1874- THE MONEY PIT
The other day I took a few pics of my homeless
friends.
I thought I better get them while
I can- I have had a few of the guys die on me.
So- I checked my old cell phone
and found a few from some friends who died already [Shelby] - plus a few old
pics from the fire dept.
I’ll try and post them this week.
Okay- the day I took the recent
pics I saw Buck.
I haven’t seen Buck in around 3
years.
[I had heard he died once- then
later saw him.
Henry- who is usually real
reliable- a trusted friend- told me Buck died.
He also told me Roger died in
jail.
And he told me Vern died [all
over a period of 3 years or so].
Then one day while sitting at the
mission- with Henry- Buck showed up.
‘Hey Buck- I heard you died’.
Then Roger showed up.
‘I can’t believe it- you’re alive
too’.
I realized at that point that Henry
was not the most reliable source when it comes to the Obit column.
I will not be surprised if I see Vernon
one day. ]
Bucks a nice guy- but a falling
down drunk- you know- the type that’s so drunk he passes out on the street.
I’ll admit- I have had my
problems with drinking a little more than you should over the years- no
excuses.
But Buck goes real overboard.
The thing that surprised me was
Buck was missing an arm- he lost a ton of weight- and he’s in a wheel chair.
He looked so bad- almost to the
point where you would avoid him.
When the guys went inside the
mission to eat- I sat opposite Buck at the table.
Buck recognized me and asked for
a couple of dollars.
I try not to give drunks money-
but I have given a few guys a few dollars.
I give away money- but I realize with
Buck he will drink.
So- I had a 20 on me- and asked
for change from the workers at the mission.
No one had any- after a little
while I gave Buck the 20.
Was he happy?
Yeah- and no.
Being he’s in a wheel chair- and
one arm- he can’t push the thing [you know- circles].
So he asked if I could push him
to the restroom.
They have a bathroom for the homeless-
and one for the employees.
The homeless one was occupied- so
Buck had me turn him around and he ‘went’ in the workers bathroom.
I had no idea about the rule- but when he
asked me to stop him at the workers bathroom- he stood up and took a leak.
The lady that runs the place
screamed at me [no lie] ‘your gonna clean it up mister’.
I said- fine- if that’s what you
want- no problem.
I did.
Look- I was in the Navy before-
so having ‘latrine duty’ was no biggy.
When I wheeled Buck back to the
table- he bummed a cigarette from Don and asked me to wheel him outside for a
smoke.
I told him I was gonna sit inside
for a little bit- but he would not stop asking.
Buck is a narcissist- he found
someone who was willing to help- and the demands came- one after the other.
I wheeled Buck outside- and had
to walk away- he would not stop seeking his own welfare- nonstop requests.
So- I sat with Andy and Huey- old
friends.
Huey asked if I had a couple of
dollars- I told him [and Tammy] ‘look- I had a 20- I wanted to get change- and
you guys could have split the money- but Buck has the 20’.
They wanted me to get the 20
back- and they would get change.
I told them ‘I’m finished with
Buck- if you want- you get the change’.
The wheels started rolling [in
their head- not Bucks chair].
So- after a few requests- they
conned Buck out of the 20.
He wanted cigarettes [another
request] and Andy said he’d get the smokes- and then bring a 10 back- and Huey
and Andy and Tammy would split the rest.
So- Andy gets back [he had someone’s
truck] and as he spreads the loot- Huey grabs the 10 and Buck gets the cigs and
2 dollars.
Bucks pissed- Huey laughed- and I
told them ‘I don’t care who gets what- leave me out’.
Actually- first I said ‘hey- I
just remembered- I have no gas- can somebody lend me 2 Bucks’.
Yeah- a test.
Actually- they all were willing
to give me a couple back.
I know to some folk- this looks
bad.
In a way it is- trust me- I have lots
of friends who never- not one time- ask me for money.
I had some that took me out to
eat- they saved thru out the week so they could buy.
And the whole thing this day-
well- it was kind of funny in a way- I know these guys well- real well.
Huey was asking Andy [his
brother] to go down the block- to the motel- and go to room ?- tell the girl ‘I’m
Huey’s brother’ and then get the 2 ‘things’ in the cabinet.
Now- I realize he’s giving him
directions to get some type of drug.
Not sure what type- maybe Meth-
it’s popular in this area [called Ice].
But Andy kept saying ‘look Huey-
if you want me to go- tell me what it is’.
He didn’t want to say it with me
there- I walked around the building for a sec- and came back.
Andy went on the mission.
He came back- the girl was not
there.
When I was going thru my phone
pics- I saw I had one of Andy and John David [all 3 are real brothers- Andy,
John David and Huey].
And I thought I will post that
one for sure- we were at my house and had a fellowship- we did the lords Supper
right in the yard.
John David and Andy are actually
seeking God.
At the time of the picture- John
David was clean from drugs for a couple of months.
He had a great story- wrote about
it at the time- but he really made an effort to seek the Lord.
I guess I’ll re- tell the story-
it’s worth it.
Many years ago when the brothers
lived in Dallas- John David shot- and killed his best friend with a shotgun.
The case gained publicity- and John’s
mom did her best to get her son a good lawyer.
She was told that the best guy
was the guy who actually defended the guy who shot Lee Harvey Oswald.
He told me the name- I forget it
now.
But his mom went to the lawyer’s
office and waited all day- he was trying to avoid her.
Finally- at the end of the day-
he came out of the room and she asked if he could defend her son.
He did the job pro bono.
He got John off.
John told me a year later he went
to his friend’s grave and ‘pissed on it’.
He was in no mood to repent.
The family moved to Corpus after
that [early 70’s].
And John David had a thriving construction
business.
He also hated the homeless
people.
John became a big time addict
[Coke- etc.]
He eventually lost it all and
wound up on the streets- with the people he despised.
Over the years when I met the
different guys on the streets- John kept his distance.
He looked bad- scary looking-
like someone that would indeed shoot you to be honest.
Anyway- I met his brothers- Andy
and Huey- and John kept his distance.
One day at the mission John was
different.
He actually couldn’t wait to tell
me the story.
A few months earlier he was all
strung out down by the bay [I’ll post these pictures too- we live surrounded by
water].
He was doing the usual thing-
getting high.
He was tired- he lost his
business- family [he had a boy get run over- the boy- and the doctor who ran
him over- were both drunk at the time- the boy died].
John sat there and said to God
‘if you’re fucking real- then do something’.
A couple of days later- 2
strangers came up to him and offered to pay 5 thousand to send him to the local
re-hab- called Charlie’s place.
John went- met a bunch of Christians-
and got clean- and dedicated his life to God.
John came over to the house a few
times- we had a few fellowships [I’ll post the pics] and he stayed clean- for a
long time.
That’s been about 5 year’s now-
and the other day I heard one of the guys tell Andy ‘I heard John David was not
doing well’.
I dreaded to ask- but I did ‘what
do you mean- he’s back on drugs’?
The guy- who did not know me from
Adam- said ‘no- actually he’s be clean for years- but he needs heart surgery
and back surgery’.
I was not glad to hear about the medical
problems- but was glad to hear he was still clean.
So- all in all it was a good day.
Yeah- the guys fought over the
20.
I cleaned the bathroom.
But in the end- it was worth it.
Oh yeah- John David got his answer ‘I’M REAL’.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to ‘click’ the note App on my Facebook
Profile- I have posted lots.
No comments:
Post a Comment