"I Rode Into Nazareth...."

Isn't that how the song goes? "Rode into Nazareth, I was feelin' bout a half-past dead?"

I rode into Austin this time on the 22nd of August with $17 and change in my pocket, the beautiful Madame LaBelle driving like a bat out of Hades with me nervously riding shotgun.

We both knew I was headed for the mean or not-so-mean streets of Austin. It made her sad. Made me feel like...gawd, what's it gonna be like this time? A sense of anticipation and adventure, though, which was absent the last time.

Personal history tidbit: I became homeless on Thursday, the 10th of June 2009, and began a fall from grace not unlike Icarus when he flew too close to the sun. Burn, burned, burnt. Toast. Free falling as I ran through what little financial cushion (savings) I'd put together. The whole thing was like some kind of cosmic baseball bat come swinging through the ether, connecting upside of my head, leaving me bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. It's hard to think straight when the specter of homelessness is right there, like right in front of you, and it's growling and frothing at the mouth and you just know it's some kind of pit bull from Hell and it's got your number.

I took the Greyhound to Minneapolis just to check it out, and left a day later. Lovely city but gawd the winters. Greyhound again. A four day stint in Austin which turned out to be four days in Purgatory. Hot, hotter, Hades. Trudging up and down those hills with a backpack filled with too much stuff. Standing in line there at the park whose name I don't yet know, waiting for a little sack lunch from the Loaves and Fishes ministry.

Madame LaBelle came and  picked me up, drove me to Houston, and gave me a couple of months to get my act more or less together. She provided me with a...how shall I say it? A major upgrade when it comes to the street.

She loaned me her bicycle. It's one of those Wal-mart knockoffs which could stand to lose about twenty pounds. Think: hefty. Rethink: heavy. Kinda tough for an old man on the wrong side of 60  to get around on, but I'm grateful to have her. I'm calling the bike the...Beast. She's purple, the color of royalty. Squeaks when I brake, slips and slides and complains, but basically gets the job done. She's a good old girl and I'm growing quite fond of her. She's my little Beast of Burden.

And now I'm jumping ahead in time. It's Monday, the 24th of August, and I'm sitting at Juan Pelota's little coffee shop down here at 4th and Nueces. Helpful hint: never get behind me in a line. I have the uncanny knack of always picking the slowest line (which I submit as prima facie evidence of my psychic powers) and this time was no exception, even though there was but one line.  In the absence of other lines, one will do quite nicely. The lady ahead of me put in an order which took forever to fill, and I stood behind her meditating on the philosophical implications of eternity, patience, and acceptance. This helped: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

A charming and attractive young lady from Switzerland named Barbara just gave me some information about coffee shops here in Austin. I'm looking for something...down-homey. Comfortable. I'd feel good being in a place with chairs that don't match, tables obviously destined for a yard sale in the not too far distant future. Where the refills are cheap, the wifi works, and the staff quickly makes you feel welcome. That kind of place.

A place where everybody knows your name, always glad you came kinda place. Like Cheers, the old tv sitcom. Do they make those kinds of places anymore? And, more importantly, is there one in Austin?

Barbara is headed for Ecuador, Columbia, and Chile. Speaks Spanish. Looks to me like a Free Spirit. Whoever reads this, please join with me in sending her good vibes and wishing her nothing but the very best as she moves through life. Thanks. And Barbara? If you read this (as I think you will) please bookmark my blog and stay tuned to my little adventure. I'd love to hear how things work out for you! You're the very first person I gave my blog addy out to, so that alone makes you very special in my books! Big hug, girl!

And a quick shout-out to Darrin, barrista at Blu, for pointing me to Juan Pelota's.( I had coffee at Blu's yesterday, a smallish cup--very tasty--which set me back $2.11 with tax.) He's a very handsome, kind man who went out of his way to make me feel like a real human being. Thanks, Darrin!

And now Barbara is gone, riding off on her bike. I felt a little sad to see her go. ("I did but see her passing by/And yet I love her till I die." --anonymous) We come into each other's lives for a moment or two, then move on. And who can say if her information will change the direction of my life here in Austin? Just as Darrin pointed me to Juan Pelota's and led me to a fantastic large cup of house coffee and a chance meeting with a Free Spirit from Switzerland?

I will probably add more to this later in the day, but for now my fingers are starting to run out of gas. Running on empty. And there is so much that I both want and need to write about, things which have already happened.

In future posts I'll be talking about what it's like to be homeless here in Austin. The search for a good and safe place to sleep. A safe place to stash one's personal belongings so as not to have to lug them around. People I've met, including but not limited to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Might as well add Smugly while we're at it. Where to get food. Coffee. Internet access. You know, the basics of life in the 21st century.

AND...I do have a little digital camera. But when I became homeless, I forgot to bring along the little cable which allows me to transfer my photographs from camera to computer. I want to add them to the blog as I go along, so you'll be able to share visually in my life a bit.  This cable is one of the vital things I need to do this blog right so bear with me while the Universe brings it into my life, no doubt via the agency of a human godsend.  I'll do some research soon on cost, availability, etc.  As it is I don't even know where the nearest Radio Shack is--or if they would even have something that would work.  We'll see.



This adventure isn't all about drama followed by cliffhanging quick cuts.  There will be a lot of slow parts.  So think of the little cable as being just a piece of technology which will help connect me to you.  You who read this.  Once I get it, I'll post a pic of my lovely old mug so at least you can wave at me when we meet on the street.And do feel free to give me a shout on Yahoo IM.  My user name there is jean.deaux. (That's jeandotdeaux)

Last night as I was sitting up on that marvelous Pedestrian Bridge (what a fantastic skyline Austin has!), it came to me that I will not get up off the street by myself, that there will be a whole host of people I will meet who will reach out that collective hand of Aloha in friendship. I know this is coming as surely as I know anything. And i think that's kind of exciting. I have no friends here--YET. I know no one by name other than Darrin the Barrista--YET--and a few street people who spend their nights on the Pedestrian Bridge and sleep during the day.

In my life I've been both broke and quite comfortable, been up, been down. Back in the '80s I was averaging a bit more than $100 net an hour creating and selling t-shirts of my own design over in Honolulu. But that was then. Now I am here, older, and hopefully a bit wiser, and I have no idea where this adventure, this trip, this so-called Fall From Grace will go.

But I believe this: that I am here to learn something.  And that I am here to share something with the people the Universe puts in my path.  Here's where you sashay in, Stage Right.  Yep, that's YOU.  You're most definitely a part of this cuz how am I gonna write all this down if I don't have an audience to read it?  I also believe that YOU are here to teach me in some way. And for that, I honor you. Thank you for showing up for my life.

Soon I'll write about my first night here in Austin.  I may call it "Sleepless in Austin" or "Cops Gone Wild!"  We shall see.  I've got the notebook computer charged up and tonight I'll go to the Pedestrian Bridge and try to write something for y'all to read.  Gawd, the skyline.  Surreal, majestic.  Quick aside:  I rode and walked the Beast down to the Frost Bank building.  I was hoping there would be some information about it, but if there was I didn't find it.

Came to the main library at 8th and Guadalupe, did a google, and discovered that some people think the building is an Illuminati rendering of the pagan god Moloch!  I have my own ideas which I may get to tonight.

So...to my very few readers...a hui hou.  That's Hawaiian for, roughly, until we meet again.



Me ke aloha,

Elijah