Playing with the band

Even though my next door neighbor is in his seventies and has been and out of the homeless cycle a few times, he still pursues his musical vocation through local churches in the community. The biggest hurdle for him was the last bout, he had to replace his amp, guitar, and a handful of guitar pedals.

Each night when he played in New York with his fellow musicians he'd known from Miami, he'd set up his spot on stage based on both sound as well as visual pressence. A great performer, and as I listened to him being long winded I began to connect to what he was getting at.

To some it's not something of merit, but when you're confronted with rebuilding a life from bare bones it can be humiliating. Many people used to minimize myself when I aspired to rebuild my own equipment...I was constantly reminded I should be grateful for whatever I was able to get.

But again, that's minimizing someone aspiring to what they believe in.

Writing no more

Contributed by Vickie Tyson

Writing has always been a passion of mine but sometime last year I got really burned out. I never even had a TV so I would focus and write all the time but you know, I think I just need a break. I went to http://www.cannonsatellite.com/ not too long ago to get some channels and I’ve actually been watching the most absurd reality shows.

I never would have pegged myself one of the kinds of people who watch Jersey Shore or The Real World but hey, I guess you like what you like. I can’t believe these kinds of shows appeal to me but you know, reality is one of the neatest genres I think that’s been created in the last decade.

It reminds me a lot of the stuff I have written in the past and I honestly feel like I’m getting inspired to write something new just by letting my “brain cells die” and I’m going to be ready to get up and running sometime soon!

Making the transition

With the amount of people I see experiencing chronic cycling in and out of homelessness one thing always makes me think twice: where does it all go for some people.

About a week ago I was helping someone pack their items and furniture for storage, due to income changes they were required to vacate their home they couldn’t afford further. Knicknack shelves, a roll top desk, entertainment stand...all the usual trappings that make a home.  But it was when we got to the photographs on the wall that they became emotional.

Graphic cues from things we connect with are often the first thing to be taken for granted.  Things part of our lives we don’t think twice about, yet whose presence are creature comforts making life more…lively.