Roofless Podcast

In this episode we meet a man that has grown accustomed to living on the streets for what seems like quite some time. He couldn’t remember the last tme he didn’t and has accepted it as his life. It was an interesting conversation considering we don’t run into many people that don’t really have much desire to have a permanent residence. He claimed in so many words that he was happier than most people living within the common constraints of society, i.e. jobs and bosses, rent/mortgages/car payments/etc. He has an elaborate bicycle and trailer setup that I was admiring when we first met. He was wrenching on it on the sidewalk and had the trailer detached from the bike and the front being supported by an autumobile floor jack. He’ clearly not playing around. On the appx 8 foot long trailer was everything one could imagine, from lots of camping gear and tarps to lots of great looking curb scores such as an old metal oscillating fan, vintage table lamps, step ladders, and more. He was very kind, but didn’t want to answer a lot of my standard questions, so we just hung out and chatted like I would with any friend. I was happy to just be in his company and I think it was reciprocal. The sound quality isn’t the greatest, but I guess that’s what the disclaimer in the intro is for. Enjoy.

Welcome to Season Two of Roofless Podcast. We start off with a homeless artist that lost his job as a security guard and has been living on the streets since. He had some amazing artwork he’d been hauling around for some time and it showed. He wanted to sell some before it was completely ruined. I bought a beautiful drawing of a somber tree that has a womans face subliminally contained within. He spoke about how he didn’t truly know how hard being homeless would be and that he had great respect for the people that have been without homes for extended periods of time. He also talked at length about his lost passions of journalism, music, and law enforcement. He seemed to have it together enough that I felt if he had a bit of help he could get back on his feet and into a permanent home again. We actually met quite a few times and I decided to give him my old cell phone and showed him how he could sell is art on craigslist/facebook/etc. by utilizing the free wifi at starbucks and other places. Listen to the episode to learn how it all turned out!

Make it a dozen. And here’s a mentally ill man that was an absolute joy to hang out with. We kind of strayed from the formalities for a bit and just kicked it old school. We really hit it off like we’d been friends for a long time or something. Talking about music, dead presidents (both literal and money), and social issues. And we had a good laugh over trashy tv shows ala Jerry Springer and Cheaters. He explained how he tried to live in Australia but became homeless in Sydney until his mother flew him back to the States. He spoke of his physical health issues freely, including a near death asthma attack. But he didn’t want to discuss his mental health or parents while recording. There is obviously some massive pain involved when I asked about his current situation with his parents and I had to respect his wishes and stop recording when he asked, as well as edit out the things he didn’t want included here. I did get pretty choked up when he explained how he doesn’t understand why his tears don’t fall from his tear ducts or eyes anymore.

Episode eleven brings you a native american man and his dog. They’re hangin’ out next to a water fountain. The man is taking a rest on a cement wall when I approached him to see if he wanted to talk. He got a half-cocked grin on his face when I said I would pay him for his time. His dog on the other hand, looked at me like he was an disapproving parent. The man almost immediately began to tell me about his wife that died two years ago, and how his dog represented a significant portion of their life together. Most likely a big reason of his addamant disaproval of neutering him. He wanted a “whole dog” he said. He reminisced about throwing fastballs in high school, and said he was very talented until he had a motorcycle accident. He then pulled his long sleeeves up to show me that only about half of his throwing arm still existed. Most of it from the elbow up was gone. He had no bicep on that arm, just skin over the bone. He spoke about getting a ticket for being near an open container of alcohol on the sidewalk. The ticket got rained on and then forgotten. He did seem concerned about having a warrant, but only in regards to the wellbeing of his dog. He had a big ice chest on wheels with all of his belongings in it, but it was all only items for his dog…fancy stainless bowls, leash, all sorts of different chew toys, flea medication, cans of dogfood, and an immaculately clean dog sweater was draped over the ice chest’s pull handle. He talked about the serenity of sleeping by the river with just him and his dog. He chanted something in native american about his land.

Episode 10! We go deep with an intelligent man that was polite almost to a fault. The conversation is very serious, even though it sounds lighthearted at times. This man pours his soul out onto the sidewalk in front of a post office. He is yet another ex-truck driver that talks about everything from pride and family, to whether or not he should kill himself, and how grim the future looks. And all the while he’s steering the discussion like a big-rig. He talks about how good it felt to help other people when he hauled goods for fema and various disaster relief efforts. He recalls how he almost bled to death on the side of the road.  And he breaks down his theory of the four different types of homeless people, along with each’s characteristics. He remembers when he accidentally set a physical fitness record at his high school that stood for years after. Just another sunny disposition for no apparent reason.

First up is a very nice gentleman in the park that was built like a tank and said he played football throughout high school as well as in college. He was another truckdriver whose family, ex-wife and kids, have moved on without him. As you can hear, he had a serious demeanor that wasn’t to be chipped away at, and definitely didn’t look like the type that anyone would want to try to (at least not me anyways). The second person was a guy I’ve seen around quite a bit and he is really a pretty neat person to talk to. He’s obviously knowledgeable about some things, but would kind of get lost in tangents at times. I don’t think it was drugs, but as always, I’m not a medical professional. He was proud of being an outdoorsman and felt that he had an advantage that others didn’t because of this. He was probably right. He had run-ins with the law and claimed to be involved in many civil suits. Against not only the police, but his parents as well regarding a trust fund. All in all, he was very pleasant and I’m sure I’ll see him again.

Greetings. Here in episode 008 we run across a guy in a park downtown. He’s a very polite gentleman that is articulate and knowledgeable. He says he’s receiving government assistance for being mentally ill, but there’s actually very few moments in our conversation that would elude to such. I felt it was interesting to hear about the trade off when finding a place to sleep. Whereas a nice quiet location can be more dangerous versus a well lit one with lots of traffic, but clearly not as restful. He mentions a trust fund and seems to have some contradictions when speaking about family members, although it doesn’t seem like he’s purposefully being deceptive. It is simply how he perceives things I believe.  He doesn’t seem to have any hangups about his sexual preference, race, or other common social issues and/or obstacles. He does seem to have the usual disdain for law enforcement, but has a new take on it not yet heard before on this podcast. And as always, we again hear the same recurring thoughts of acknowledging someone’s existence. As if it’s not obvious enough at this point: a simple hello can change the course of a person’s life, literally.

So here we are at episode 007 and it’s probably time to address some of the questions that have been sent to us. So we’ll spend a short amount of time on that at the end of this episode. In the first interview there is a young man outside the hospital with bandages on his wrists asking people for money or a cigarette. Externally, he was very cheery to say the least. We didn’t speak for long but anyone can hear that there’s some things going on. Putting mushrooms in rum while being post-hardcore is not a good combination, clearly. I’ve actually seen him after our interview (a few days ago) and he was definitely much more grounded. Perhaps he had finally taken a necessary medication, or stopped taking an unnecessary one. Either way, he was very nice on both occasions and I wish him the best. Next up is a man I met that had a longboard (skateboard) with all his belongings stacked on the front and just enough room to stand on the back while rolling. I ride a skateboard everywhere downtown so we stopped to talk to each other about…skateboards ???? He looked like someone you might cross the street to avoid, big guy with a shaved head and tattoos all over his face. Funny how the hardest looking guys are generally the nicest homeless people I meet. He talks about how he lived in his ex-wife’s pantry before becoming completely homeless. He was candid about his drug addiction and didn’t seem to care about a looming urine test for his probation. He knows he has a problem, but very much just wants to be included in society.

Here in epi six, we come across a guy I see in my neighborhood from time to time. He’s usually sweeping or picking up trash in alleys. I thought this was awesome, so I set out to find him and talk to him since he was doing the opposite of what many of the homeless people do. And even though the cleaning turned out to be fueled by crystal meth, I’m sure there are plenty of people on the streets doing meth that don’t clean up stuff everywhere. He was vocal about his religion, but later stated he hadn’t read the bible. Regardless, it still seems his beliefs might be making him better off than without them. He enjoys singing and unexpectedly belted out a few lines for me. And like many homeless men we speak to, he misses an ex-wife and children deeply. He also mentions how he met Satan and how he turned obese from a wardrobe change. Unfortunately his use of language regarding race irritated me and sort of killed my respect I guess. I had a go for a bit at trying to convey how he shouldn’t use certain words to describe a person or situation. It was futile to say the least. I’m not a doctor, but perhaps the meth use is effecting him mentally. I understand that I don’t know what he’s been through in his life, but I just couldn’t get past the racial language, and now I don’t feel the same when I see him cleaning up an alley. I’m only human.

This episode is the second half of a two part conversation with a man that was extremely interesting. As you will hear, he was most concerned with simple kindness. We spoke about when someone is without a home it doesn’t mean that they themselves did something to make that happen. And how so many people in this country are closer to being homeless than they realize or want to admit. And when I asked him how he thinks people could help the homeless without using any money, it got heavy. This is a hardened, tough looking guy, and when he started to cry, I could barely control my own emotion. He also spoke about another homeless person, a woman who died in the park, and how her memorial kept being thrown away. It was such an absolute pleasure to talk to this man. I doubt I will ever forget him.

In this episode (and the next) we hear from an extraordinary man. His thoughts on fairness, police, and race are interesting to say the least. We talk at length regarding basic human decency, about how much just saying hello to someone really means, and that not every homeless person is a panhandler. We also talk about olympic swimming sperm, and being homeless as a parent. As well as what it's like to try and find a place to put all of your belongings while you go to a job interview. This man was so compelling that we spoke for an extended period of time. So we will be splitting this conversation in two and will provide you the second half in the next episode.

In this episode we first meet a man I have been seeing around quite a bit so I decided to try and talk to him. He was sitting on a blue tarp on the sidewalk with a broken bicycle next to him. Upon approaching him I notice he has a half empty pint of vodka between his legs (don't judge unless you've been sitting on the sidewalk on a blue tarp with a broken bike before). He is very nice to me, even before I let him know that I will pay him for his time. He very much misses his ex-wife and children. And he really wants to get clean and get his truckdriving licence again. He explains about evil family members, and my intention to make him feel better falls flat, as I clearly have no idea what his definition of evil truly means. He mentions his connection to the police and drug cartels, some of which had to be edited out for safety and identity reasons. And we of course also speak briefly about mental illness, while being respectful not to delve too deep. Sounds like he's a good guy that just lost his way quite a while ago, is aware of it, and knows he's got long road back. Next is a man that told me he wasn't homeless when I first asked, but then said he was. I tried to ask him a few of my standard questions but he always ended up on a tangent. He insisted on holding the recording device himself because of some kind of chip inside, but I had to decline. He seems to have some mental issues or could have possibly been on a mind altering substance. I'm not a doctor, and am probably the last person that could give anyone a medical diagnosis for anything, so I'll let the listeners decide if they think anything is off. I will add the disclaimer that I am merely having a conversation with people, and I don't feel it's my place to argue with anyone about what is factual or even far-fetched for that matter. I simply try my best to learn something from everyone. With that said, we speak about secret high level military applications using microwave transmissions, government surveillance, and other nefarious subjects. Also places where men are shuffled in and out for an elaborate baby making scam, and how the police are trying to do blood draws from the homeless. Nevertheless, he was still gracious and kind to me and hopefully I made him feel the same. He is a fellow human being regardless of any illness he could be suffering from.

In this episode we talk to a man that looks like he could have been in a sweet seventies rock band, or was that guy in high school with the badass muscle car everyone wanted. He wasn't very welcoming when I asked if I could have a conversation with him about being homeless, and record it, but you'd never know by listening. He was a really neat guy to talk to. He sounds like he knows a little about alot, and it doesn't feel like he's being braggadocious about it either. He pulled his sunglasses down his nose and peered at me over them while comparing "china white" to pharmaceutical opiates. And his reasons for using medical cannabis were past logical. He had a buddy, a big gruff looking guy that sat next to him and mean-mugged me from time to time while never saying a word, so that was fun. And as always, there's a few spots where places or names are edited out, but there was nothing that could be done about the cicadas starting to yell around the halfway point. We were in the middle of their living room. And I will mention that one of my favorite takeaways from this conversation was when he talked about a rich person being eccentric, where a poor person is mentally ill.

In this episode we first meet a very nice woman who happens to be a retired state employee. Like many homeless people, she's had just a few unfortunate events happen, and because of this she is now is living on the streets. She looks to be in her 60's and is obviously intelligent and articulate. She seems pretty upbeat, but there's definitely a layer of sadness. She could easily be that grandmother that still sends you a handwritten check for five dollars every birthday since you were a kid. As always, the interview is edited to remove names and pertinent locations. And I must say that after we were done recording I had to practically beg her to take some cash for her time (a measly ten bucks is all). Such a kind soul. Next is an older gentleman that has quite a sunny disposition. He is clean cut and looks to be maybe in his mid 60’s (although he says he doesn’t know how old he is). Initially he seems perfectly healthy, but as we talk you'll soon hear there could possibly be some mental illness at hand (I'm not a doctor), or perhaps simply some embellishment of past experiences. FBI or CIA interrogations by hypnosis could easily be like a real thing. And karate movies are absolutely a real thing. What is most certain is he really loves those cats. And as you'll hear, he refuses to take the cash as well and insists I give it to another homeless man nearby. I oblige.