I and my grade school chum, Darlene, were exiting the ferry from Bainbridge Island when we saw him standing at the end of the footbridge that reached the entrance to the ferry terminal--a bewhiskered, slender man with a cap and jacket, and holding a cardboard sign. It didn't take long to see that he was articulate, pleasant, and bright. He had worked in construction and high tech, but he's 60 years old now, and no-one wants to hire him, he explained.
Darlene and I had just had lunch with another childhood friend at the Madison Diner on Bainbridge. I had the open meat loaf sandwich, and I ordered the tuna sandwich to go ($11.70 including the tip), because I knew there would be a minor gauntlet of homeless folk between the terminal and First Avenue. The waitress included extra napkins and plastic utensils.
Jeff was the first one we ran into. Jeff is well prepared for a night on the street, with two sleeping bags and two wool blankets to keep warm. And there's a possibility on his horizon-- the possibility of work as a homeless outreach person.
There's one thing Jeff is passionate about, partly because of his building background -- the issue of vacant buildings that could be turned into living quarters for the homeless. He thinks effort should be directed to making use of the vacant buildings. We talked for a while and I scribbled some notes -- ideas about resources and contacts serving the homeless. Something to follow up on.
Then Darlene and I headed off for Bottega Italiana, a gelato shop near Pike Place market. She handed Jeff some cash in parting. Near the gelato shop she gave a Real Change vendor $5 for the $2 publication. At Bottega Italiana we enjoyed excellent peach and lemon gelato.
Meals distributed so far: 18.
Ubuntu,
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