![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Before 8 AM today:
First, I now have to get up and take a thyroid pill an hour before I eat. It disrupts my whole routine, so consequently I'm wandering around in the dark dumping garbage and breaking up cat fights, as well as microwaving leftover catfood. Smells terrible, but they turn up their noses if it's cold and keep whining for me to open a can.
Then Elmer arrives (the long-time homeless man who helps me with yardwork). I hadn't seen him since I got back home, and the guy next door and I had surmised that he was probably in jail, in spite of the fact that I owed him money for the weeding he did while I was gone. That was indeed the case, and there are a lot of sad things about it. First, why he was arrested--I have to think it was basically a variation of DWB (Driving While Black) but since he currently doesn't even have a bicycle, in his case it was Walking Around While Black. One of the ways Elmer stays alive is trash-picking--mostly stuff like old applicances that he sells to somebody who fixes and resells at flea markets for other poor people to buy (a whole separate economy). Well, someone saw him walking off with a vacuum cleaner and called the police. It turned out that the vacuum had indeed been left in the trash, but sadly, so had a box-cutter. They didn't arrest him for theft but for carrying the box cutter. If you're homeless, the whole world is an airport. I know, I don't really want all the random homeless wandering around with guns and big knives, but really. At any rate, his fine was $465 but he had no money, so was sentenced to 30 days. The other sad part is that Elmer could actually find some good in this--he gained weight, slept inside while it was raining, and was able to shave his face and head well. He likes to look nice, and it was a pleasure to see him all cleaned up and healthy for a change. He says that every time he goes to jail he learns a little more about the best way to do it, so this time he quickly became a trusty and his time was cut to about 15 days. Wish I'd been in town when it happened, but he had lost my phone number, so I probably wouldn't have known about it anyway. I can't help thinking that even a public defender might have been able to at least get him a lower fine. Once again, it's expensive to be poor.
First, I now have to get up and take a thyroid pill an hour before I eat. It disrupts my whole routine, so consequently I'm wandering around in the dark dumping garbage and breaking up cat fights, as well as microwaving leftover catfood. Smells terrible, but they turn up their noses if it's cold and keep whining for me to open a can.
Then Elmer arrives (the long-time homeless man who helps me with yardwork). I hadn't seen him since I got back home, and the guy next door and I had surmised that he was probably in jail, in spite of the fact that I owed him money for the weeding he did while I was gone. That was indeed the case, and there are a lot of sad things about it. First, why he was arrested--I have to think it was basically a variation of DWB (Driving While Black) but since he currently doesn't even have a bicycle, in his case it was Walking Around While Black. One of the ways Elmer stays alive is trash-picking--mostly stuff like old applicances that he sells to somebody who fixes and resells at flea markets for other poor people to buy (a whole separate economy). Well, someone saw him walking off with a vacuum cleaner and called the police. It turned out that the vacuum had indeed been left in the trash, but sadly, so had a box-cutter. They didn't arrest him for theft but for carrying the box cutter. If you're homeless, the whole world is an airport. I know, I don't really want all the random homeless wandering around with guns and big knives, but really. At any rate, his fine was $465 but he had no money, so was sentenced to 30 days. The other sad part is that Elmer could actually find some good in this--he gained weight, slept inside while it was raining, and was able to shave his face and head well. He likes to look nice, and it was a pleasure to see him all cleaned up and healthy for a change. He says that every time he goes to jail he learns a little more about the best way to do it, so this time he quickly became a trusty and his time was cut to about 15 days. Wish I'd been in town when it happened, but he had lost my phone number, so I probably wouldn't have known about it anyway. I can't help thinking that even a public defender might have been able to at least get him a lower fine. Once again, it's expensive to be poor.