He Threatened to Put Me in the Hospital

Always be mindful of who’s around you

After four months on the streets, and then staying upstairs at the shelter. A case manager found me a room in Transitional-housing. It was safer there, but I still had to be careful.

The problem was that I let my guard down. I thought that since I had a room, the same rules applied as if I lived in an apartment. I would have been safer if I had acted like I was in a prison environment.

You would think I had learned my lesson, but you would be wrong

There was a psycho who lived down the hall. At first, I thought he had Internet access. I thought he was arguing with people online. That wasn’t the case.

He was arguing with himself. He would rant and rave at all hours of the day and night. He would have fits in the hallway. He would yell and scream about the crackheads smoking rock in their rooms.

I know what crack smells like because I was a security guard in Florida. I worked in Low-Income housing ten years ago. Crack smells like burning tar.

It was a mellow floor, except for the knucklehead

I never smelled the crap on my floor. I, like everyone else, ignored the clown, but one day, after a loud rant outside my door. I complained to the manager.

“ We all know he’s nuts, ignore him,” she said with a laugh. We talked and laughed about the clown. I headed to the elevator, feeling better after I vented, but, that good feeling was short-lived.

I’m not a snitch, I was just fed-up

One of the residents overheard the conversation. He caught up to me and asked me my name. After I gave him my name, he threatened me.

“ I put a guy in the hospital for snitching on me.” I walked away cursing myself. “ Snitching?” I’m not a snitch. If the guy was dealing drugs, or anything else illegal, I wouldn’t have said a word.

I forgot that sanity didn’t apply in my new reality

I thought I was within my Rights, to complain about an idiot. I had to avoid the guy that threatened me. He never forgot me. He would do stupid things.

He would get on the elevator with me. He would get off before me. He would press all the buttons. That caused me to ride all the floors. I guess stopping me from getting off on my floor was better than being put in the hospital.

I have found that, if I’m patient and keep my mouth shut, things will take care of themselves. Like a lot of the residents, the creep that threatened me didn’t bother finding a place to stay.

Back on the street, looking strung-out

After his two years were up, he was back on the street. I would see him walking around with his backpack. He would look like he had been using.

I was careful after that incident. I don’t remember having any more problems. Most of my neighbors liked me or ignored me. That was a good thing.

Never forget who you’re dealing with:

It’s wise to know when to speak, and when to be quiet, and it helps to be aware of who might be listening.