I Had Two Close Calls at the Homeless Shelter, All Because I Forgot My Own Rules
I didn’t keep my head down
The stress of being homeless, the lack of sleep, and not eating right took its toll on me. During the time I lived on the streets, I had worked hard to be invisible. I didn’t want the other homeless guys to look at me as weak. I wanted to be left alone.
When you’re around street people, violence, or the threat of violence can happen at any time. I had a few close-calls, at the time I didn’t care, death or hospitalization would have been a relief.
I wasn’t staring at him, but he thought he was being challenged
I sat in the waiting area at the shelter, sitting and minding my own business, staring into space in my world. I don’t know how long I was in the zone, but it was too long for the two guys sitting across from me.
One of the guys slammed his fist on the chair and glared at me, “ what the fuck are you staring at?” he and the guy jumped out of their chairs and crossed the space, and stood over me.
I was curious about what would happen next
“What’s your problem man?” one of them asked, as his buddy took a pocket knife from the pocket of his jeans. “You want a piece of me?” he asked.
A few days earlier, I had been crossing the light-rail tracks and found myself in the middle of the tracks. The warning bells sounded and the arms came down. I didn’t pick up my pace. The train driver leaned on his horn in a futile attempt to hurry me up.
I had quit caring
I didn’t care if the train hit me, and I didn’t care if the guy stabbed me, or not. I starred at the two guys. They grew bored and sat back down. I continued staring into space. The guy that instigated the whole thing stayed fixated on me the whole time I stayed on the street. I’m surprised he never took the opportunity to shank me.
I should have taken a cue from the other guys
There weren’t enough chairs in the waiting area. If I didn’t get a chair or lost it when I had to go to the john, I would have to go to the chapel. There were no chairs in the chapel, so I and the other late-comers would have to sit on the floor. I hated that because it was hard getting off the floor with my bad knees.
The guy was nuts or evil, maybe both
I went in the waiting area one night, and a guy was stretched out sleeping on a row of chairs. I wasn’t thinking, and I didn’t want to sit on the floor. I tapped the psycho on the shoulder and asked him to get up. If I would have paid attention, I would have noticed that the sleeper was getting a pass from the other guys.
He woke up cursing me. He sat up, but then I became a target for his wrath. He harangued and cursed, then he took a lighter from his pants and tried to set me on fire.
The Security guy probably thought I was being a snitch
I got up and headed for the nearest security guy, he looked at me like I was nuts. I ended up on the floor in the chapel after all.
I spent several days plotting how I could get a knife and shank the guy, but I didn’t have to do that. He was walking through the waiting area one night, grabbed his leg, and fell to the floor screaming. Security had to call 911. I never saw the guy again.
The two guys that wanted to shank me still had it out for me, but I kept a wide berth. I got a bed upstairs a few months later, so I never had to worry about them again.
Final Thought:
If you’re ever in the situation I was in, never forget the type of people you’re around. Try not to make eye contact and mind your business, because they will not hesitate to mess you up.