A flat, hot food and sex at Dunkins

At the end of yesterday's post I was in a hurry to get on my bike to ride to the Methodist church that gives food for the weekend.

To my surprise, I realize that the front tire is flat. It gives me a bad feeling, because my original bike (Huffy Beach Cruiser) had been messed with, someone kept puncturing the tires before it was stolen. I'm not sure if this is happening again; it could be coincidence. I hope that it is.

My Huffy Beach Cruiser that was stolen weeks ago.

I left all my stuff at Dunkin Donuts (they let me do that on occasion when I need to go somewhere) and started my walk to the church. My feet are better, but I've been avoiding walking unless necessary. Food falls under "necessary", heh.

Because I had foolishly counted on the bike getting me to the church quickly, I ended up reaching the church late. There wasn't much left. Then I was told they were serving warm food inside, thank God.

They don't serve warm food, but I guess because Thanksgiving is coming and they had no plans to serve that day, they did it yesterday. It was a good breakfast/lunch. A few of the guys I know from the soup kitchen were there. One of the homeless females I know had a black eye, she told me in breaking up a fight a few days ago, she got an elbow to the face. Unfortunately stuff like that is common when hanging out with people who drink too much.

I learned to be friendly and helpful when I can, while at the same time keeping a safe distance. Nobody has ever even raised their voice at me, and I've been in Delray for almost half a year now.

After thanking those who had served the food, I walked back to DD with the food I was able to get. It was just enough to cover me for the weekend.

I ended up falling asleep for a few hours at my booth inside DD. I woke up around 5 pm. to find myself dragged into a chat with the staff about... how can I say this...sex and "back door" etiquette so a female does not feel pain. I can be open about my personal experiences regarding intimacy as long as it's with people I know; not in front of total strangers.

Of course there were no customers in the store at the time. Keep in mind these are young men, 18 and 21 years old and I'm 47 which is why they discussed it with me. I won't mention the details, just that it was informative.

At 8 pm I left DD and went to Starbucks where I spoke with Kody, who is a sweetheart and one of my favorite Baristas there. My unofficial role of Life Coach there has gained me some good relationships with the staff.

I caught up on some Star Wars Rebels and Ash vs Evil Dead thanks to the WiFi there and being able to coughtorrentcough. I'm homeless, but that hasn't change the geek/nerd in me. I changed the bandage of my left foot after I left Starbucks at midnight and it looks better.

Saturday started with a flat tire, and ended up with my foot looking better. It was a good day. I've been at DD all day today, so nothing of note to write about.

May you walk in the light of God.

Sincerely.

Luis

Charlie Horse

I woke up today at my spot at 5 am, and as soon as I tried to get up I got a charlie horse in my left leg. I've dealt with them before and knew exactly what to do. I relaxed the leg and held back a scream of pain that may have attracted unwanted attention.

Relaxing the leg helped a lot, and the pain was mostly gone in a few minutes. People have asked me where I sleep, and all I can say is that it's fairly safe away from other homeless, and out of view. Check it out.

Between the 3 walls and the small roof most nights my spot is fairly safe from wind and rain (unless it get really windy). Also because of the right wall that faces the street, it makes me very hard to see at night when I'm laying down. Rule #1 of being homeless, be invisible.

At 5:45 am I walked to Dunkin Donuts and helped in taking the tables and chairs outside like I do every morning. It gets me a bit of food that can hold me up until lunch time most days. I sat at my corner booth and worked on blogging.

You may ask "how does a homeless guy have a laptop?". Answer: I worked for it (I know 5 other homeless who also have laptops). 25 hrs of work in exchange for it to be exact. It happened a few months when I was still able to fly a sign that read "Looking For Work". Now it's impossible because Delray cops are cracking down on homeless flying signs or panhandling. I rather work than panhandle any day.

Back then a guy picked me up to do some miscellaneous work for him, paint a room, landscaping, moving stuff out of his garage into a storage room, etc. He had a laptop which he didn't need anymore and we made a deal for it.

It does have problem with the hard drive I believe, I have to reset it to get it working again once in a while. For the most part it's perfect for me. I've been able to download and watch movies, listening to Pandora or Spotify, look for work, blog and even get back in touch with an old ex (she found me on Facebook after 15 years).

Last night my friends at Starbucks hooked me up with a coffee and some chocolate covered popcorn (which was delicious).

Not sure if I've mentioned that my ex's husband (yeah still sounds weird) gave me a bike to help me move around after my feet get better. I got it locked next to DD. I got the seat, don't want it stolen since it's quick release.

She was going to pick me up Sunday so I could take a shower and get laundry done. The original plan was to drop me off Sunday night and then Wednesday pick me up again so I could stay overnight into Thursday, to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. I'm very grateful to her wonderful family that allowed me to stay a few days when I couldn't even stand without crutches.

Last night she changed the plan, instead I'll be picked up Sunday to stay an entire week. I'm getting more comfortable with her, but was not sure. She is complex, always was, to be honest. Always interesting, never boring, she is full of life and without a filter. When I was with her years ago, those traits were the reason why I had fallen in love with her. To me she was a "free spirit" and also my "fluff and fold chick" since at the time she worked at a Laundry service.

I asked Diana last night for advice, and she said "just go with it". So yeah, I'll be off the streets for a week and intend to enjoy it. When I was at her home, she mentioned that the outside of her home needed painting, so last night I mentioned it and offered to do it for them. Her answer "we'll see". I just want to do something in return for the kindness she and her family has shown me.

Oops! almost 9 am, I have to get to the church to get some food!

May you walk in the light of God.

Sincerely.

Luis

Awesome Tuesday!

After having a rough few days, I woke up Tuesday morning at 7 am. My day started in awesome mode. Thanks to Joe's girlfriend my foot was in much better shape. I had overslept a bit, which usually would bothers me, but not today.

I was able to put weight on my left foot. I checked the bandage and noticed that I would probably need to change it. I kept my foot up while I was trying to decide if I should go to the soup kitchen for breakfast. I also needed to go to Publix to get my prescription filled.

At 8:45 am I asked the manager at Dunkin Donuts (who is a nice Latina that knows my situation) if I could leave my duffel bag for a few hours. She kindly agreed and I left it at the store. I got on the Bike that my ex's husband had given me (yeah that happened too).

I was riding it carefully wearing slippers that my ex's father had given me last weekend. It was far better than the Huffy Beach Cruiser that has been stolen from me weeks ago. This baby is a 21 speed ride.

Reaching the soup kitchen a little after 9 am I ate breakfast. A few friendly homeless guys that know me asked me where I had been, so I filled them up a bit on the crazy days I had gone through. I gave a hoodie and a long sleeve shirt to 2 of them, I had brought them because I had a bit too much to carry in the duffel bag.

Talking to one of the women that work at the kitchen, I asked for some gauze and bandages and fortunately she found some. I thanked her and then left the kitchen and rode straight to the park across the Delray Courthouse. There I changed my bandage and finally saw what Joe's girlfriend had done (skip if you don't want to see it).

After I finished I rode to the nearest Publix to find out it didn't have a Pharmacy. I had to ride to another Publix but I didn't care, the minor discomfort was worth it. I got the prescription filled at no cost to me, I thanked God for this blessing.

By the time I was riding from Publix back towards Dunkin Donuts it was almost Lunch time. I had not been on a bike in weeks; the gel seat helped a bit but still my read end was asking for a short break.

I stopped a few minutes to talk to a homeless guy I know, who had been arrested Monday night for throwing a brick at the Trolley (yeah, that happened) while drunk. Apparently the driver refuses to pick him up because a while ago they had gotten into a verbal altercation where racial slurs had been exchanged. Crazy things like that happen often unfortunately. I told him to try and get sober up. Hopefully he will try, sober he is a completely different person.

Riding my bike I made it in time for lunch time at the soup kitchen. Right after I headed to DD and stayed there until 7 pm. I walked over to Starbucks with my backpack and duffel bag with only minor discomfort on my left foot.

My buddy Diana was there and she gave me a passion tea lemonade with mango and raspberry to try out.

It was delicious. So here I am, enjoying the end of my awesome Tuesday. I'll head out to my spot at 11 pm, when they close. Oh yeah I also got this.

That will be my breakfast for tomorrow. Thank God for good people.

Ok that is all for today, good night.

May you walk in the light of God.

Sincerely.

Luis