Zooming in on Homelessness & Donations

Greetings, kids! Blackie, here. Wow, what a year, huh? We defeated both Bernie and Trump, but it was a battle. Thank goodness for the support of this site during these challenging and troubling times. Many of us have been in stress mode since that awful, unreal, depressing November night in 2016. I want to show my appreciation to LL and Trevor for allowing us to have a support group. So, I had an idea. At my age, it is a nearly equal split between having to pee or having an idea. But in this case, I think I actually did have a cogent thought.

I want to give you all a gift. It's not much, but better than most fruitcakes. I am asking for five minutes of your time. One of the things I have noticed about running this blog is how asking for financial support is uncomfortable for LL and Trevor, I imagine. I propose a simple holiday fundraiser which could kick them a few bucks. I have donated one of my digital books which is decent entertainment. Could you watch the film and check it out? It's kind of cute. Here is a sample:

Over the years, a simple short story became this: 

My book is my attempt at humanizing those fellow citizens out on the streets. I could have tried to do so with an essay, but picked fiction to make some points. Hopefully, it is entertaining and informative. Watch the film, pretty please! Then come back and look below.

Here is an excerpt from the first chapter. It is very close to an actual conversation I overheard at Ivar's on the Seattle waterfront. Listen to this:

“Hey, Gabby, we're trying to have a private conversation here. Officer O'Malley's feeling generous. He might buy you a coffee or hot chocolate, if you give us an early Christmas gift and leave us alone.”

The cop shook his head, pulled out a ten-dollar bill from his pocket, and slapped it in her hand.

“Yeah, go get yourself something, Gabby, and keep the change as my holiday gift.”

“You're always joking, Blackie. Thanks, officer. Never had a cop give me a gift before. Got plenty of tickets, but never a gift. Hey, watch my cart and don't steal nothing, Blackie. Be right back.”

O'Malley looked across the table and grinned. "Is there romance in the air?"

“Don't say it. The woman can talk non-stop about nothing for hours. Bet ol' Harold slashed his wrists with a dull, rusty knife. Guess what her latest thing is? She's making Christmas ornaments and other gifts out of her used colostomy bags, no shit.”

O'Malley spit out a mouthful of coffee that steamed up into the dark foggy sky and released a roar of laughter.

“Did you say, 'no shit,' on purpose?”

“Ain't funny. Crazy bitch came over by me one day with her bag full. The thing gurgled like it was alive. Said she had drank too much grapefruit juice. Gross as hell and damn near scary.”

Seattle Blackie's Wino Christmas is my opus to homelessness. Nearly all the people and events chronicled in the book came from actual incidents and people. To get the free book, go to www.papabob44.net and scroll down to Spotlight. The video is also there. Happy reading! Kick this site a few bucks, if you can.