Author: duckshots
Lapsed lawyer. Reader. Photographer. Jewish. Strongly attached to loving, caring, wife-Sharon. Working at remaining relevant. Hoping that my body and mind outlive my dreams. Maybe something I blog will make some sense.
David on Cherry Street
One goes. One comes. My friend Barry said he looks depressed. Not for me to judge, though he don’t look happy during his holiday season. I’d say he looks cold and alone.
Mark Madoff and Me
Never been rich. But I did lose all my friends, my reputation, and my ability to earn a living. Lost my home, my neighborhood, my connections. Lost money and a pension you could live on. People just didn’t look at me the same way. I became the subject of ridicule and scorn, not to mention a person in need of police protection. No way to ever be respected or relied on. My Mother even had a heart attack and died listening to Governor Pataki rail against me on the television. No way to recover. You don’t come back from total disgrace.
Stephen Shore at Bard
Who knows what be next? Visited Bard to hear an explanation of the limited residenct MFA program. Took a tour of the campus. Walked past Steven Shore’s office in the photography building. Left my card on his door. I wouldn’t say it was the functional equivalent of what Philip Roth described in The Ghost Writer where the fledgling writer spends the night at the home of his idol, but I felt the vibes. Shore doesn’t teach in the MFA program. Too bad.
Paul Leaves Burlington with his Sister Mary
Paul’s sister Mary heard the cry for help. She has heard it before. Family’s get tired rescuing. She didn’t, appearing on Church Street on Sunday. He had slept on a grate, somewhere, before settling in the doorway in front of the sex shop. Cold. Bitterly cold.
Continue reading “Paul Leaves Burlington with his Sister Mary”
Paul in Park on Saturday
Cowboy’s Socks and Andrew’s Return
“Did you know that when the feet go, you go? Socks. Homeless people need socks.”
Wise. Helpful. Smart. His history be his history. “Found some socks on the street. Put them under the tree. Got to be practical. And its Christmas.” I had made a date to bring him socks. He didn’t think I would show. Wayne showed up. Gave both of them socks and liners.
He needed to talk about how skewed the world was. “If the apes can learn to survive on isolated islands, why can’t people living ….”
And then along came Andrew.
“I look a lot better than the last time you saw me, don’t I.”
“For sure.” Lost. He was so lost. A person came up to him in the park who was seriously out of it. “Got to stop drinking.” Andrew replied, “I got to stop doing a lot of things.”
A coin commemorates completion of the twenty-one day program at Maple Leaf. How proud he was to stick it out. “You know what this is,” he asked.
Her name is Molly. They came home together. Not sure its a good thing, but others have made it. Better than going back to someone who doesn’t know who you are now. “I hate having my picure taken…. I don’t like looking at myself.” “Maybe that’s why you had to go to Maple Leaf.”
Will he stay or will he go? Who knows. Dan don’t even know. Woman he let shelter from the storm in his room chugged a bottle of vodka, fell, hit her head, and ended up in the hospital. “You shouldda gotten that photo.” He made plans to leave, discussing with the street resource worker what to do with his possessions—bike, trailer, clothes, etc. “Why do you take so many pictures?” “Why do you talk so much?” “Because I can.” …. “I get it.”
Larry at Work on Church Street
As Larry sat behind his sign near Pampanoosuc Furniture on Church Street, a guy walked and handed him a large beer. Larry stuffed it in his bag. “You want to go drink it,” the guy said. “Can’t you see I’m working? If I leave my spot, someone will take it.”
He has a place for the winter. Will not say where it is.
Always courteous, he always has a god bless or a thank you for those who help him. I took change from him, yesterday. He wanted to give me coins. For a five, I received neatly four folded singles. “People have been very kind to me this year. Especially the Canadians. I tell them I take Canadian, but I don’t know what they are talking about when they speak to me.”
Paul Lost and Found
So, yesterday, December 1, 2010, I went out looking for him, starting at 7:30am. No Paul at the spot. 9:00am, no Paul. Walked the usual haunts. No one had seen him. Hey. I got a life, too. ran errands. Miserable weather. Just the kind outsiders don’t understand about VT. Its not the cold that kills you, unless you are homeless; its the windy/rainy days, temperature between high thirties and high forties, gray light, and nowhere to hide. Once cold, no way to shake the chill. Just when I was about to give up, there he was, back at his spot, 4:00.
Joe Kernan
To protect what little is left of my retirement and savings, I sometime watch CNBC. No more. Aside from the yelling, bickering, and free market blather, they try to do news. Because of their bias, that part of their offering falls way below even FOX’s, whom we all know is simply a tool for Rupert Murdock’s and Roger Ailes’ political machines. The government had a chance to stop Murdock, GE should stop Kernan and the rest of the banterers. I will watch no more.