Homeless man... good news... bad news... and now more bad news

Discussion in 'Free Zone' started by BonsaiNut, Nov 15, 2018.


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  1. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
  2. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
  3. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    Only a few people suck in the grand scheme
     
  4. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    Didn't see that turn coming...
     
  5. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    I want to see there police arrest mug shots and check out "those" smiles in those pics... :laugh:
     
  6. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    So you’re saying you won’t put into Michael Cohen’s GFM account? :)

    I’ve contributed to a few. Always people I know or know of. Climber makes a bad call, gets busted up; it happens.

    I’m not too motivated to open my wallet by hard luck stories in general. When I hit tough times I had no fking GFM account. I did it manually, you know, work your ass off until you’re in the black. People are lazy. I see so many young people on their ass with a cardboard sign. GFM is, at times, the digital version of that.
     
    Redman, OTHRider, Poofighter and 15 others like this.
  7. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Well said! :cool:
     
  8. Luis

    Luis iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Sylmar
    Name:
    Luis
    Current Bike:
    La Diabla
    So you’re telling me there was no Nigerian prince involved in this scenario?
     
    Sidewalk, Faust29, Mikie and 9 others like this.
  9. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Grifters gonna' grift.

    From the top down.
     
    Sidewalk, Faust29, Mikie and 6 others like this.
  10. konakc

    konakc iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    kc
    Mikie and Mike are the same person?
     
  11. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Hehe, yep, it's just me having a conversation with myself...

    I kid. Mikie is a handsome, upstanding lad, and I'm...trying. And we're different in other ways, too. But our common love for dirt and fun, and our common disdain for laziness and electrified bye-cycles make us brothers. I hope that's good with you, kc! :)
     
    OTHRider, Faust29, Danmtchl and 10 others like this.
  12. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    Chicken nuggets in common!
     
    Faust29, Danmtchl, Mikie and 7 others like this.
  13. konakc

    konakc iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    kc
    I met mikie.. he is a handsome guy! I had to give him a hug!
     
    Faust29, Danmtchl, Mikie and 4 others like this.
  14. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Meh, he’s ok :inlove::thumbsup: he like’s kisses better @Mikie :p
     
    Faust29, Danmtchl, Mikie and 2 others like this.
  15. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    I agree with both of you Mikes...hard work always pays off:thumbsup:
     
    Faust29, Danmtchl, mtnbikej and 3 others like this.
  16. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Right on. Handsomeness aside, a Mikie hug is one to reckon with :)
     
    Faust29, Danmtchl, mtnbikej and 4 others like this.
  17. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Yeah, he'll squeeze the farts out of you!
     
    OTHRider, Poofighter, Faust29 and 9 others like this.
  18. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    You’re a mom, so you know about that!

    Not to diminish those in true need. Scammers ruin it for everyone.
     
  19. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    I used to work in downtown LA. Every day when I would go out to lunch I would get hit up by pan-handlers. Four, five was not uncommon. One day I had a bad run where some chick who asked me for money started screaming at me in the street when I didn't give her some. After lunch I was crossing the street and some guy approached me and asked for money. "I'm a vet" he said.

    "Bullshit - you're not a vet. I'M a vet and you're just some dude standing on the corner begging for money!" I responded. I was pissed.

    "No really I'm a vet" he responded. He pulled out a veteran's administration card and showed it to me. Now I know downtown LA is the location of the LA Central Prison. I also know that when they release prisoners they don't give them money for lodging, food or transportation - they just dump them on the street. Hence part of the homeless problem in LA. So odds are my LA vet friend wasn't squeaky clean.

    But I asked him how much money he needed. Really needed. And I gave it to him.

    He stared at me stunned. It was almost like he wanted to do something for me.

    "Just take care of the next guy who asks you for a break."

    It was the only thing I could think of saying. I don't know if I'm a sap. Just wish I could have helped the guy out more than handing him some cash.
     
    OTHRider, konakc, doublewide and 11 others like this.
  20. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Agreed, I do know that many war veterans are suffering PTSD and they can’t seem to fit back into society..I can’t even imagine the things they’ve been through.
    And good for you @BonsaiNut for helping out a vet..you did your part:thumbsup:
     
  21. yvettessherpa

    yvettessherpa Member

    Location:
    French Valley
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    YETI Baby!!!
    I don't trust or believe any of them. I don't give them a dime.
     
  22. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Unfortunately begging/panhandling has become big business.

    I’ve said it before, it sucks when you can go in or out of any store/gas station/restaurant without someone asking for money.

    I’m sure many need it...but there are too many doing it for profit instead of getting a real job.
     
  23. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    And that, really, is the sad part. People truly dealt a bad hand who want to work but can’t will be disregarded. Like Bernadette, the universally-loved climbing ranger in Joshua Tree who had a rappelling accident a couple months ago and just got out of ICU. There is not a thing about her or her situation that is suspect. She works hard and has no lack of integrity. She has life altering injuries and is looking at a long haul. No guilt intended, sherpa. I blame scammers 100%.
     
    tick, BonsaiNut, Mikie and 7 others like this.
  24. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    I ask for a 1099. They usually don’t have a response so I walk on.
     
  25. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    B
    Current Bike:
    Huffy
    I volunteer my time rather than money at a soup kitchen in Costa Mesa every year. Seeing some of the families in there breaks my heart, some of the druggies not so much.
     
  26. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    :thumbsup:
     
  27. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Early 1990s, Los Angeles ...
    I ride my bike up Sunset Blvd from downtown LA. Echo Park, Los Feliz, Hollywood. The neighborhoods changing with the setting sun.
    As I approach my apartment, I notice that the lights are off. Unusual in that it meant my roommates weren't home, and they were always home before me.
    I pulled up to the door and saw a notice. We had been evicted. Unbeknownst to me, our chief roommate was into the crack epidemic that was ravaging the streets. He had been wasting the rent money on his high and we all got thrown on the street.
    The deadbolt had been changed and I had to climb up the fire-escape to break in and get my meager belongings. Illegal, I know, but it had to be done. Luckily, I was living like Dylan, and "when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose"
    Grabbed my Sh!t and hit the streets. Now what?
    Most people come to Hollywood to take a few pics, stand on a star or two, and put your hands in the cement of the Chinese theater. I was living there, working as a messenger downtown and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.
    Twenty four and there's so much more...
    The veneer of success in Hollywood is very thin and a slight rub brings the dark secrets to the surface rapidly. Drug addicts, scammers, whores, and hangers-on... These were the people around me.
    I had no where to go. No family. No friends. I was on the street. I was homeless.
    I slept on a bus bench under the 101 freeway, where it crosses over Franklin and Gower. I tried to imagine the roar of the traffic was like the crashing of the waves on a beach. Not the same...
    I went to work the next morning, my belongings in a duffel bag. I told my boss what happened and he smiled, said "that sucks" and sent me on my first delivery.
    I had $100 in my pocket until payday, six days away... Damn.
    I knew I had to find a place to stay. No luck with my co-workers... Wish I had a girlfriend...I didn't want to spend another night under a freeway.
    In between deliveries I rode down 5th st to skid row. Hotel Cecil had rooms, a week for $70. Now I know prices have changed a lot, but even in 1990, ten bucks a night for a room wasn't getting me much.
    I was given room 402. The elevator was broken so I needed to carry my bike and belongings up 4 flights of stairs. I opened the stairwell door to a couple of dudes smoking crack..a couple of flights later, a prostitute was giving what looked to be a wonderful blow job-judging by the look on the guys face...
    Welcome to Hotel Cecil.
    The stained carpet crunched as I entered the room. A single, uncovered bulb, swung slowly from the ceiling casting weird shadows. A cockroach lingered on the wall. The sheets were folded and laying on a badly stained mattress. I flipped it over and the stains were worse. I prepared a bed on the floor.
    The neon lights of the Cecil shone into the room through the threadbare curtain. I looked out on the chaos as two women fought in the street and the sirens wailed through the night. I tried to sleep.
    After getting the room, I had about $30 left. I went to the Grand Central Market and bought two loaves of bread, a huge jar of peanut butter and jelly and a bag of Doritos, some fruit, and some beer and I was tapped out. Maybe had a few bucks left.
    Here we go! I'm going to make it.
    I awoke to the horrors of my food being raided by rats! They had literally bored a hole through a loaf of bread and into the Doritos bag. F@ck!
    Try sleeping after that happens to you.
    The next day, as I arrived "home ", I noticed the elevator was working. No more 4 flight walk up. I shared a smile with a toothless old lady before the screams interrupted our moment of innocence. The elevator door had opened upon a man laying in a large pool of blood, with what looked like a Bowie knife sticking out of his stomach. Barely alive as his raised hand grasped at the sky, mouthing silent prayers as the light ran out of his glossy, alcoholic eyes.
    "Sh!t! Now we gotta use the stairs again!" said the sweet gummy grandma. Life is cheap on 5th st..
    I sold my last few days there for $20 and hit the streets. Again I found a spot under a bridge. Under the 4th st bridge.
    "under the bridge downtown" said the Chili Peppers. Yeah that bridge.
    Someone stole my duffle as I slept. No clothes now except what I had on my back. I really don't know how I survived those last couple of days until I got a paycheck and started to get back on my feet.
    I went to the Weingarten center for free food. First you had to listen to the fire and brimstone preaching for an hour while you smelled the food but couldn't get any. Pure torture.
    I went dumpster diving behind restaurants. I ate every piece of candy or treat that I saw in the fancy law offices I was in and out of all day.
    I was there. I was on the streets. I know what it takes to survive out there. But, there is one thing I never did, probably because I was able to keep my job, and that was to beg for money.
    I knew what I had to do to get out do this situation and I knew only I could help myself. No stranger and their money was going to save me. No sign by the overpass, no sign by the bus stop...
    But be forewarned, circumstances can pile up quickly and before you know it, you too will be sharing your Doritos with the rats.
     
    tick, Oaken, SingleTrackJB and 22 others like this.
  28. littlewave

    littlewave Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Newport Beach
    Name:
    Brett
    Current Bike:
    GG Smash (Alu)
  29. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Damn dude... Like @Mikie said write a book, I'll buy it.
     
    Oaken, hill^billy, Mikie and 6 others like this.
  30. Luis

    Luis iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Sylmar
    Name:
    Luis
    Current Bike:
    La Diabla
    @rossage , Steinbeck ain't got nuthin on ya :thumbsup:
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


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