I retired from Chrysler

“I retired from Chrysler,” he told me. When he saw my camera he said, “But, I have scars on my face.” I smiled and said, “You look perfect.”

He lives within eyesight of the massive graveyard of downtown Detroit and can clearly see the Renaissance Center from the front door of his high rise apartment.

The 73-story Renaissance Center is the centerpiece of downtown Detroit. It is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers owned by General Motors. It is GM’s world headquarters. The building was constructed in 1973 and later renovated in 2004.

Despite his view, he never worked for GM… only Chrysler.

He looked as if he were in pain

He walked as if he were in pain, his back bent forward and his hands in his pocket. A nearby security guard saw me photographing him and yelled, “He was a famous boxer!”

He looked back at her and then looked towards me and smiled, “They called me Speedy. I came up with Muhammad Ali.”

“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.” - Muhammad Ali

Do people live here?

I asked, “Do people live in abandoned buildings in Detroit?” She looked over her shoulder at the building behind her, “Not this one, it is falling apart too much!” She then looked at me as if I were an idiot. Love it!

Walter has big dreams

Tonight I got a phone call from Candy Carter with Last Call 4 Grace. She told me that Walter (age 35) was in her office and needed a ride to the Greyhound bus station in Nashville. I told her I would take him.

After picking him up, Walter told me he decided he wants to make some big changes in his life. He said, “Scott Foster at the Journey Home in Murfreesboro bought me a bus ticket to New Orleans.” Walter is homeless and knows Foster well from eating his daily meals at The Journey Home.

Walter said, “I am addicted to cocaine and meth - drugs in Murfreesboro are out of control.” He then described to me how he has been in numerous crack houses over the past year and has even seen crack and meth addiction in the elderly community in the inner city. “We have gangs in Murfreesboro selling drugs nonstop,” he said with a gasp of air. It was as if he were unloading what he witnessed while struggling to make changes.

Just wait, the story gets better.

“Steve Austin got me linked with Bethel Rehab in New Orleans, he’s a good guy,” he told me. Austin operates 180 Degrees Ministries in Murfreesboro. Austin’s Christian based ministry focuses on addiction and most of all, recovery. Bethel Rehabilitation Center in Louisiana is a place for drug addicts and alcoholics to recover. Austin helped Walter get into their six month program in New Orleans where they had a current opening.

For those who don’t know, there is often a waiting list to get into rehab. If you are ready to make life changes now and you are ready to go, you have to search for a facility with an opening. In other words, that means you may have to go out of state to get help for addiction.

This short story illustrates how local non-profits in our community work together. It also illustrates that each of the persons I mentioned know how important it is to build relationships in order to make a positive change in our society.

By the way, Walter wants to be a missionary. He asked me, “Can a convicted felon get a passport?” I then looked it up on the federal government’s website. The answer was an overwhelming YES. That ride to the Greyhound bus station opened a door for him. He got out of the truck with a dream in mind and he hasn’t even made it to New Orleans yet.

As he was about to walk into the bus station I asked, “Walter, do you mind if I tell you story to others?” He smiled, “Sure, go for it.”

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Meet Maudrey

“My name is Maudrey,” she told me. “Are you from here,” I asked. “I live here, but I was dropped off here after they released me from the hospital,” she responded with a great big smile. I asked her why she had to be hospitalized and she told me that she is both schizophrenic and bipolar. “I’m taking my medicine now,” she said after telling me that she feels much better.

Prior to meeting Maudrey in downtown Detroit I drove past about five buildings with a green medical cross on the front of them. “What’s with all the marijuana pharmacies in Detroit, they’re everywhere,” I stated with a little laugh. “You want marijuana? I can get you a whole bag of it for $4,” she replied. With a laugh I said, “Naaah - I’m good, but thank you.” She then pointed across the street, “See, I can get it for you right there.”

I changed the subject and went back to her mental illness. She told me that her anxiety gets really bad and it is tough living in Detroit. Sorrow fell over her face when she mentioned anxiety. For those who do not realize, anxiety can mimic numerous ailments which can lead to more worry and make the person suffering think they have a disease or a sickness. 

As if the conversation never took place, she then danced away to buy a single cigarette from the gas station. Yes, they sell single cigarettes in some gas stations of Detroit for .50-cents each.

“Concentration is a fine antidote to anxiety.” - Jack Nicklaus

Finding Stuff

“I found an old lamp and an ashtray today,” he told me while pushing a shopping cart down the street. “What will you do with them,” I asked. “I’m gonna’ take them home,” he told me.

In further talking to him, he told me that he lives with his mother on Hazelwood Street in Detroit. He said that he walks all over the city looking for interesting finds.

“How old are you,” I questioned with curiosity. “I’m 30 and my mom is 55,” he said. I didn’t question him as I believe he really thinks he is 30-years old.

“The dog that trots about finds a bone.” -Golda Mei

Wheelchair bound and homeless

This group of homeless men were sitting on a closed off street in downtown Detroit. The one on the ground is paralyzed from the waist down. His friend is sitting in his wheelchair as he props his head on the curb as if there was a pillow beneath him.

“I was in an accident while at work which placed me in a wheelchair,” he said. He went on to tell me that he lost his job the same month along with losing his wife to divorce. Those three combined items placed him on the street several years ago.  

Another man on the street said to me, “We are starving and haven’t had anything to eat in the past day.” Without another word I picked up ten hamburgers for them to enjoy on a cold January day.

“To do more for the world than the world does for you, that is success.” – Henry Ford

The Abject Poverty of Memphis

I handed him a pair of new boots and he jumped down on the ground and then rolled over onto his back. He then twisted his legs and feet outward and jumped back up. He announced, “I use to dance on Beale Street.” He told me he is 60-years old, but can still dance with the best.

He said, “They call me the Homeless Preacher,” he then started to preach. Boy did he ever preach. His voice began to change tunes as if he were growing mad. The louder he got the closer he came. As I started to photograph him he got within 7 or 8 inches of my camera lens, so I snapped away.

With a personality bigger than life you may wonder why he is homeless. He told me he has eight felonies and did time in prison. He has been a free man for almost a decade now, but boarded up houses throughout Memphis are his home. I would imagine that he sometimes preaches to a house of solitude that has no windows, only paneling where glass use to be.

I ran across the Homeless Preacher in a less desirable area of downtown Memphis filled with boarded up homes, industrial type buildings, title loan stores and businesses specializing in beer, tobacco and lottery tickets. His housing choices could vary nightly, depending on where he grows tired.

American songwriter Shawn Amos once stated about Memphis, “Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that only music can provide.”

I live in the mission

"I live in the mission," he told me with a pause. "I can't get a job because of a felony," he said after walking over to my truck.

When I first saw him, he was standing at the exit ramp of Sam Cooper Blvd. at North Highland Ave. in Memphis. He was holding a small cardboard sign asking for help. "I violated my probation and had to spend another 7-months in jail," he said with slow deep thought.

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Living with AIDS

“What year is it,” he asked me. “2015,” I confidently responded. “The doctor told me I’d live to only year 2000,” he said with a smile and a flick of his cigarette. He then started praising God loudly as he stood under the small bus stop. “God is Good, God is Good,” he was almost singing the phrase as people pumping gas behind him stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. 

“I go to church every Sunday,” pointing down the street. “My brother’s the preacher,” he said with a step forward and a tug of his left pant leg. I clicked the shutter and asked, “Why were you not going to make it past year 2000?” He got quiet for a second and then with an outburst, “AIDS, I didn’t use protection and it felt too good to stop.” 

I have met so many people living with AIDS over the past three or four years and yet it is still quite misunderstood or looked at as a contagious infection. Former NBA great Magic Johnson once addressed the scare by stating, “You can't get AIDS from a hug or a handshake or a meal with a friend.”

He stood about 6' 4"

It’s interesting to compare the needs of homeless in one city to another.

I was in Memphis this past Sunday and while handing out coats and boots, only one person needed a tent. The city is so full of vacant homes that nearly every homeless hides away the night in abandoned houses. However, I did not find anyone in boarded up businesses, only shuttered homes. It was almost as if they saw homes as a safe place they could make their own.  

This is the face of one of the many men I met in Shelby County. He stood about 6'4" and was wrapped in blankets and coats. He lives about 5 miles from Graceland. When he was asking for money I told him that I do not keep cash with me. He then said, “Have you got any spare credit cards I could use?” The funny part is, I think he was serious. I laughed and replied, “No, I sure don’t.”

“I never expected to be anybody important.” - Elvis Presle

Now out of prison, but in a prison

Memphis, Tennessee is ranked as having the second highest crime rate in the United States according to some surveys and number three in others. Regardless of the ranking, life is hard for many.

“How did you get the scar under your right eye,” I asked with curiosity… He looked a little to the side while never letting the grasp of his cigar ease, “When I was in prison in Texas, a man punched me in the eye.” As he continued to tell me the details of the event he said that he did not know it was cut so badly until he went into the bathroom and noticed blood dripping down his face. “The guy then came in the bathroom and apologized saying that he was sorry, he just learned that his mom died,” he explained.

“I went to a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas,” he said with a smile. He told me he was sentenced to 20-years, but only had to serve 8. I asked what for and he said that he was already a convicted felon and was caught driving his mother’s car while armed. He also ran from Memphis Police, wrecking the car he was driving.

He spoke highly of his mother who is now deceased and said, “I told my mom before court to just say that the gun was hers and that I didn’t know it was in the car, but she said she was not going to lie for me.”

As for Beaumont Prison in Beaumont, Texas, he said the federal courts often send convicts there from Tennessee. The prison population totals 2,129 inmates. It is known as a “High Security Penitentiary.”

He told me it is next to impossible to find a job as a felon, but lives in a home with a roommate. He has been out of prison for the past 7 years.

"Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars." - Beck

Sadness on the street

"One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness." -Jackie Kennedy

If only you could correct sadness by not letting yourself think sad thoughts, everyone would be at 100% all the time.

Some suggest that those on the street who are battling depression can snap out of it or think positive. However, when depression is deep enough to cause you to lose your friends, family and housing… it is much more complex.

A Harvard Health Publication from the Harvard Medical School stated, “To be sure, chemicals are involved in this process, but it is not a simple matter of one chemical being too low and another too high. Rather, many chemicals are involved, working both inside and outside nerve cells. There are millions, even billions, of chemical reactions that make up the dynamic system that is responsible for your mood, perceptions, and how you experience life.”

As for the man in this photo, he was once a diesel mechanic. 

Hello Santa

He was walking in downtown Nashville with a skimpily dressed Mrs. Claus along with one elf. Considering the temperature was around 70 degrees, Mrs. Claus had the right apparel on. Santa on the other hand, was getting hot.

"This picture is not gonna end up on the front page of the Tennessean, right," he asked. "Where is it going," he questioned. I smiled after he said that and chuckled.

As Santa put the cigarette in his mouth he commented, "It's been a while since I've had one of these."

As I walked away he gave Mrs. Claus a hug, "Well, that's how I got my start."

Comedian George Carlin once stated, "The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live."

People don't know her

She lives hidden in the woods and while thousands pass by daily within 100 yards of her camp, no one knows she is there. The camp is tidy and clean. 

“I have two kids, but I made the conscious decision to put them in a home for children until I get on my feet,” she said. “I see my children several days each month,” she commented with a smile. 

The small building she lives in was built by a 61-year old man who built a similar hut to the left of hers. They share a generator and even have a coffee maker to kick their mornings off. 

“I was living in my car until it broke down,” explaining what went wrong that landed her on the streets, “I was let go from my job and hired at a fast food restaurant, but that job fell through before I even started.”

Her life was turned upside down by a relatively large number of events that hit her all at once. Today she is working at getting her life back on track. 

"You know, most people really don't know me." - Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962)

Find my sister for me

I recently ran into Dwayne again in Nashville. He is the 49-year old gentleman who I talked to who wanted me to find his sister to tell her he was okay.

I talked to his sister about two or three weeks ago after meeting Dwayne one night. It took me about two days to find her, but I did find her.

She told me a story of heartache filed with mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction within her family. We talked about how Dwayne has never received proper help and how growing up was a battle for her.

In my conversation with the Illinois native, she described how her father use to make her and Dwayne fight in the front yard to provide him (the father) with entertainment. She talked about how her mother sold drugs and how that affected her for life.

I could go further into the details of Dwayne's life involving his sister, but out of respect for her I won't. She is doing good today and has not had contact with her brother in over 15-years for personal reasons. Those reasons make sense. 

“I had noticed that both in the very poor and very rich extremes of society the mad were often allowed to mingle freely.” ― Charles Bukowski, author of Ham on Rye. Bukowski was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambiance of his home city of Los Angeles.

Honesty is all that some have left

"Can I have a sleeping bag to give to a friend of mine who stays under the bridge with me," He quietly asked. I smiled, "Do you need one as well?" He then told me, "No, I have plenty of blankets... but he doesn't."

I always love how honest the homeless men and women I come in contact with are in regards to their needs. They are always careful to not take what they do not plan on using.

"It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit." - Noel Coward

The Kings Music

He was sitting next to a Walmart sign in Nashville listening to reggae music. The music was quiet and mellow. He had a red light on his head so that motorist would be able to see him properly at night. 

"You know, most people don't make it as long as I have on the street," he said after telling me that he is 60. I handed him a new sleeping bag and he hugged it tightly while saying, "This is a blessing." 

In case you are curios about his choice of music, reggae originated in Jamaica in the late 1960's. Some call reggae Gods music or the Kings music. In Latin regi means "to the king."

He worked for the Chattanooga Police Department

He loves reading the newspaper, but before he does he finds a quiet spot out of the public eye. Today, I caught 73 year old George Ottrix of Chattanooga sitting on the steps of a back door behind a liquor store. “It’s quiet here,” he told me.

“I worked for the Chattanooga Police Department for 23-years,” he said as he described how times were different prior to him leaving the force some 20-years ago. “You couldn’t arrest white people very easily back then,” he said while referring to the 1980’s in Chattanooga. He suggested that if you were well connected and white, it took more than handcuffs to haul a possible suspect to jail if you were a black officer.

Welcome to Catoosa County, Georgia

"In case you want to know what she will do [showing me the reading on the radar gun]," he said laughing. Deputy Bobby Persinger was one of the nicest deputies I have ever met, considering the circumstances (speeding).

"You were only 6 when I joined the force," he said with a smile. He works for the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.

"Man, did you see that car," as he pointed at an antique Chrysler drive by on the interstate.

"How much will this ticket cost me anyway," I asked with curiosity. He smiled, "I don't know, they just give us a badge and a gun and say protect the roadways [chuckling]."

No stranger to speed: I later learned that in the late 1970's, the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office had a fleet of Pontiac Trans Am's. In fact, they were famous for their cars at one point. In 1978, the Sheriff's Office owned 8, all four speeds. An article was even printed in a 1979 Car and Driver magazine about their cars. The cars were purchased under the leadership of Sheriff J. D. Stewart.

Today, none are known to be in existence.