident likely involved prostitution. Did it involve rape, etc????”  ~KSL

Wow.  Just… wow.  This woman was VICTIMIZED.  She was fucking raped and sodomized, and had what was likely all the money she has in the world taken from her. And these MONSTERS who probably call themselves fine, upstanding Augusta citizens are re-victimizing her all over again – public flogging by humiliation.  They jump to some huge conclusions and arrogantly generalize and stereotype this poor VICTIM by immediately drudging up prostitution, drug use, and implications of that good old standby chestnut, “she deserved it, she was asking for it”.

1)  You have NO idea how that woman EARNED her $120.  It is not unusual for a homeless person to have some money on them – many have jobs, or panhandle, or collect benefits – so what?!  (It’s not as if she can afford housing with $120, at any rate.)  It is none of your business HOW she earned that money, and it has absolutely no bearing on the fact that she was RAPED and ROBBED.

2)  The article does not say whether or not the woman was drunk.  Again, even if she were, if has absolutely no bearing on the fact that she was RAPED and ROBBED.

3)  Where the FUCK do you get off, implying that this woman is dirty and nasty, rather than the ANIMAL who violated her?!

To be perfectly frank, I don’t care if this woman was drunk as a skunk, fucking every man in sight for cash, and passing out cocaine like it was candy (and for the record, the article states nothing of the sort – these sick citizens just imposed their own twisted, warped conclusions/fantasies stemming from their own disgusting prejudices onto this poor woman).  Her occupation, state of sobriety, etc. are all complete nonissues here.

I don’t care if she was walking down a back alley at 3 a.m. stark naked.  NOBODY asks to be raped.  NOBODY deserves to be raped.  This woman is a VICTIM.  I am completely horrified at the mob mentality of these bastards ripping a victim to shreds.  As a society, we’re supposed to be beyond this “the woman is asking for it” bullshit.  We’re supposed to have evolved to the point where we empathize with victims of heinous crimes, treat them with respect and dignity.  Clearly, at least in Augusta, some of the rabble is still stuck in the Dark Ages.

I noticed a minority of commenters echoing my sentiments of disgust, and that gives me a small amount of hope.  To the rest, whom I have quoted above:  shame on you!  How DARE you insult this poor woman you don’t even know?  How DARE you cast aspersions on her character; insinuate that she somehow deserved, invited, or played any role whatsoever in the crime, the terrible violation that was committed upon her?  You know absolutely nothing about what it means to be not just a homeless person, but a homeless woman.  You know absolutely nothing about what it means to be vulnerable and brutalized beyond belief.  If there is such a thing as karma in this world, one day you will, and you’ll look back on this moment and weep for the injustice you have perpetuated.

Bastards.

Photo credit: WWJ/Rom Dewey

With apologies to Stephen Colbert:

Let’s start off with the awesome news.  A tip of my hat to Cass Community Social Services, who opened a green gym in Detroit this week, the first of its kind, for the exclusive use of the city’s homeless individuals.

Detroit unemployment is at an all-time high – about 29% – and has 18,000 homeless people.  One of the great things about this gym is that it’s eco-friendly and serves several different purposes.  For one thing, many people often forget that homeless does not necessarily equal “starving”.  Instead, many homeless people gain a ton of weight due to living on cheap, crappy food (*raises hand* I’ve experienced this – homelessness has not been kind to my waistline, people!  I’m desperately working on getting healthy and slimming down a bit!)  The gym provides an outlet for homeless individuals to get the exercise they need, thereby increasing the odds of preventing obesity and other health issues that plague the homeless.

The article also mentions that as the workout machines are used, they produce energy that is then redirected into the building’s power grid.  Homeless gym bunnies, while getting into shape, can in a single exercise class generate enough electricity to light 36 homes for a month.

The gym also creates Detroit jobs, and employs homeless men and women, many of whom have mental disabilities and may not otherwise be able to find a legitimate job.

Besides that, you probably already know that gyms are great for homeless people who need to shower – keeping clean is a big concern – as well as just maybe having somewhere to go on a cold day and keep warm.  A homeless gym provides a way to keep occupied and focused for a period of time, relieves much of the boredom of being homeless, and perhaps even provides a little feeling of luxury that many homeless shelters are lacking.  Never underestimate the little luxuries.  They can be what makes homelessness bearable.

So kudos to Cass Community Social Services for their work in creating jobs and workout options for homeless men and women, and for helping the environment while you’re at it!

* * * * *

Photo Credit: Worcester News

And now, the dreaded wag of my finger. And I bet you can guess which finger I’m wagging at these self-righteous NIMBY’s (Eff you, ya pompous arseholes!)

I’m actually in England right now, and have found the English to be amazing people, and have noticed that their government has, in many areas including their handling of homelessness, significant advantages over our own (*braces for the “traitor!!!!!” comments* – Come on, guys, you know I love America and all!)

Still, it only takes a few rotten eggs to screw things up.  Or in this case, for 100+ rotten eggs to screw things up for seven homeless youth.

So this bunch of douchebags on one street in Worcester have decided to protest because the city council just approved a seven-bedroom home to be used to house homeless individuals from the age of 16-25 years old.  The council assured residents that “Nobody who has trouble with drugs, alcohol or a record of bad behaviour will be part of the project. That kind of person is dealt with at intensely supported accomodation, places like the YMCA, and in other parts of the county.”

Did this appease the harpies of Cannon Street, Worcester?

Nope.

In fact, they’ve gone on and on about the “underhanded” project, which is still in its very early stages, and even posed for a photo in the Worcester News, displaying their little children as though they were in need of protection from homeless youth.  Take a look at the photo.  I think this Rachel Needham bitch must be the ringleader, as she’s in the foreground.

I think the comments on this article can say far more than I can on this case, actually.  Usually, I am saddened to see homeless bashing and stereotyping in the comments section of any news article on homelessness that I read.  I was heartened, though, to see that the comments on the Worcester News article were uniformly against these NIMBY dimwits and squarely in the corner of the homeless kids.  God, I love the English:

“Surely if this house is for the homeless they won’t be homeless anymore, so the home won’t be a home for the homeless. It sounds very much like the many homes around the city which have been converted to house students. NIMBYs come to mind. I await the residents (and others) of Cannon Street to open fire at me”

“You can always tell when people are angry because they have their arms folded in the photo. Nothing but a load of Nimbys”

“Anyone could have bought that house and rented it to young people as a private landlord – why should there be any consultation? There but for the grace of God could go any of us in this present economic climate. And I would guess that if you’ve been homeless once then you won’t want to do anything to repeat the experience. What a bunch of selfish and arrogant so-and-so’s they are”

“These are the kind of people who will put money in an envelope for Shelter or Help the Homeless charities, but given a chance to help 7 real people, they turn their backs. Some of them probably even call themselves Christians. Look at the children in that photograph, displayed as though they need to be protected from these heinous homeless young people. Truth be told, one of those children (or even more) could end up homeless and in need of help by the time they are in their teens”

“I absolutley agree it’s to support independent living so not necessarily homeless people living there, you don’t get consulted about any one else who moves in or out so why should they now? How arrogant that these people have stereotyped every single homeless person. As it’s been said before it can happen to any one maybe they should remember that!”

“It would break your heart to hear some of the stories as to why they are homeless! Mostly family breakdowns, which is incredibly sad… the kids need love and support not prejudice and small mindedness!”

I repeat:  I love the English!  They’re even adorable when they’re telling off a bunch of hypocritical arseclowns.

* * * * *

By the way, yes, I’m going to be trying to blog more – daily if possible!  I used to be so good about it; then life ‘n stuff just started to snowball and I slowed down a bit.  I’m back on it though, I swear!

My gawd.  Seriously, it is so fantastic to have ex-JW moles and spies to pass on news to me about my family.

Oh, Brittany.  Brittany, Brittany, Brittany.  Although you may not believe it, I love you so.  Truly.  Yet, your hypocritical, opportunistic, haughty, Pharisaical, smugly superior ramblings never fail to brighten my life and provide the highlight of my day.

Yes, Brittany and Mom, I know you still check up on me via the blog, as well as watching my TV appearances and devouring news articles about me.  Which is flattering, really, but must I remind you that this is an “apostate” website, via your own terminology?  Don’t you know that someone could report Brittany Karp and Tina Karp to your “elders” at the Los Alamitos, CA and Flagstaff, AZ congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses and they could hold a “judicial committee” (kangaroo court) to wield their self-imposed, non-existent power over you and “disfellowship” you for repeatedly disobeying “Society” edicts against apostate material?

But enough of the silliness.  The real news here is that my sister and mother, having skimmed the recent post about my New Year’s exploits, have apparently “read between the lines” and decided that I am clearly involved in…

*pause for dramatic effect*

“substance abuse!!!” (**omgwtfSATANISM!!!!!**)

……………

o.O

……..BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, a couple years ago, something like this still would have stung, but now I’m able to find it absolutely hilarious.

You see, Jehovah’s Witnesses desperately need to believe that “apostates” like myself are suffering.  That the “world” outside the safe, comforting haven of the bOrg will shred them to bits and spit them out.  That they will “reap what they sow”, if you will.

The most likely explanation for me spending a night in a snowy climate?  Probably that I went to Scotland to surprise Matt for the holidays, and that, backfiring on my brilliant plan, he simply wasn’t home on New Year’s Eve… so I went to stay at the local train station awaiting his return.  And, in fact, that’s the truth of it.

Never mind, though, that subzero temperatures cause hypothermia (which I’ve already mentioned that I had caught), which in turn causes hallucination and eventual passing out.  No, clearly I’m too far down Satan’s road, and my hallucinations and passing out were caused by *gasp* ACID!!!!!  And that’s not even the least of my problems.  In fact, when I’m not toking up or imbibing cocaine like candy, I’m conjuring up demons on my very own Ouija board… nothing like a little late-night demonic possession to spice up my life before ARMAGEDDON dooms me forever and the crows pick out my rotting eyeballs.

…In reality, I’ve never taken a drug in my life, unless you count Tylenol.  And the occasional sip of Smirnoff, but hey, my mom’s been giving me that since I was about 14 (go JWs and their overwhelmingly prevalent abuse of the one Biblically sanctioned drug, especially by repressed Witness housewives!  It’s just like the ’50s all over again! Hooray!)

Meanwhile, as far as alcohol goes, I can count exactly twice in my life I’ve been even mildly drunk, and that was more of a social thing, because here’s a little secret:  alcohol, and anything else mind-altering, just doesn’t really do it for me.  I’ve always been much happier without needing to resort to anything that changes or dulls my perception or personality.  I (shocking spoiler alert ahead!) like who I am and don’t feel any need to forget that.

“Oh, yeah, right!” the JWs sniff.  ”That’s just what a disgusting, God-defying, little drug addict WOULD say!”

…Er, sure?  But seriously, no.  Never done drugs.  For all my faults, I was never interested.

Premarital sex?  Oh, hell, yeah.  Absolutely.  Not sorry, either.  Guilty as charged.  Go ahead and smite me, Jehovah, and I’ll go down with a smile on my face – because it felt FANTASTIC.

But drugs, nope.

Overall, it doesn’t matter though, does it?  It is important for a Jehovah’s Witness to *know* the horrors that inevitably befall those eeeeeeeevil apostates.  Because that’s how the Watchtower Society keeps the rank-and-file in line.  This could happen to you.  Satan could overtake you easily, without you even realizing it, and then you’ll become one of THEM, will have committed the one unpardonable sin of LEAVING.  Surely a specially torturous death awaits the apostates who have knowingly declared war upon God. It’s the JW equivalent of the boogeyman.

Actual JW literature artwork of apostates destroyed at Armageddon. I like to think that I'm the one holding her innocent daughter, who will doubtless be destroyed as well by the "fair and just" god Jehovah. Along with random cats, apparently.

The truth is that lately my life is, with the odd exception, pretty mundane and pleasant about 98% of the time.  I don’t practice “demonism” (see, that would require me to actually believe in demons or in Satan, or in any kind of spirit realm whatsoever, which I don’t), I don’t do drugs, and I practice monogamy in a loving relationship.  I haven’t the slightest interest in declaring “war” on a God that I don’t believe in, although I sure wouldn’t mind seeing the Governing Body™ of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the puppet masters if you will, crumble (they’re the ones I dislike, not the regular rank-and-file who, for the most part, are regular people simply believing what they’re told… not the brightest bunch, and usually blind to their own hypocrisy and doctrine/reasoning flaws, but for the most part friendly, amiable people).  But it’s not something I’m going out of my way to care about one way or the other.  I just want to live my life happily and be a good person.

But none of that will stop a dedicated Jehovah’s Witness from recoiling at the sight of me, once they know I’m an “apostate”.

Never going to happen. Boooooo.

You see, “apostates” are even worse than someone who is “disfellowshipped”, or excommunicated, from the Jehovah’s Witness cult.  An “apostate” is somebody who “had the Truth™ and turned away from Jehovah anyway”.  ”Apostates” ostensibly *know* that Jehovah is “the One True God™” and is going to destroy the wicked at ARMAGEDDON, and that only the Jehovah’s Witnesses will be left to frolic in a beautiful paradise earth with pandas and lions (and, I hoped as a child, gorillas and killer whales…because they’re awesome!)

So, “apostates” randomly decide that even though they *know* the Truth™, they are going to join Satan and smear Jehovah’s name with lies, etc. etc.  Why exactly do they do this?  Because they’re possessed by the Devil, apparently.  Possessed and scary and liars.  How do the JWs know that they’re lying, if they refuse to listen to anything they have to say?  Because the Watchtower Society tells them so.

More JW artwork of "God's Glorious Day of Judgment"

Er, riiiiight.

I stopped counting the number of times I was told, as an angsty kid in my teens/early 20s… “but you *knoooooow* it’s the Truth™!!!!!”

Eventually, I stopped saying “yes, I know” and would only sit there silently, allowing the speaker to infer that I agreed with them.  Because you know what?  I didn’t know that.  I haven’t known that for a long time.  In fact, I’ve become increasingly positive that it’s not the Truth™, and once I figured out that the Paradise earth where I could have a pet orca was complete B.S., it was pretty pointless to continue the charade.  I’m happy no longer wasting my life on it.

More JW armageddon porn. Note the child holding her doll and the puppy plummeting into the abyss. Apparently, they too are dangerous apostates (a"pup"states?) that Jehovah must destroy, in order to cleanse the Earth of all wickedness.

You’ll never find a Witness out there that believes that, though, or at least not one that will admit it to themselves.  Jehovah’s Witnesses are masters of hearing and believing only what they want to, only what they’re told to.  ”Independent thought” is considered a Satanic trait, clearly stated as such (and often) in Watchtower literature.  Jehovah’s Witnesses are counselled to be like meek (read: dumb) sheep – following exactly where they are led without really knowing why.

To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure whether my family keeps checking up on me because there’s still a sliver of them that loves me (although they are counselled by the Watchtower Society to “abhor” and “loathe” me for my “wickedness”), or because they’re hoping for the entertainment value of what they consider to be an inevitable trainwreck. Although, I think back on all of the times that my mother called me “Satan’s daughter” or told me, as she was beating me, that I should be grateful I wasn’t an ancient Hebrew because “then the Bible would have allowed me to stone you to death”… and I suspect it’s the latter. Again; used to be painful, now just hilarious to me.  They say that living well is the best revenge.  If I were interested in revenge (I’m not), I suppose I could say that I’ve achieved it.

* * * * *

But yeah, the overall point is that in their eyes, I am a deeply unhappy person bent on an irreversible path of self-destruction.  I still *know* that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have the One True Religion™, and any statements to the contrary are merely “lies”.  I *know* that Jehovah is going to destroy me, so I have taken up a personal attack against him, along with my “father” Satan.

So of course, in the great leap of logical fallacy that defines JW thinking, this also means that I am on drugs.  Because I’m unequivocally stating that I’ve never done drugs… and everybody knows that apostates only speak outright lies.

Yours in sisterly agape love, Sister Shiny Happy Friendly Neighborhood Apostate (and her demonic alter ego, Sasha HellaFierce)

Image credit: Los Angeles Times

A few months ago, the Los Angeles Times covered the story of a 97-year-old woman, Bessie Mae Berger, living out of an SUV with her two sons after losing their home in Palm Springs.  Although Bessie qualified for housing, somehow her sons (at 60 and 62!) were “too young” to qualify as well (there’s California logic for you), and she refused to be separated from them.

As I have well learned from experience, there’s nothing like a bit of publicity to get the help you need.  Upon the release of the Times’ article, public outrage, donations, and support spurred the state to ramp up their efforts to assist the family.  A nonprofit organization, the Integrated Recovery Network, finally managed to locate temporary housing for all three people.

Bessie Mae passed away yesterday of a stroke and a heart attack.  However, she went on her terms – she lived her final months in a home, not a car, with her two beloved sons by her side.  And she brought increased attention to the growing epidemic of elderly homeless individuals in the U.S.

Rest in peace, Bessie Mae Berger.  Your struggle was not in vain.

Image credit: Suzanne de Chillo/The New York Times

Hi all,

I haven’t had as much internet access as usual, and I’ve also been laying low for the holidays.  I did want to pop my head in and post though, so that nobody worries.

I also wanted to blog about an article published recently in the New York Times:

A Clothing Clearance Where More Than Just the Prices Have Been Slashed

The article focuses on a rather horrifying practice of H&M and (come on, you knew it was coming!) Wal-Mart.

In the dead of New York winter; a third of the city poor and/or homeless; perfectly good unsold clothing is being tossed into the store’s trash dumpsters.  Which actually might not be all that bad if a homeless person could rummage through the dumpsters and make use of what they found.

Except… H&M and Wal-mart have been slashing the clothing with razors and punching holes through them with machines, so as to render them unusable.  Meanwhile, other large chains such as Target have been donating their surplus stock to Goodwill and other charities or homeless centers for years.

Wow.  Talk about a waste.  Talk about complete disregard for human LIFE.

I’m currently in a very rural area receiving a large amount of snow – several feet within the past couple of days, in fact.  At this time, I’m not going to talk about why I’m here… let’s just say that I always manage to get myself into SOME sort of predicament, right?

On New Year’s, I somehow managed to find myself out in the snow, wearing every item of clothing in my suitcase – 12 layers, to be exact, along with four pairs of socks and snow boots.  I looked like a roly-poly Violet Beauregard, post-blueberry-gum.

Yet, I still managed, in the time that I stayed out in the elements, to contract for myself rather quickly a lovely case of hypothermia, and endured some not-so-lovely hallucinations in the process, before I managed to get the hell back inside (thanks to the kindness of the police and of some fantastic people).

At this time, I don’t want to talk more about why this whole experience happened (I’m fine).  The point is that I can’t imagine how a homeless person survives full-time in this kind of weather.  I simply can’t. And, to be frank, many don’t.  Stories about homeless individuals found frozen are as common as stories about homeless people beat up and set on fire (that is to say, VERY common).

I can’t imagine being a homeless, freezing New York woman rummaging through a dumpster and excitedly pulling out a pair of gloves, only to find that the fingertips have been cut out.  I don’t want to imagine how hopeless I would feel at that moment.

Seriously, H&M, there’s a charity collection point right around the corner from your Manhattan store.  And Wal-Mart, I know there’s no love lost between us, but there’s no excuse for you, either.  Have a little humanity.  Do the right thing.  It’s no skin off your ass.  In fact, it just may improve your public image quite a bit (and gawd, we all know you need it).