A few of Zak and his friend Sonnie’s stories, from eight months and two years of homelessness, respectively:
- Wandering Fremont Street in Las Vegas, asking pedestrians to pay a dollar to smell a real hippie.
- Being offered muscle relaxants in exchange for pudding in a jail in Detroit.
- Obsessively cleaning a host’s home for seven hours before eloping with her prized glockenspiel.
- Camping out in Big Sur without food or water for four days.
- Hiding from the cops in a drainage ditch and discovering that the oddly slippery gravel underfoot is comprised of fossilized shells.
- Pretending to be a gay couple who think a watermelon is their baby, and who try repeatedly to feed it pickle slices- on a crowded subway.
- Staying with a kindly man in northern California, who mentioned offhandedly that Thomas Pynchon had been by for dinner the night before, and presented “totally incontrovertible proof” of a clandestine nature.
People doing this are also doing these things:
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Actually, I have two homeless people in particular in mind: Zak, the subject of a fascination that continues unabated, and Halfway, a 30-something man with glasses, long hair and the worst DT I’ve ever seen, who talked to strangers far too much to begin with and ended up getting run off the island because of it. He traded me his bicycle for a handle of cheap vodka before he took off, and every time I ride it I wonder if he’s dead yet.
If you happen to ask him what his story is, tell him hello from me. :D / D:
I don’t think I can accomplish this one. This city has so few homeless people in it that the few who are homeless are seen and recognized quite often. I see two of them a lot, anyway. Out of these two, one has no teeth and makes hand gestures a lot, and the other never wants to talk to anybody. > >;
I was kicked out of my parent’s house when I was younger and spent some time being homeless and the experiences I had and the people I met have made a huge impact on my life and has truely changed me as a person. I would almost go as far to say that I think its something everyone should have to experience some time in their life because it really makes you appreciate what you have. It honestly gave me the motivation to get to where I am today.
I met this guy when I was doing laundry one day. He told me his whole life story about how he got into drugs, got into all kinds of trouble, etc. etc. But when I met him he has gotten himself a car, a house, and he is working 2 jobs now. I told him that I applaud the fact that he was trying hard to make a better person out of himself.
I would like to see more ppl trying like this guy did.
I have asked several homeless people their stories… everything from not adjusting after being in prison, to having a mental illness and being shunned by their family… I offered them a sandwich and just sat down with them while they ate it and talked. I brought a sandwich for me too, so they wouldn’t feel self-conscious. I want to do this more… just don’t do it by yourself!
