Cooking in a Coffee Pot

[Daveparts]

Cooking in a Coffee Pot
and Other Useful Tips for the Homeless
By David Glenn Cox


I write this for the millions who, like myself, are holed up in basements, garages, empty houses, fields, culverts and what have you. Guilty of being Americans and homeless, trying to make it through just one more day in the land of Fuck You and the home of the slave. I am at the top of the homeless pyramid; I still have internet access and a toilet.

The one thing to remember about the homeless is that they never have a day off. They are homeless every day; it's easy to forget and difficult to understand, but the homeless face the world without a buttress. They are toe-to-toe with the heat and the humidity, the rain, the mud, and the bugs.

They have lost their basic building block of society, a home, a place to lay down their heads. A place to lie in comfort, a simple retreat from the world. I consider myself among the lucky; I have a leaking air mattress and a roof to keep myself dry and a box fan to keep me cool. I don’t sleep in a bed but on a floor, and eat on a table salvaged from a dumpster. But it is not a home, it is a garage. It is a refuge and I am a refugee in modern America.

Brought up in another place, I feel myself an alien in this land. This is not the land of my birth. Where did it all go? How can we get back there? Our goals, motives and principles become polluted and reverse reclamated, blurred and obscured by the lack of a home. We live like cave men and women, targeted and dodging the monsters in squad cars or just avoiding the looks of disgust from those who believe themselves invincible.

But we know better and we look back with “see you soon eyes,” and we dream a dream of beds with clean linen or a hot bath or a shower. A job with decent wages and maybe even a front door and a window with a screen. But if I had one wish it would be to play the movie “The Grapes of Wrath” on every TV channel for twenty-four hours, because I am living every line of it every day. “Don’t take no nerve to do something when you ain’t got no other choice.”

It’s my dirt, it ain’t no good but its mine!”

We are looking for our California, our promised land, a place to start again. Because, just like Tom Joad, we are getting angry. “They’re working away at our spirit, trying to make us crawl” feeding us promises, programs that, like the rain, sound good but never reach us here on the ground.

I laugh myself through the want ads each day at jobs that make promises that are either sucker gambits or flat out frauds. Come work for free! Learn Grant Writing, only $200. “I never should have come on this trip. You remember that coupon in the spicy Western stories magazine? Learn to be a radio expert.” Jobs that aren’t jobs at all, promising good work and good wages but paying a nickel a box when they promised a dime. “An' you fellas will have to take it cause you’ll be hungry.”

I traded my truck for a 1987 Paseo and $1,500, but I don’t drive; it is merely a vestige of who I once was. I don’t drive because I don’t have insurance, but it is like an escape pod. Just knowing that I could go if I had somewhere to go, it is my last redoubt. I’m down to about $250 dollars and still looking for work, foolishly, pointlessly. I applied to a popular website that was seeking in depth journalism on the subject of homelessness but they never replied. Typical American media, they just want anecdotes about homelessness, they want to hear about it but don’t want to know about it.

I watch the body shop next door meandering towards oblivion as their work dries up. Friday, they had six body men working on three cars and you can’t keep the doors open like that. The cabinetry shop on the other side is working four and a half days a week.

I buy groceries according to what I can keep in a mini fridge, more like an icebox really. It keeps food cool, not cold. For soup you measure a cup of water in a plastic cup and place the soup in the coffeepot. Then you let the water pour through and wait for the warmer to warm the concoction. It’s not piping hot, but it’s hot enough and beggars can’t be choosers now, can they? Because of my culinary limitations I buy the same foods each week; two months ago it cost $45.00 and last week it was $65.00.

The money is rapidly loosing its value, which also explains why gas prices are rising even as demand sinks. I know that more of you are coming to join us in the time that the land forgot and you will have questions just as we had questions. But there are no answers for them, you just do and try and make the day. You wait anxiously for the Georgia sun to go down to offer some relief from the heat. As the sky turns red, the box fan again begins to offer some relief, the only relief available.

The kitties, Moxie and Blackie, still visit me each night and it is peculiar because I’ve joined their society more than they mine. When I wrote about them before, some people, well-intentioned I’m sure, suggested that I capture them and turn them over to the humane society. You don’t understand, we are equals in this life. I don’t rat them out and they don’t rat me out. If I turned them over maybe they’d have a better life; maybe they’d get gassed.

But, like the Joads, “We had meat tonight, not much but we had it.” The kitties are free and for the time being happy. I feed them and welcome them but they are free to go as well. They are not mine, merely night visitors who befriended me without qualifications. It would be too hard on my conscience to turn them in without knowing the outcome. Maybe you understand, maybe you don’t. Tom said it like this, “Seems the government has more interest in a dead man than a live one.” Or in this case they have more interest in picking up kitties than in finding them homes. Besides, the government has done nothing to help me; why should I expect more for cats that will never vote?

The cool and the stillness of Sunday night are a comfort to me and I must take my pleasure where I can, because the air mattress still leaks and the hot sun will return again tomorrow. So I will lay my head on the floor and dream.

“Fear the time when the strikes stop while the great owners live - for every little beaten strike is proof that the step is being taken … fear the time when Manself will not suffer and die for a concept, for this one quality is the foundation of Manself, and this one quality is man, distinctive in the universe.”

[femmocrat]

1. Are you the author of this piece? n/t

[Daveparts]

2. Yes ,

That would be me.

[femmocrat]

4. This is an incredible story. I hope you can get it published.

I'm sorry you are going through such difficult circumstances, Dave.

[JDPriestly]

21. Beautifully written. Thanks. I wish you well.

[marylanddem]

3. Beautifully written.

If this is you, David Glenn Cox, you are a fabulous writer & don't give up quite yet - I think things are going to get better for you.

[BeliQueen]

5. Wonderful (K&R)

[robinlynne]

6. really spectacular writing, and story. k&r.

[angrycarpenter]

7. I've been there.

And if it were not for my parents I would be back there. Thank god they had a room to offer me when work dried up. I would love to say with all confidence that things will get better for us but I have been looking for work for 6 months and I am all out optimisim.

[myrna minx]

8. What a beautifully written essay. I hope you can get this published. K&R

[knitter4democracy]

9. You should send this to The Nation.

They should publish it. What you write of is the real truth, not the MSM truth.

[tomreedtoon]

50. Sadly, it won't matter. Writers are no longer paid anything.

I mean, he wrote it for us, and it is heartfelt. Did any of you pay anything to him for his story? If he submitted it to The Nation, they wouldn't pay anything either.

It's unfortunate, but writing is no longer a skill people will pay for, any more than they will pay for the building of automobiles.

[knitter4democracy]

83. Being paid would be wonderful, but I was hoping for change, too.

People think the most awful things of the homeless and believe the worst of them. Maybe a letter from the front lines, so to speak, would open some eyes.

[grasswire]

10. you have a fierce talent

...and you are bearing witness to a crime against the people. I stand in awe of your ability to communicate the situation.

Are there more of your writings somewhere on the Internet?

[Just Visiting]

20. David writes on other sites

Sadly, two of the best are those that this website will not allow linkage to - or even mentioning.

That is indeed a shame.

[grasswire]

24. are you allowed to PM it to me?

Thanks in advance.

[amyrose2712]

62. Can you...

PM me to let me know the forbidden sites? And why are they censoring things here?

[progressoid]

11. ...

It would only take a minor incident to put me in your shoes.

Time for a cliche or two...Hang in there. We're all in this together.

[SammyWinstonJack]

100. We're all not in this together, but we should be.

[DemReadingDU]

12. old fashioned popcorn poppers also heat food

Remember those? You put in oil, some kernels of corn, must put on lid!, and when the popping stops, eat it up. When I lived in the dorm during my college years, way before microwaves/computers/cell phones, we used popcorn poppers to heat up soup and other canned food.


Thanks Dave, for your essays. I'm glad you have some kitties. Furry friends are nice to have around.

[GinaMaria]

34. Grilled cheese can be made in old popcorn popper

I bet you could make eggs in it too.

[Warpy]

67. That's how I discovered stir frying

long before I knew the Chinese had been doing it for thousands of years.

An old popcorn popper made a great small wok. Small pieces of meat and veg, kept continuously moving so it didn't stick or burn, cooked quickly.

There were times I didn't even have that and found out that a paper cup of water will boil over a campfire. The bottom lip of the cup will char, but the water keeps the cup itself from igniting. Cans were better, of course, but a paper cup did in a pinch.

Being broke means being ashamed but it also means learning to think outside normal experience. There's a huge gap between living well and staying alive and the latter can be accomplished by using what the former discards.

[DemReadingDU]

71. That is interesting about a paper cup

There really is a lot that people are going to need to find out how to do things, if they intend to survive a depression. But many people nowadays don't know how to think for themselves, they've always had someone to do things for them. I think in the coming years there will be so many people with no money, that being broke will be normal, and nothing to be ashamed about.


Edit: I bet old-fashioned popcorn poppers can be found inexpensively at Goodwill or garage sales.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Thanks for sharing, Daveparts.

I hope someone worthy of your talent hires you soon.

Peace to you,

[Richd506]

14. It's so sad that living is this difficult

You have to have money for everything. That's what's crazy about it. Why couldn't we be more like other animals? We are free to make our own home and find our own food... without having to pay for it!

[nyc 4 Biden]

16. One even needs money to travel on the roads.

A lot of money. Just to go over some bridges or tunnels in new york it is $10! I really don't like the basic idea of tolls. We should have some way to travel freely.

[juno jones]

15. I remember a season in a flophouse hotel, cooking everything in a crockpot

and toaster oven.

Camping in a friend's backyard and cooking with a hotplate.

And yes, coffemakers make more than coffee in a pinch.


I wish you luck with your writing Dave. The suggestion of going to the Nation with this is a good one. So is finding the venues that publish writers like Barbara Ehrenreich and submitting to those as well. The real facts of poverty should be on everyone's mind about now.

There but for the grace of god...

Nobody should have to live like this.

[Hekate]

17. Heartstopping writing, Dave

Hekate

[happygoluckytoyou]

18. MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES----->

THE FIRST OF 3 CHINESE CURSES..... followed by
May you come to the attention of those in authority
May you find what you are looking for

Dave, I am so glad you have the internet so you may publish.
And 2 kittens.
Hopefully some friends, comrads in poverty.

On the downside---> no money and no job
On the upside-----> no money and no job

The same things which we chase, make us their slaves.
Where you search for food, a bath, and a place to lay your head...... I earn money, pay taxes, worry about falling into poverty, and eat more than I should. I FEAR on a daily basis falling into your life----> and sometimes welcome the thought that it would releave me of many of the concerns of a forty year ratrace.

IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE... WHY DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE HAPPY WITH MORE OF IT

Where I would not cherish no medical assistance, a lack of food, a lack of shelter---> I don't think I am so damn happy with the 60 hour work-week to find myself always at the brink of poverty much better.

Take care my friend... may you NOT find what you are looking for.

[unapatriciated]

19. My words are inadequate, compared to what you are experiencing.

I have been there but was fortunate to have family that could help. If there is any way lame54 or I can do to help let us know via a pm. We are virtually neighbors, we are in Marietta.

edited to add:
It would be nice to meet a fellow duer here in the very red state of Georgia

[JDPriestly]

22. Try sending this to Harper's

I'm not sure this is the correct address, but it might be 666 Broadway, New York, New York 10012. That's the address for letters to the editor. Explain that you are hoping to publish it as a professional item and not a letter. They also have an e-mail. [e-mail] . I don't know whether you can still copyright your letter after publishing it here. I just don't know how that works. You could google that and find out. I don't want to give legal advice over the internet.

Harper's publishes a lot of short items at the beginning of their magazine.

Good luck.

[glitch]

28. Or Motherjones. nt

[winyanstaz]

23. Keep on keeping on my friend because many of us are on our way to join you...

I once read that someone believed that the ancient aztecs simply got fed up with their government and they all just left the cities and returned to the land.
I am sure they would hunt us down if we tried that.
I keep on voting but I am still not seeing any changes. Just more propping up for a system that has failed.
Maybe we could all get together and vote to super-glue the doors and windows to all government buildings shut! Then they can join us in the soup-lines...if we ever get some soup lines.

[Concordia]

25. Thank you for writing this.

It can be very hard to put into words an experience like abject poverty.

[mdmc]

43. welcome to DU

I will never have to live the life of the OP.. I cannot.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. If I miss my meds I will end up disabled, lying flat on my back in horrible pain. Then dead.
As soon as I loose my medical insurance I am toast. Gotta keep working for my mediations. Then someday I will die.

[Strong Atheist]

96. Welcome to DU!

[Jackpine Radical]

26. For me it was sometimes an electric frying pan.

One time it was a gasoline Coleman stove & a few pans. You can avoid washing the pans if you open the food can (e.g. beans) & heat them in a pan or frying pan partly filled with water. Then if you just eat the food out of the can, all you have left is your spoon or fork to wash. If you don't cut the lid entirely off the can, you can bend it into a handle before heating & use the handle to hold the hot can while you eat out of it.

[lunatica]

27. Thanks. This helps when I try to imagine what I would do

I take care of my mother who has dementia and I'm 61 years old. I worry about losing my two jobs which don't really pay all the bills as it is. I really don't know what I would do or if there is anything or anyone I could turn to for help. Especially with my mother. How could I care for her? For myself I know I would survive but to subject her to the weather and just to not being able to care for her physically (keeping her clean and fed and cool or warm). I don't even know if there's someplace I could drop her off so the state would care for her.

It's a mess. I'm grateful not to have children.

[elleng]

57. Medicaid (+ Soc Sec) will pay for her in nursing home.

Also check with Hospice.

[susanr516]

29. Most of us

are literally two missed paychecks away from your situation. I wish you all the best.

[Strong Atheist]

97. Belated Welcome to DU!

[butterfly77]

30. KICK! and recommended!

[grantcart]

31. I am wondering how many people you encounter every day that you are able

to encourage and lift up?

A brilliant piece that is warmed by its restraint.

[cliffordu]

32. SEND THIS TO ADBUSTERS IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

I am in awe of your perspective, I spent some time in that place and all I could do was rage......



c

[peacetalksforall]

33. Does your internet access allow you to have a web site or are you using a

library or some other publc access? Over time, with your writing talent and the potential for some sponsors - why not head up a Homeless Blog? It wouldn't have to be restricted to people who are homeless - it would be for all of us. After all, we read the writings of Steinbeck, Guthrie, Evans and many more. This is our dust bowl now. We're in this together.

[Hekate]

35. Sending you a star, since I can't send you a home. Write more, please.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

36. No one has offered and you haven't asked

But do you have a PayPal account to tide you over until you're a rich and famous author?
You have immense talent and insight, but you need other things, too.

K&R

[pengillian101]

37. K&R n/t

[nannah]

38. as a homeless person with no income

you are eigible for @$200.00 a month in food aid. It's a federal program the same every where. It's not a home, but it provides a way to buy food without using any cash you are able to get.

what type of work do you do?

[Raksha]

39. K & R - powerful testimony!

You make me realize how fortunate I am. I've had it pretty bad in the past,but nothing like that. I was never reduced to cooking in a coffeepot or sleeping on a leaky air mattress. I hope you can get a real mattress at least, comfortable and without lumps or bugs.

[defendandprotect]

40. Has anyone yet heard Obama speak about our "homeless" .. . ???

That America even has homeless is to our continuing shame!!!

[winyanstaz]

55. I have not heard a word about the homeless so far...

Nor do I see much help for the hundred of thousands of people that have lost their homes due to the mortgage mess..the little guys are left to blow in the wind I guess.
There is no help in America unless you are rich.
I have a young mom and a 4 year old little girl sleeping now on my front room couch. They are homeless due to the mom (who is working) moved into a new home and the roommate didn't tell her that she had already been served with an eviction notice.
The young lady paid her rent to the roommate who gave it to the landlord who kicked them out anyways.
There is a 6 month waiting list in my town for emergency homes and thousands of people in the streets with no where to go. In the meantime the police tear down the homeless tent cities and take what is left of the people's belongings.
Don't the homeless deserve at least a tent someplace? This is cruel beyond words and such a shame on America that we have let it get to this.
The little girl told me today that she doesnt have a bed anymore but that she doesnt want to live everywhere. It just broke my heart.
I don't have money myself but I will be damned if I will throw this lady and child into the streets..I shall just have to hide her from my landlord as long as I can.

[Terran]

75. Then you're not paying attention

Obama's stimulus bill contains hundreds of millions directed at housing, homelessness prevention and short and long-term rental assistance for homeless persons. He also just recently signed the HEARTH Act, which reauthorized federal homeless assistance funding and expanded the definition of homelessness used in HUD's homeless programs.

I have every sympathy for the OP because I talk to people experiencing homelessness almost every day as part of my job; but I wonder what efforts he's making to find help for himself. It sounds like pessimism has taken over his life.

[winyanstaz]

88. thank you for directing my attention better....

here is a link to what is actually in the bill

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/STIMUL...

While I am still reading it I shall refrain from any further comments

[Terran]

91. You're welcome

and sorry if I sounded pissy about it. It's what I work with daily and I'm always disappointed when something really big like the HEARTH act (a major improvement in how the federal gov't addresses homelessness) gets ignored both here and in the news media.

[Daveparts]

92. Come to Georgia

Before I was homeless I applied for food stamps. It was based on last years income and since my wife had a job and made more than $12,000 we didn't qualify. Mortgage assistance, we didn't qualify.

You keep reading what the politicians are feeding you but when you go to apply for these programs its not like the newspaper says. Point of fact most of the assistance programs are targeted for families with children which is fair enough.

The efforts I'm making involve looking for a job every day and trying to raise awareness. I'm in the wrong Georgia, that is part of the problem. The federal government under the Obama administration just gave that other Georgia one billion US tax dollars for assistance.

You may call it pessimism and that is your prerogative but you aren't in my shoes. I made it quite clear that I was at the top of the homeless pyramid, every day I see more just like myself and worse, so either we're all wrong and you're right or you don't know as much about the subject as you think you do. Come to the Red State of Georgia and see $100,000,000 tax give aways for foreign corporations and strings attached for the poor.

[unapatriciated]

94. Dave, I extend my hand..

in friendship or anything else we can do. Hubby and I are your neighbors to the north (about 20 miles). My son who is disabled and living in California, comes across the same barriers. He doesn't qualify for many of the programs that are out there because they are geared to families with children (I also think that is fair). He is not homeless because I supplement his SSI when I can , if the govt. knew he would lose the amount I gave him from his ssi benefits which are less than 900 a month. The programs are set up for failure. If you get a little ahead they take most if not all help away. Putting you in a worse position than before, so most end up staying in poverty with little or no hope of getting out. We are trying to keep him in California (my job brought me to GA) close to his doctors (he has a rare disease) and school where he hopes to graduate and become self supporting. The system doesn't make that an easy task.
I'm sincere about meeting you and your wife, it would be a pleasure.

[Terran]

98. You're right, I don't know as much as you

for the simple reason that you're living that situation and I'm not. I didn't mean to offend. Looking for a job is obviously a good approach, but you need housing to stablize your life too.

I don't have any idea, off-hand, what's available or not in Georgia since I'm not there. I'm in Missouri and work with homeless programs targeting people with mental health disabilities, and on those I could advise you if it's relevant, if you want; and I can find out for you if such programs are available in your area. What county do you live in, if I may ask? I understood it was Metro Atlanta, or close to there?

[lostnfound]

41. Beautiful writing. Send it to Nation or Zmagazine maybe.

Or Progressive. Seems like something that any of them would publish.

[Liberal_in_LA]

42. great article

[bvar22]

44. Jewels can sometimes be found while browsing DU.

Your post was one.
Heart wrenching, but a beautiful treasure.
Good luck to us all.
Scratch your night friends between their ears for us.
K&R

[HCE SuiGeneris]

45. May better times grace you soon.

I fear for so many that see this rapidly approaching... including myself. I wish you well.

[Subdivisions]

46. This is writing that only profound experience can emote. Just...wow.

A place to lie in comfort, indeed.

[BrklynLiberal]

47. K&R

[elleng]

58. Hi

[BrklynLiberal]

86. Hey EllenG

How are things? Still heading North in July? Will you be heading in this direction anytime soon?

[elleng]

87. Hi, Bklyn!

Things have been 'mixed.' Yes, still heading North; 1 month, eh? Hopes to get to NY 'soon' haven't panned out. Will pm.

[DontTreadOnMe]

48. Well written essay - A+

I usually don't read posts this long... but I could not stop reading.

Where are you in California?

[Hekate]

93. Dave's in Georgia.

[zalinda]

49. I know where you are at

I've been there. I lived in a closet, yes, a real closet. Well, actually it was a closed off stairway, that had a closet in it. I really don't remember what I ate, if much of anything. I had to find that $10 a month for my closet. I do remember the cold shower, because there wasn't any hot water. I slept around a lot around that time, because bartering sex for food and hot showers, was not as demeaning as actually walking the streets.

I finally got a job at a beer bar, and was able to get a cockroach infested apartment. It was gross, but it had hot water and a stove.

I'm no longer that young woman, old woman can't barter sex for food, so if I can't get SSI, I have no idea what we will do. You see, my son can't find a job either. He can't do just any job, because he has horrible eyesight, but not bad enough to be declared legally blind. He can't operate machinery, because he can't see well enough, and he has fine and gross motor skill problems. He studied computers, so he could have a profession and well those jobs are in India now.

My life has been hard. I've never had a job that offered health insurance. I'm not complaining, it is what it is. But, we are supposed to be in control of government now. Us, we liberals who want everyone to succeed, and want the poor to have lives that are a little easier. And, it's not happening. And, I'm angry. I'm angry at all of those liberals who tell us to wait. Wait for what? Our death? Would that be easier for Obama, for us to disappear?

zalinda

[grasswire]

51. come here, you

We're all in this together. We just didn't know what a stew it was until a Democrat was elected on the promise of hope and change.

[SammyWinstonJack]

101. 'Wait for what?' 'Our death?' 'Would that be easier for Obama, for us to disappear?'

Probably so. Probably easier for the rest of the congress critters, too. Less headache to deal with.

[burrowowl]

52. Good Job!

Of much interest, good writing. Thank you.

[sub.theory]

53. An Excellent, if Hearbreaking, Post

I'm very sorry to hear of your misfortunes. You clearly have skill as a writer; I hope that you can find work soon. No one in America should have to be homeless. We are wasting so much potential.

[ClayZ]

54. You are a wordsmith! Send it to SUN magazine!

http://www.thesunmagazine.org / (it is my favorite)


I wish you well! KEEP WRITING!


edit to K and R

[Celtic Merlin]

56. DaveParts, I pray that you get to read this - for both of us.

I lived in conditions much like yours for about 8 months. I was 23 years old. I had one small room which I shared with another man who was a stranger to me, I shared a bathroom with seven other men, and I was on my own for food and clothing. Hell, the one shared room cost me $100 a month back in 1982, and if I didn't pay it - I would be tossed out like yesterday's newspaper because there were plenty of others ready and willing to take my place.

Work? Oh, yes... The promise of work. Employers who don't pay - stealing your labor and your week. The ones who work you 40 hours and pay you for 30, then tell you to kiss off when you complain. At least the check was good. The ads promising easy work and good wages - for a fee, but turn out to be fraudulent.

I did have a floor and a bed - if you can call it that. An antique mattress leaking its guts all over an equally aged bunk bed that was just a steel frame with a sagging bed of wire to hold the mattress - I got the bottom bunk.

But of all the things that I lacked, FOOD was the critical one. Without income, there can be no food. Unless you're resourceful. I'd eat the pre-packaged bologna in the store and stuff the empty wrapper behind the cans of off-brand green beans where they'd never find it for days or weeks. Once, the only thing I could get out of the store with was an onion - which I ate greedily like it was an apple. But when paychecks could be had, I would buy my food and pay for it with a sense of pride that I was able to provide for myself honestly that week. I once pooled all of my money (coins) with two other men and we went to the grocery store together. We paid for our feast with the change we had collectively placed into a purple Crown Royal bag that closed with a bright yellow cord. If we'd had the price of what that bag had once contained, the three of us would have eaten like kings for three days straight. But with what we had between us, we were able to buy three boxes of cheap-o mac-and-cheese and two cans of awful tuna. We made "Poor Man's Tuna-Noodle Casserole" that evening. We cooked the mac-and-cheese and then stirred in the tuna, served ourselves, and ate. We each had a dime in our pockets (the leftover change split equally amongst us) and drank water with our meals - champagne being a little out of our reach that week.

Eventually, my situation improved. I found good work with the help of a friend. But I've never forgotten how to find, cook, and eat perfectly good food on a budget of damn near nothing. I would like to pass along some of what I learned. I can help you with recipes, cooking methods, and balanced-diet menus. I can cook in a coffee pot, hot pot, hot plate, electric skillet, and just about any working appliance you can find. Stay away from deep-fryers. When it comes to meals, creativity is the key to feeling that when everything else has gone to shit, at least you can eat something warm, filling, and good-tasting. A man feels better about himself on a full stomach, and can go about his day with some confidence when he isn't hungry and when he's happy with the meals he can prepare for himself.

E-mail me. Use [e-mail] to contact me. And keep feeding those kitties!

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[Skittles]

59. you rock, Celtic

[Celtic Merlin]

81. Um, thank you. Sincerely.

[liberal N proud]

60. When in college they only allowed corn poppers and hot pots in the dorms.

Hot pots if you remember were like coffee pots only no percolator.

It was amazing what we were able to cook in those corn poppers. I had one of those with the plastic top that doubled as a bowl. The popper base could be used as an electric skillet. I cooked bacon and even hamburgers on occasion. When the RA would show up, you were still within regulations, as long as the beer and other illegal items were out of site.

[amyrose2712]

61. Great writing. Hope things get better for you soon. nt

[Geek_Girl]

63. Excellent writing

I'm sorry you going through tough times.

[tpsbmam]

64. I wish I had a job to offer to you! Exquisitely written, I've seen lots of suggestions

for you to submit this to various magazines. All of that costs money -- printer, expensive ink cartridges, paying to use the first two elsewhere, paper, postage.....it all adds up. What about submitting a letter (via email) and quoting a couple of passages in the email to give the magazine a taste of your writing? Since you have Internet access, that would be a more cost-effective way to go. And even if a magazine doesn't pay for the piece, getting your foot in the door and getting a wider audience to read your writing may bring future work. If the choice is 1) do nothing, 2) submit it to a magazine that prints it but won't pay for it or 3) hold out for a magazine that will print it AND pay for it......I'd probably go with #3 for a month or so and, if that didn't work, move on to #2. (One thought I haven't seen mentioned here, a magazine with some money and a readership that might actually afford to/be in a position to hire people: Vanity Fair. It's progressive & the kind of piece that editor Graydon Carter might love.)

[Ilovevermont]

65. Your article is beautifully written

and needs to be heard by everyone. When people look away, it
is usually because they are fighting the fear and don't want
to be reminded that they might be next. 
As a child I was close to being where you are, so I know that
edgy dark feeling.
I would like to share this with the folks on our local social
justice committee, and while I know that won't be much help to
you, please be aware that your courage in sharing your
experience may help others.
Our town has lost more jobs over the last 20 years than you
could count. Until the government gets rid of corporate
welfare and stops looking at "free trade" as a good
thing, many more will be joining you. I don't know which is
worse: to have no job or to have a job in which you are asked
to kill human empathy and become a mindless cold enforcer of
petty laws or maybe to join the ranks of those who must train
to go to other countries and kill soon to be homeless people
there. Stay strong and know that while you have your self,
you have a place of being. Please keep writing.

[lazyriver]

66. Keep writing. You are very good and I bet it will be your ticket back to

where you want to and should be. Peace and better days. - lr

[eShirl]

68. how to make a cardboard box solar oven

thought this might come in handy
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/solarbox.htm

Thanks, I enjoyed reading your essay. Hope you keep writing.

[Alameda]

69. Immersion Coils work very well and can be used in many places

even bathrooms with a plug. I've used them for making dinners. If you can find a Asian store, get dried tofu, dry miso and dehydrated vegetables. You can even get dehydrated fish. It all plumps up in hot water. At least the nutritional value is better than most cheap food.

There but for the grace of G-d go us all.

[MrMickeysMom]

70. You have a star, and you need more than a K&R-

I'm not trying to rhyme as much as I am reason. I guess there is little reason for this to be your America. And yes, every day we need to not scorn what we do not fully understand, but see ourselves against that looking glass.

There, for the grace of (God) go I, or my husband, and especially my niece, as she struggles, and the guy wandering around our municipality who smells funny and asks for people to buy him something to eat when they least expect it, pumping their gas.

I'm sending your missive to Mike Malloy, also in Georgia, if he or his wife haven't received it today already. It sounds like your perspective should be shared in as many ways as are possible.

MMM

[rubberducky]

72. I do not post very often, but felt a need to respond to this particular post.

You have a wonderful talent, Daveparts. I always look forward to reading your posts. Your words are truly inspirational to me. Please never give up your writing. I treasure your thoughtful and inciteful posts. I would like to share with you my mother`s words of wisdom to me "Don`t let the bastards get you down". I had a very tough job and every time she would talk to me she would repeat those words. Hang in there my friend. My dad had a different take on life and always told me to LEARN something new every day. He believed that we go through life constantly learning. Sounds like most of your learning is coming the hard way. But, talent like your`s cannot be silenced. Let your writing lead you! This has just been my 2 cents for whatever it is worth, but I just felt that I had to respond to this post.

[MrMickeysMom]

74. Ditto... (as they say, "+1") eom

[JackDragna]

73. We all need to read posts like this.

That anyone is allowed to live in such a manner, so completely neglected by society should shame us all.

[Froward69]

76. I lived in my truck for two years

I have had those feelings and thoughts. it was during the time of the first bush. I registered to vote at a friends house and voted for Clinton. I finally found work as a pool boy and showed an aptitude toward fixing household things. at the end of that summer after the pool was drained, I found another job as an apprentice maintenance man. Living next to an asbestos encased Boiler was better than living in my truck.

by the end of Clintons term I had managed to acquire a falling apart apartment house. it has been my chief source of revenue ever since. these days when i find Homeless people sleeping in my hallway, stair case or in the laundry room I wait till morning to wake them up, give them a cup of coffee and a bagel or doughnut. I tell them the fire department would object to their sleeping there. depending on their appearance and or mental state. I may even allow them to shower in a vacant unit. Sometimes I may hire them to help me that day. and/Or print off job listings from Craigslist.
Now that it is summer it is rare but during cold months of winter I find someone just about every week. I have yet to see he same person twice.

It is the least I can do, As I have been there and I haven't forgotten.

[redqueen]

77. Too late to rec...

this definitely deserves it.

Thank you so much for posting this here.

[Javaman]

78. Thank you, David.

This is a very moving and important piece.

I would love the links to your other writings so I can put them up on my own blog.

Many of us have been where you are, but you have brilliantly conveyed to all of us, in a very poignant way, the true depth of homelessness.

I had a saying when I was out there, "I don't want peace and quiet, I want a piece of quiet".

[lib2DaBone]

79. Very nice Daveparts. It captures the feeling of hopelessness

and lack of purpose in today's America. (especially the part about the "Work At Home" ripoffs)

We may have been the greatest country at one time, but no more. We now lag behind most countries in Health Care, Birth Rate, Innovation, Education, Research and standard of living.

When I look at what the politicians have done to this country in 30 years... dismantled entire factories and shipped jobs to China... common sense cries out that SOMEONE should go to jail or something should be done? Yet, nothing happens.

I watch C-SPAN and see our Senators and CONgress people in their $600 suits, Gucci loafers and wide Limos; it is obvious that they do not have a clue as to what is going on in the United States. They are too busy re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and stealing the silverware from the dining room.

I don't know where America is headed, but the consensus seems to be.."Last one out.. turn out the lights." This canard from our highly paid leaders who are owned and controlled by the Corporations.

If only we had listened to Ross Perot just a few short years ago when he warned us about "That giant sucking sound of jobs leaving the United States." Should.. coulda... woulda...

Ramen Noodles were a staple in my college diet.. and they are back again. 10 packs for a $1! You can put almost anything in Ramen and they offer fine cuisine in a coffee pot.

[silversol]

80. GREAT POST!

Great post!

[Blue_Tires]

82. powerful stuff...

......

[Old Time Pagan]

84. I grow food

In the old days I guess you'd call me a farmer, the politically correct term today is Applied Biologist.

We have a small family farm and are blessed to have everything paid for and are in good financial shape for the time being.

For the last decade we've grown gourmet garlic, specialty onions and shallots reaching out to a small specialty market. We still have more demand for our products than we can fill. Our county is a very poor one and even with a net income in the low 20ks we're among the best off in our area. But more and more of my neighbors and friends need help from the food bank just to survive and obviously it's likely to get worse at least in the short term

Doesn't seem right these days to grow food for people who already have more than they need when so many more are doing without. With our growing season I'm still planting and we've decided to put the vast majority of our effort into growing for the food bank until things get better. My question to those of you who currently use or have used food assistance in the past is this, what would you like to have waiting for you when you showed up at the food bank?

I know there are storage problems, cooking problems, etc so what type of produce would be most useful. Please let me know and if we can grow it we will and then take it to the food bank.

The Blessings of the Creator on all of us, these are tough times for the world. We're not relgious people but we are deeply spiritual and profoundly connected to our land. Hopefully these times are the darkness before the dawn and we can all come through them and into a new light.

Blessings, respect, and best wishes to all of you.

[Hekate]

85. Thrice welcome to DU, Old Time Pagan

Blessings on the work that you do and on your intentions.

Hekate

[Liberty Belle]

89. email me privately; I'm an editor.

Send a copy of your essay to me at [e-mail] if you'd like it published at our site, which is widely read in our region. We normally only publish material on San Diego's East County but I will make an exception in your case.

We have very little money, but if you don't find a major publisher I would like to run your story. I could pay a small sum, but only need one-time rights, so you'd be free to resell it anyplace else too.

[subcomhd]

90. Very Moving

Best of luck to you. I was homeless once too, but it was by choice. It was less than a year and I lived in a national forest. I couldn't imagine being homeless in a city - living on the street. If, God forbid, I were to find myself without my home or job I guess i would head back to the woods. Everything you need to live is there.

[LittleGirl]

95. It's silly but

I'd have to be trained to be homeless. I don't have a clue how to care for myself outside in the elements. I have only spent one night of my life under the stars; and that was by choice. I don't know how to 'go camping' either. Your piece (and the responses) made me cry because I realized how helpless I would be. I've seen another of your writings and this one just touched me about how Pathetic I am. I wished I could help you. I hope the best for you. Peace to you, your wife, Moxie and Blackie.

[silversol]

99. The Servants of Pilate

Hey david. I just say your book on ebay! I just bought a copy! I cant wait to read it!