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UER Forum > Journal Index > The Adventures of a Texas, Country Boy > A Trip to the Big City (Viewed 2253 times)
A Trip to the Big City
entry by ChaseofSpades 
7/14/2008 12:07 AM

I've already posted these pictures, but I'm gonna do it again in my journal. And I'm gonna tell the story in more depth.


I hit the city with a heat that was nearly unbearable. It's days like that when I wonder if I should break down and get A/C in my car.

I got to the city and couldn't find the meet up (DFW meet and greet). I was my first met up, so I didn't know what to expect and I sure as hell didn't want to be late.

I ended up parking in a spot that cost 5 dollars, which was the exact amount that I thought I had in my pocket. Upon further inspection, I had indeed left it at home.

I searched around for an ATM with no luck, and then I cam across a homeless man named Robert "Pa" Myers. He was a goofy old man that challenged me to a foot race. He said, "I may be 64 years old, but I'll bet you the change in your pocket I can beat you in a foot race."

It was way to hot for this old man to be running around, and I didn't want him to die trying to get some change, so we came to an agreement. If he could make me laugh, I'd give him my change.

"If you get a big *breasted*, white woman working at Hooters. Where does a one legged, black woman work?"


I had no idea and figured if I even tried to answer I'd be a racist.

"Ihop"

Well, he made me laugh. He was busting at the seems with an energy and soul that couldn't be crushed by the hand of God himself. His eyes held a spirit that was untameable. If you looked long enough, you could see it, dancing around in his mind.

He walked me over to the ATM, telling me jokes the whole way. When I got to the ATM, I gave him 20 dollars and we parted ways. I'm glad I got some pictures of him, because I don't ever want to forget those glazed over, booze induced, soulful eyes.











Pa Myers pointed me in the direction of the Cafe that we were supposed to meet up at. As it turns out, one of the other members had gotten lost just like me, and had talked to the same old man.

He chatted for a while, and discussed what we should do. We never really got a plan together, which is fine by me because I prefer to do things on a whim. More interesting and exciting that way.

We headed to downtown in hopes of coming across something that would catch our eye. We parked underneath an overpass and began walking up some stairs to get to the sidewalk. That's where we found my adventure. The member that origanized this little shindig spotted a whole in the stairwell and needed someone small and spry to go down inside.

How could I pass this up. Once I started going in, I could faintly hear the other members discussing whether this was a good idea or not. Trying to figure out if I should really go in there. Their words were faint at best, even lower than a whisper to me. My mind was focused on the task ahead of me. No plan, no scouting, no real guarantee that I could get back out. Some of the members, the purist, will tell me that I'm careless. That I give this a bad name. More than anything that I'm and idiot. But that's who I am, and I'm not going to fake it for people I hardly know. The idea of the danger, the excitement, the thrill. It's what I live for.

So down the rabbit hole I went...

Once down there I realized this was someones home. A homeless person was squatting here, and the images that I saw were heartbreaking. I've been wondering if I should post these pictures up. The imagery and be rough and might even strike an emotion or two, but that's what I want. I want to always remember how I felt about that sight. Know that this was a living story. This was a man's life.





This was the first thing I saw. A child's photo. No way to know if this actually related to the person that was living here or if it was just a photo that the person had found. I believe that this was a relative of the person that had made this staircase his home. A look into what life had been. Something he would look at every night before he drank himself to sleep. Making a story in my head to go with the person makes it more real for me. I refuse to let myself distance my mind from this person.




The sleeping quarters were near the photo. An old, smelly sleeping bag with an over sized dog pillow. The floor under the sleeping bag was the only place that was swept and somewhat clean.





This little guy scared the shit out of me. The movement made me think there was a man in there with me, hiding in the shadows. Just a pet, I suppose.





A pair of ropes tied to a crossbeam held the man's personal affects. I obviously did not go through it, but you can tell that they are things picked up off the ground, or perhaps things gathered from a past life. Momentos of life before the staircase.




Something about this ripped my heart in two. This pictures tells me a story.

The wilted roses made me think of a beautiful life, vibrant and full of color, dying away and become a rotting corpse of what it had once been. Empty, dead, ugly.





This is what the floor looked like all together. Dirty child photo, broken beer bottles, old shoes, and wilted roses. A broken home in a staircase.


Now this last picture gave me chills. I'm a skeptic, but do believe in ghost. I think that most things can be explained through science...but this one still gave me chills.





I use a nikon d40 and the flash is way up at the top and the lens sticks way out in the front. It is nearly impossible for me to get my finger in the way. There was no light behind me AT All, so it's not my shadow. The only light source at this point was the flash and the small entrance you can see at the top right of the picture. I had already turned off my flash light and was getting ready to get out when the man whose legs you can see told me to snap one more of the bag.

It's up to you.


[last edit 7/14/2008 12:09 AM by ChaseofSpades - edited 1 times]
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Comments: (use Reply to add a comment)
DashingFlamingos 


Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Gender: Female
Total Likes: 13 likes




 |  |  | Che Cooper Photo
Re: A Trip to the Big City
< Reply # 1 on 7/16/2008 8:34 PM >
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Posted on Forum: UER Forum
hobos are always a sad site...and their stuff.




It's all foreign to me.
UER Forum > Journal Index > The Adventures of a Texas, Country Boy > A Trip to the Big City (Viewed 2253 times)


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