Cleaning Up Camp...

The kids made $38 last night. One guy walked up and gave KB $28 folded up, so that just the ones were showing. KB thought it was all ones, and by the time she realized, the guy had melted into the crowd. An anonymous giver, the kind Jesus said was the most...appropriate. It's an interesting verse, come to think of it, bc Jesus sez that we can actually become...well, empowered by that.

Interesting.

It's Sunday afternoon here at JackInTheBox and, hey, unlike McDonald's, Jack has plug-ins. I can type here w/o running the battery down. Niiiice. Smokie and KB are off to Wal-mart. Smokie wants a 2 gig memory card for his blackberry. Then he can download entire movies and watch them from his cell.

I find it fascinating how plugged-in some of us are. The Kids have MP3 players, both, and there's talk of giving me one of them, now that the phone's working out. I think...having 100 of my favorite songs? How kewl would that be! Wake up with Jimmy Cliff doing his, “I can see clearly now/The rain is gone.” Yeah. Some songs are so amazingly prayerful and perfect for the occasion.

“We don't need no education....”

Another few generations of electronics, computers, cells and even the bums will all be connected. As it is, many hang out in the libraries and hide out in the innards of the web. Not the same world I was born into, grew up in. Didn't see my first tv until I was eight. Holy Moly.

Isn't it a gorgeous Sunday? Mmmmmmm. Temp is just perfect, nice sunlight after that gang of gloomies that were hanging out all surly on the corner of Austin's sky for most of the preceeding week.
I be digging it.

And a shout-out to blog-follower Loren/Lorrin/Lorin (however ya spell it, my brother). He was an Angel of Aloha to the old StreetMonk today. Many mahalos, L.

I came back to camp earlier this afternoon only to find their sleeping bags spread out in the sun with such a gaggle of clothing and odds and ends spread out in front of their tent that it looked like a somewhat chaotic yard sale. Jeez! All that STUFF in one little Wal-mart tent?

Yup.

KB was busy folding clothing, sweeping out the tent, and crying on my shoulder. Apparently they got into a little contretemps with Wes, the manager of McDonald's. (I've written about him before here on the blog.) KB felt she was shorted on her fries and got into an argument with Wes about it, and apparently Smokie jumped in and...well...you know how these things go.

I'm wondering if they'll still be welcome over there.

Thing is, Wes is really a very decent guy in my opinion. He puts up with a lot from the street people, and I've never seen him hassle anyone.

And KB is adamant that she was right, in the right.

“Being right is the booby prize,” I told her.
“Huh?”

“It's the effing booby prize. When ya let the other guy be right, you get to take home the prize. And the prize is personal power over the tyranny of the ego.”

“You're right,” she said. Wicked gleam in her eye.

I'm more of the travel as lightly as ya can. Don't get me wrong: there are certain things that are nearly essential here on the street. A bed of some kind. Shelter from the rain. Suitable clothing to ward off the cold. Transportation. A hustle.

One of the things I plan to do during my sabbatical in Houston is to learn a couple or three hustles. I'm thinking...twisted balloon toys. Tarot reading. Wire sculptures. Tin can art.

Stuff that doesn't require a whole lot of inventory. Or take up much space.

Space is at a premium here on the street. We've all seen streeters pushing around shopping carts stuffed to the gills with...STUFF. And that's what most of it is...just stuff.

Functional is good. Light functional is better.

You don't want so much stuff that it's like wearing a neon sign that sez, “Street Bum” nor do you want so little your quality of life is overly impacted.

It's striking a balance. My plans are to get a Hennesy Hammock, which comes with mosquito netting and rainfly. Can sleep flat on this model and it's super comfy, according to the rave reviews I've been reading.

And it's super-compact, leaves no footprint. You set it up, sleep, take it down and move on. There is no obvious sign that you've been there. And it'll fit in a pannier on the rear of the bike. For less than $150 I can sleep in luxury—all things considered.

If I ever had to spend another winter on the streets, I would want a down bag conservatively rated down to freezing. Again, super-functional and stuffs into a smallish stuff sack. Fits in the pannier with the hammock, with room to spare.

A backpacker stove which runs on anything. Regular gasoline works for me. A bottle specifically designed to hold flammable liquids. Off and running. Nice super-strong instant coffee in the morning whilst shaking the cobwebs from the old eyes. Yeah, now we're talking.

Ripstop nylon poncho, extra long to go over a backpack. Super-functional, super compact. See?

The list goes on and on. And I am making a list, btw, checking it twice. Seein' which be naughty (heavy, bulky), which be nice.

Now here's a compromise: I gotta have a chair. Gotta have some kinda chair which can support my back a bit. Once again, Wal-mart to the rescue. There's a kid chair which sits low to the ground, is relatively light considering the comfort it brings, and folds up into a stuff sack. Gets my vote.

It's not the easiest thing to sit cross-legged in the tent, trying to write a blog update. Back starts hurting and first thing ya know it's...awww, do this later. Dig?

So gotta have the little chair.

It's 4:30 and the food truck is scheduled for the Mary Lee Foundation, which is half a mile up the hill. Notice I said UP. Hate that ride up, but it's a breeze coming down.

So...enough for now.

Laters.