USA The Right Way

I posted the following comment on Anderson Cooper's [CNN] blog:
_________________

[People who care enough about the United States of America follow proper channels to become citizens of this Nation.

There's a right way: Going through a process. And there's a wrong way: Going through a fence.]

__________________

My point is made.

Leaving Boston

My friend Ms. Pie Shell made quite a comment after reading about my problem with the now-infamous chair at the Nightwatch shelter here in downtown Boston.

Last night, the staff person who "did the deed" didn't work but another guy did and he apologized on behalf of that other person.

Personally, I think the first staff person should have apologized to me face-to-face by his own darn self!

I will finally leave Boston tomorrow morning. My clothes are dirty, my bag is torn-up and I won't get a shower...But like Ms. Pie Shell told me..."Get out of that gate to hell!"

So I will.

Dahlia's Email To Rotten Boston

My friend Dahlia, who works at a shelter in Wisconsin, sent the following email to a number of places in Boston today. She has been reading about my experiences here and decided to intervene, in her own way:
__________________

["To whom it may concern;
I'm writing in regards to some of your homeless in the city of Boston, What in Gods name do the staff think they are? I also work in a homeless shelter in my state and I understand the problems and stress that comes with the job, But they are people,Gods children and they need help, not people looking down their noses at them! I would like to know how close are you watching the people that work for you? We have State and Federal watching us, before we start we have to have a full background check and random drug test. How many more people are to be mistreated before anything is done. Just because they are homeless doesn't mean they are not human. I hope that something is done soon, I really don't want to go more public with this inhumane action that is occurring at this shelter, but I will. God Bless"]
__________________

Yup. Everybody can see the problem for what it is...Except those who live where the problem exists.

Rotten Boston

My feet are swollen up like pineapples again, Campers.

But my blood pressure is now very near the normal level.

I am taking two pills every day from now on and I am relieved to have that one worry off of my mind.

As for my legs and feet...Well...

Last night I was told by a staff person at the Nightwatch that I could use a second chair to prop my feet up on. The idea being that my feet would be elevated and therefore the swelling would go down.

Then in the middle of the night, another staff person, who was woefully misinformed, grabbed the chair from under my legs. He startled me and woke me out of a sound sleep [I get precious little of that, as it is!]declaring that I couldn't use that chair.

"Who gave you permission to use that chair?" He roared and then went on a tangent about why I shouldn't put my feet up on the chairs.

He wanted to know if I had a note from a medical person. [I do now.]

I wanted to know what the hell was going on.

A few minutes later another staff person came over and gave me the chair back.

"Sorry about that" she said.

All I could think about was the fact that I know my friend Jayne wouldn't refuse me a chair if I needed one. I know that my friend Pie Shell wouldn't refuse me, either. And most likely, Ms. Luka, shot-out-of-a-bazooka, would point me to her own private chair department.

And furthermore, my friend Tina, who is waiting for me in Delaware...Would probably feed me, prop my foot up on a chair with a pillow and tell me a bedtime story!

Here is an outtake from an email that Tina sent to me today:
_____________

["Oh Ruth!!! Boston must be rotten for you to come all the way to Delaware!!!! Anyway, I can meet on Saturday. I'll bring my two sons, John and David. By the way, I told my best 5th grade writer about you and showed him your web site. He wants to be a writer and an actor when he grows up. His writing is phenomenal by the way."]
______________

But the Nightwatch staff person forgot that I am a human being. And treated me so.

The same thing happened after I took a very lukewarm shower at St. Francis this morning. I jousted with too many demanding people and finally got what I needed from the medical clinic there. But it was like asking for a diamond. And I didn't get lunch today.

Nope. Nothing!

One staff person wanted to send me in one line to get my lunch and another staff person wanted me to go in the opposite line. I finally said "screw this!" and left.

I hate this place. I have every good reason to. My friends and fellow bloggers realize that Boston has made numerous mistakes that have hurt me while I've been here.

And I look forward to leaving on Friday. Back to where the right people live!

No Mas and Whatever, Hombre!

There was a bit of a demonstration here in downtown Boston last night.

On the heels of the protest march in Los Angeles, a large group of Latinos marched through the streets of Boston to the Common.

They waved flags and chanted and attracted the ire of the local police.

There must have been 25 cop-cycles [motorcycles] on the street at one point, and with a big fight at Burger King...There were also ambulances galore!

I did my thing in the medical van and then waited until the crowds passed by before I ventured back out onto the street.

I remembered the problem with the guy who wouldn't give me my chair back the other day.

Somehow, I just don't have sympathy for those folks, anymore.

Ruthie On The Railroad

Well, Campers...My health is having a real funny time with me right now.

Last night I returned to the medical van that parks in Boston Common and had my blood pressure checked.

This time my BP was 180/120. That's not good.

So the doctor told me to start taking two pills a day instead of the one.

I need to relax for awhile!

I'm leaving on Friday morning on a train bound for Delaware.

Yay!

Report Card: Boston Nightwatch

The Boston Nightwatch [It seems to have a million names] has been a blessing to me from day one...er, that is, night one.

While I never will understand the "Don't Cross The Street To Line Up In Front Of The Shelter Until 8pm" Rule...I nevertheless have been grateful for what the staff has done there.

The odd thing about it is the fact that the night place is affiliated with the Pine Street Inn.

And THAT shelter is disliked by many women, including me.

I went there, if you remember, Campers, on the first night that I got to Boston, stayed for two hours, then turned around and left. Never to return.

The night place is different. It is totally staffed and nice and warm. By that I mean that although we have to deal with drunks and stoners, they treat everyone with as much respect as possible. The staff there listen to everybody.

They address men as "Sir" and the women, most of the time they know the person, by their first name.

Which is okay by me.

And we get coffee and juice right off the tap when we get inside. Soon after that we get a full hot meal. We also get to watch a DVD on the TV. The coffee is available pretty much all night. Two bathrooms are available for our use and the staff is usually pretty good about providing a way to clean up any "messes" that appear in there.

We get cereal, milk and coffee in the morning. We also get doughnuts and other snacks throughout the night.

It's stable, it's safe and the cops are always nearby.

True to fact, that night place beats St. Francis Center by a mile.

Report Card: St. Francis Center, Boston

St Francis Center: What a total disappointment!

The City has a first-rate facility and the wrong people running the place.

But, for openers, it goes way beyond St. Francis' front doors.

The problem starts in the street.

Every morning when I round the bend off of Tremont and tromp down Boylston Street, I see them.

Skulking in the shadows.

The dealers.

They stand in pairs or groups of three in business doorways or at the entryway to the alleys.

They watch me walk up to the St. Francis Center entrance, take off my bag and sit down on it.

I just turn up my nose at the whole damn lot of them!

The problem travels in the front door of the St. Francis Center when the place opens for the day.

I shouldn't be seeing the large population and the rampant bad behavior that's evident every day there.

Grown men and women fight with and curse at each other when it's time for a meal. They are terribly rude to the nice people that serve up the food.

Some of them don't even have the courtesy to empty their tray after they've eaten.

The day room turns ugly almost every day as it fills up with people. And none of the "men" ever offer a seat to a female or an elderly person.

I have yet to see anyone from the City come and deliver a worthwhile presentation to the people who sit for hours in that day room.

And the bathroom on the main floor is usually terribly trashed and horribly beyond proper hygiene standards by 10am.

No one ever intervenes to clean it up. Nobody monitors the bathrooms at all.

Small wonder that the sudden disappearance of toilet paper is further accentuated by poop on the toilet seat and pee on the floor.

Yes, there are "programs" [Art, Creative Writing,etc.] upstairs but with the lack of structured discipline they invariably don't amount to much.

The women's section NEVER made me feel welcome and appears to be aimed at "certain types" of females.

St. Francis Center is just a big revolving door.

No one's life is ever permanently improved and nothing gets resolved...Because no responsible person gets involved.

The door to the St. Francis Center just revolves, and revolves, and revolves.

That's all I've ever seen. And I, myself, have never been treated with proper respect when I've attempted to speak to the staff there.

They just continually disregard the fact that I have a hearing disability and they're always blowing me off before I barely get one sentence out.

In fact, if just once, one of the staff addressed me respectfully by my name, looked at me when they spoke and really listened to what I had to say...About ANYTHING...I would be stunned!

But they don't and over the course of the next three days they probably won't.

No, instead, the St. Francis Center will spin its Wheel Of Mis-Fortune until the time runs out and everybody heads back out of the door again.

So Far So Good Sunday

Here's how my Sunday has unfolded so far, Campers:

I went out on the street at 4:30 this morning and walked down to my usual place in front of the St. Francis Center.

Eventually the sun came up and a young punk wandered over and asked if the magazine under my backpack was mine.

"Yeah, it's mine" I replied.

He then picked up my backpack, grabbed the magazine, pulled some pages out of it and sat down on the ripped, glossy pages.

"You talk to your underwear, don't you, Honey?" I asked, pulling my pack over my shoulders.

Breakfast and lunch were [thankfully] uneventful. And when a guy sat down in front of me and blocked my view of the tv in the day room, another guy hollered at him until he moved out of my way.

I take grace where I can find it.

I only have four more days of this balderdash, Campers...Four more days.

Frankly Speaking

Frank Graham contacted me late last December and said that he wanted to include a post from my blog in a project that he was working on.

The project is in HIS blog.

He is a reporter for an independant newspaper in North Platte, Nebraska.

[Click on the post headline above to visit his blog.]

He posted a cute intro and then listed my link.

Quite a guy, that Mr. Graham. I like his style.

My Boston Heartache

Hello, Campers!

I was struggling with a headache yesterday and stopped by the medical van that was parked in the Boston Common. The doctor took my blood pressure and got a reading of 190/110.

So I took out the bottle of blood pressure pills that I got in Salt Lake City and finally broke down and took one.

I will be taking one a day from now on and will be seeing another doctor within the next week or so.

My friend Jayne, who designed the artwork that is at the top of my blog and is working on a more sophisticated version now, sent me the following comment:

["I sure wish you could get out of Boston, Ruthie. It sounds like hell on earth for you. I'm sorry I got sidetracked on your logo, doctors, and stuff. I ordered some clipart that hopefully will have what I want to finish your logo. Keep safe, keep warm."]



Well, it's chilly today, Jayne and I have nowhere to go after the library closes at 5pm Eastern Time today.

So I'll just wander around until it gets late enough for me to head over to "the place."

Tomorrow I will return to St. Francis for my breakfast and shower. I will stay there until the library opens after lunch.

I hate the St. Francis Center and I'm glad that I was able to get my shower and meal over at the church today instead.

I'll have to deal with the drug dealers, stoners, drunks and the idiots that work there tomorrow at the St. Francis Center.

Sigh.

Geez!

Chairman Of The Jerks

I left the night shelter a little later this morning. I figured that if I waited until the very last ticket was dispensed [and got it] that I would then have a safer walk to the St. Francis Center.

I felt a little safer [but not entirely] because more people were beginning to stir. And a few more vehicles were running the streets.

When I got to the St. Francis Center, I waited as usual and then a man gave me the option to come in and warm up. The agreement was that I would come in early and then help take all of the wooden chairs down off the tables in the dayroom.

So I did.

And after choosing a good spot for a chair, I sat down myself.

After awhile a man yelled something and people started moving out the doors. I thought that the staff person had just delivered the breakfast call.

I was wrong. He had called to let people know that the upstairs dayroom was opening up.

I didn't hear him. The noise level in the room where I was seated was rising and I am partially deaf, anyway.

So I got up and followed the crowd.

Then I realized my mistake and back-tracked into the room I had been in. A guy was sitting in my chair and I asked him to move. He told me to shove it.

I looked around at all of the men sitting in the chairs that I had put down [for them to sit in!] and not one of those men offered me a seat!

I told the man in my chair that he was not a man but a very, very small jerk.

Then I asked a staff person to help me but he just blew it off.

I flipped him the bird and left.

Letters Of Love To Ruthie

From three different parts of the Country, people sent me letters. They all feel the same about my experience in Boston: Concerned.

And well they should be!

No one...not one person in this miserable place has said anything close to what I have read in the following three emails:
_____________________

Hey Ruthie,

This is Holly from Jonesboro, (Rick's wife) Sounds like you need to get
out of Boston, it sucks! Find a kinder more gentle place! We worry about you!

Holly and Rick

_____________________

Hello Ms. Rader,

I see you arrived in Boston safely. Thank God. I intend to read more of your blog sometime next week. My students and I are just coming off the Delaware State Testing Program whirlwind and we are recovering nicely. Now I can enjoy them. I pray that you are warm and safe and achieve your desired goal. God bless and be safe.

Peace,

Tina
_____________________

Dear Ruthie,

I'm glad your spirits are still intact, I want to know who takes care of ( or lack of) the shelters in boston? Why are there so much crap when it comes to the basic needs of the people, is that so much to ask for? Our so called Prez should worry more about our people instead of what we can take from other countries! I already know how you feel about that.Thanks for putting my last message on your blog, I need to hear that God"s blessings once in a while. You know in my job even though we are a Christian facility the people in my area forget that. I want to write a nasty letter to who ever is in charge in boston. I'm working on here but I will take any one on BRING IT ON!!!! God bless my friend and talk to you soon.

dahlia
_______________________

Thank you all for being what the people of Boston haven't been to me: Decent human beings.

A Fool's Rule

It is a pathetic mindset that is behind the "don't cross the street until 8pm" rule. I mean, come on, people!

When I walk out the door in the morning [way too early]I make my way down dim-lit city streets. It's still dark out and I am prime prey at that hour!

Do you think that anyone on the shelter staff cares if I am safe and warm when I'm out there well-before 5am?!?

And I'm supposed to be too much of an irresponsible idiot to DESERVE taking my place in line in front of that shelter before 8pm!!!

They better pray they never learn a lesson at someone else's expense.

Boston's Ticket To Nowhere

The tickets that the staff dispenses to 30 of the people who stay at the shelter are important because the tickets allow us to:

1.] Have a guaranteed space at the shelter when we return again that night.

2.] Have first dibs on a chair or floor space in the shelter. As I stated previously, no one is allowed to use a blanket or pillow in the shelter. At all. The staff says that this is because those things are a "fire hazard."

3.] Have access to the bathrooms first.

4.] Eat first.

5.] Get out of the freaking COLD first!

However, only 30 out of 50 people get the tickets and the people who get the tickets have to leave well before 5am in the morning!

The whole deal just sucks, basically.

Freaking Boston!

Personal Giving

This message is for anyone who's thinking about helping Boston's homeless:

For the past two weeks, I have attempted to acquire clothing via the St. Francis Center. And every time that I have done exactly what they asked me to do...They've handed me old, threadworn, stained and mostly MALE clothing.

And I know why.

You see, the St. Francis Center works via a twisted political system that includes favorites. I am not on that list.

I don't want to be, either.

I've literally listened to a woman tell me why they just can't find anything for me and watched a stoner at the other end of the counter get a brand new, thick, black sweatshirt.

Yup.

I could cite several examples.

My point?

Don't bother lending clothing or time to that Center.

Instead, go down to the place for a week or so and figure out who you'd like to give an article of clothing or devote some time to on an individual basis.

Take it one-on-one.

Like I said: Up Close And Personal.

At least you'll know that your efforts will be worth your intention. And everything that you do will be as fair as possible.

Bad Night Moves In Boston

He puked his guts out last night. The homeless young man bowed down and gave up his stomach contents to the bricks. So to speak, anyway.

We were standing around and waiting to walk across the street to get into line. [More on that coming up] The young man blew his beggar chunks in the middle of the street.

A cop car cruised through the fetid pool and carried the stench to the end of the block.

"Gosh, thanks" I said...Directing none of that sentiment to Bubba the Barfing Bum.

A few minutes later our group crossed the street and then somebody hit the sick kid in the head.

The young man collapsed in a heap and didn't move again.

The staff finally came out, called for backup and an ambulance came and took the kid away.

When asked, none of the people in the line opposite of where I was, would say who hit the kid.

That's when the whole damn bunch of them made ME sick.

Both Worlds In Boston

I agree that the homeless population and the good established, working people of Boston live in two completely different worlds. In the same city.

Or do they?

I would love to initiate a time-trade. You show me your world...And I'll show you mine.

Up close and personal.

Anybody game?

Private Message

Private Message: Estate---> If you get the time, step out of the shadows and show me the better side of Boston.

Do You See What I See?

I left the St. Francis Center this morning and visited a church. The folks there are nice but busy...just like every other part of the provider-system in downtown Boston.

I have an appointment to get my laundry done there again tomorrow. I will also take my shower there and eat a good meal. At some point, I might even get to use an internet computer, too.

The place caters only to women...which is just fine with me.

I have enough to deal with in the testosterone category at the drop-in Center every night.

I checked my trackers and discovered that someone from the Internal Revenue Service in Washington DC checked my blog yesterday.

When I read that I burst out laughing!

It's just so hard to be invisible when you're this rich!

Let's Be Morons, Continued

Here is my answer to Forest Dum:
___________________

["YOU may not need responsible preparation and a game plan in the forest [Talk about a death wish!] but OTHER people will!

Yes humans lived in the forest for a gazillion years before we were born but their trial-and-error paved the way to the smart way [Duh!] that we Campers do things now.

YOU can go out and sh*t in the woods. I'm sure that while you're under the influence of LSD...pooping will be all you'll be able to handle.

But I strongly advise others that read this to !THINK! before going off to see the Wizard with this yayhoo!

You have to know what you're doing when you're in the woods!

If skeezix here wants to get stoned, fall down an embankment, break his leg and be found in pieces months from now...Well, hey...It's on him.

As for the rest of you...My point is made."]

______________________

I can just hear him saying, "Dude, she types big words."

Let's Be Morons, Continued

As promised, here is the guy's response to my post on the
Digihitch.Com
website:
_____________

["humans lived in the woods for millions of years, u dont really need a plan, its called find a good area, live off the land, and if sh*t gets bad there, hitchhike to another spot...or just hike...contingency plans r for our modern society, and people afraid of life, sh*t happens, deal with it, human being r very resourceful...im down man, i love nature, ive got my own issues like everyone else, i can live without alcohol, but i do like my pot, and if im gunna b in the woods, i dare not waste the oppurtunity to do some acid, but the important thing is i dont need* it..."]

_____________

Damn, is that priceless or what?

Film at eleven, Baby...burial at twelve.

I'll post my response to this stoner-bozo in a little while.

Still BRRRR in Boston!

I will have to go back out into the dark freezer soon. Yippee.

Meanwhile, I want to let you know that I made a friend down at the St. Francis Center. He gave me a heavy hoodie sweatshirt and some hot black long underwear! Top and bottom! What a royal friend he is!!!

He is the same guy who brought me hot coffee in a Dunkin' Donuts Boston Red Sox souvenir cup and gave me the lovely wolf blanket.

Yeah, I love that blanket! I mean, he didn't even know me and he brought me a blanket that is covered with wolves in various snow scenes. He was going to hang it on his wall but decided to give it to me, instead.

What a sweetheart!

Today was the first official day of Spring. Of course, nobody in Boston recognized that fact.

BECAUSE IT IS FREAKING COLD, COLD, COLD AND DID I SAY COLD HERE!!!!

I will "talk" to you all tomorrow and please remember that not every homeless person on the street is a monster. Just some of them.

-Smirk-

Bye for now.

Brrrrrrr-oston!!!

The temperature was in the low twenties this morning when I hit the street. And the wind chill was eleven above "Oh My God!"

Let's Be Morons

Hello, Campers! Before I get to the weather news, I thought I'd share the following reply with you. I wrote this out and posted it on the Digihitch website.

A guy posted his desire to live in the woods after the next Rainbow gathering and asked for people to go with him. Then he proceeded to lay down a bunch of personality requirements and not much else.

At the end of his post, he referred to several Digihitch members as "morons."

I decided that he needed to be taken down a few notches and filed the following:
___________________


[YOU want to go live in the woods...And don't provide your entire game-plan...And call other people here "morons"?

AHEM!

And before you get all high-and-mighty at ME, Sweetie, go check-out my blog.

Mmmmkay?

As for your idea to "live in the woods" I have some questions:

1.] What woods are you referring to? In the U.S.? Canada?
2.] What time slot are you looking at? Summer? Winter?
3.] What climate? Arizona high desert? Northwest Cascades? Colorado Rockies? Upper Peninsula of Michigan? The Smokies in Tennessee? The Poconos? Northern Maine?
4.] Is Alaska on your list of possibles?
5.] What is your contingency plan for Food? Clean water? Sewage
management? Garbage management? Hygiene?
6.] What is your contingency plan for natural disasters such as flooding, tornadoes, severe storms, blizzards, ice storms, earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires?
7.] What is your contingency plan for a National emergency [terrorist attack or other major acts of war?]
8.] What is your contingency plan for a medical emergency [it could happen to you as well as to others] such as cardiac arrest, stroke, broken bones, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever [brought to you by your friendly tick population...Along with Lyme disease] rabies or other injuries via a wild animal attack?
9.] What about shelter? Transportation? Local rules and regulations?

If you have covered all of these variables, congratulations. If you haven't then don't call anyone else that uses this site a "moron"!]
_____________________

I'll share his response here.

G-G-G-G-Goodnight, C-C-C-Campers!

Okay, Campers...I'm just about ready to head out.
It's cold and windy and I'm going to have quite a miserable experience waiting to get into the center tonight.

It's obvious by looking out the window that I'm going to freeze for the next three-and-a-half hours.

I'll write more tomorrow.

Ruthie's "Typical" Day In Boston

At 7am a man comes to the door and lets me inside the St. Francis Center.

I make a beeline for the bathroom and then help take down chairs in either the day room or the dining area.

Breakfast consists of oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs, bagels, occasional cream cheese, sometimes bananas and another cup of mystery coffee.

The air is filled with the scent and gibberish of the drunks...still on a high from the night just past.

When I finish my breakfast I race for the shower.

A Sweet Email From Dahlia

My friend Dahlia, from Wisconsin, sent me a nice email:
_____________________

["Hi ruthie,

How's the cold? hope your feeling better, but I know that won't stop you. I'm so glad that you worry about everyone else, like that article about little carlie and the monster that now is facing his judge and I know his soul is facing what he deserves. But on a happpy note, [Name of the City] is still the same, I'm just glad that people like you and others (a small few) are out there telling the truth and open the publics eyes. God Bless You Ruth Rader you are in my prayers. Dahlia"]
_____________________

Well, Dahlia...your kindness makes God smile every day. Thank you for your email, my friend.

Ruthie's "Typical" Day In Boston

It's really cold here in Boston right now. And I raise my head up off of my folded arms and realize that I am still at the same old place that I was the night before.

I yawn, stretch, and walk past bodies in various positions of REM-sleep on the floor and enter the bathroom.

It's a mess, again.

I pee, brush my teeth, wash my face and hands and smooth down my hair. Then I go back out to the main area and get a hot cup of coffee. I have no idea if it is real. Some people say it is caffeinated and some swear it isn't. The staff will not divulge their secrets.

I eat a ration of cocoa puffs in milk and a little powdered doughnut.

Then I walk downstairs, pick up my bag, hike it over my shoulders and grab my ticket.

The ticket allows me to get in the shelter faster at night and makes it easier for me to grab a good spot in the room for the night.

I beat everyone in the no-ticket line in the door by about thirty-minutes. But I also leave at 4:30 in the morning.

Once on the street, I watch for cabs, cops and garbage trucks while I trudge down the sidewalk toward the St. Francis Day Center.

On my daily walk, I pass by old graveyards dating back to the 16 Century. I also pass by Boston Common...Which is pleasantly creepy at that time of the day. And I also go by condos that range between $700,000 and 3.5 million.

There are numerous Dunkin' Donuts stores in the immediate area and it is their coffee that I always dream about when I pass by their door.

I round the corner and walk up to the front entrance to St. Francis, shrug off and drop my pack, pull out my little blanket, sit down on the pack and wrap the blanket around me.

Then the waiting begins.

As I shiver through the last hours of the cold, dark night.

A Few Small Repairs

Hello, Campers! I hope that none of you is hung-over today.

[Try invoking the luck of the Irish today to get rid of your headache and that awful feeling in your stomach!]

I met a woman in Copley Square which is located across from the library. The lady and I got into quite a conversation.

I think she goes to Simmons College or something like that.

Anyway, she was great to talk to. I also lived through the series of drunks who showed-up at the drop-in place last night.

As far as I know, only one person puked.

Today I got my laundry done. Yay!

I won't get a shower until Monday but I will manage until then.

And my cold is slowly going away. I'm taking Mucinex that advertises itself as an expectorant. It's working.

This morning, while I was waiting to get into the St. Francis Center, a dope-dealer had words with me. He told me that if I didn't remove myself from that space that he was going to get some friends and punch my teeth out.

I gave him the standard "Shut up, you idiot" response as he walked down the street and around the corner.

And I have no idea whatsoever where he is now.

Yo, Dog.

Ruthie On The Road, Update

Hello Campers! I want to thank you for your comments, prayers and positive energy sent out on my behalf.

I have no idea how I'm going to do my laundry. Oh boy!

I have no money for transportation and the pack is getting heavier by the day.

It sure was cold when I walked up to the day place.

I mean, when you're sick you don't even want to get out of bed!

At 5 am this morning, the temperature was 27F with a wind chill of 19F.

I see a doctor as useless unless he or she can find me a better place to stay where I can get some sleep in a real bed and store my pack!

But I sure am blessed to have friends like you!

Ruthie Is Sick!

I'm really sick right now. In fact, I haven't felt this bad since I got a terrible case of pneumonia that put me in the hospital when I was a kid.

I'm going to drag myself from the library [with the pack on my back] to where I have to meet everyone for shelter tonight.

It's very windy and cold here in Boston tonight and I won't be able to get inside after I leave the library until 8:30pm.

Oh geez, I am going to have a long night!

Joseph Smith Will Die

Joseph Smith will be executed for the death of little Carlie Brucia.

[Click on the post headline above to go to USA Today's coverage of the sentencing.]

I can see Chuck Chambers staring out at the ocean and saying "Yeah."

Rest in peace, Carlie. You will always be a butterfly angel flashing your gilded wings in my heart.

Message To Boston

When I leave the library today I will walk with my pack on my back down the cobble-stone sidewalks to Boston Common. I will gaze at the statues in the park and wonder, once again, what those folks [if they were still alive] would think of the behavior of my compadres at the shelter.

Last night a woman showed-up dead drunk and started insulting and swearing at the top of her lungs.

I stood there for fifteen-minutes and watched her make a total ass of herself.

While this was going on, trucks from the local TV station rolled by. I noticed that the driver never even glanced over at our motley group.

I was actually relieved.

Homies spit, bully and exploit their arrested-development to the hilt.

I decided, today, to send a message to that local TV station. This is it, short and to the point:
___________________

I am sending this email to you because I am one of the people standing
in line for shelter near your studio in downtown Boston every night.

I often see your remote trucks go by.

I'd like you to read my latest posts in my blog "Ruthie In The Sky."

And I would like you to know that although many of the homeless here
are foolish, foul-mouthed drug addicts and drunks, I am NOT!

I'm sorry for the other homie's behavior and if I could do something
about it, I would.

Sincerely Standing On The Street,
Ruthie.*
___________________

Sometimes ya just gotta say what ya gotta say!

Ruthie On The Road, Update

In an ancient building situated near a police substation and a local TV affiliate, I put my head down on a table and catch a little nap.

There are people sleeping at the tables, in chairs against the wall and on the floor.
In the middle of the night, it looks like a re-enactment of the grape kool-aid scene with Jim Jones.

Ceiling fans whisper secrets around the room as they spin. While the big coffee-maker grumbles and spits steam into the air.

I look at the different people that make-up Boston's most eclectic homeless group:

An old man who's a dead-ringer for Yosemite Sam. An enormous Black man with perfectly corn-rowed hair. A young girl with angelic features and the vocabulary of a perverted sailor.

There are drunks who've been slapped by the wind so many times that their faces are permanently red. And there are young men with baggy pants, piercings and jail tattoos who cry out for someone during their fitful sleep.

The local homies share a meal with me...Scraping paper plates and tipping Styrofoam cups.

Soon...I will leave this library and begin my walk down to Boston Commons and beyond...To the local bum barn.

Have a great night, Campers, I'll try to have one, too.

Biding My Time In Boston

I haven't told you, Campers, why I am here in Boston. And although I strongly dislike this City [and I do!] I have not thrown-out the idea that brought me here.

I won't pursue it until the end of the month but I will do what I came here to do. How it turns-out remains to be seen.

That's one of the things that I love about my life: One minute I'm watching an old movie in Ontario, Oregon and the next I'm typing this post in an old library in New England.

Jayne Paints Ruthie's Sky

Perfect. Billy Joel's song "My Life" just started playing when I turned the radio on. Yes, this is my life...Just as it should be. And it's wonderful to chat with a friend from the other end of the United States.

She respects my freedom and has captured my spirit so exquisitely in her delicate graphic artwork.

My friend Jayne: One amazing lady! When I opened Jayne's initial art rendering, I felt a chill and started to cry. Hugs to YOU, Jayne!

Boston Yin And Yang

Yesterday morning, I walked down the stairs into the subway. I was bleary from lack of sleep and in dire need of a shower.

A man sitting with a group of other people took a liking to me and invited me to breakfast.

From there we went to the Laundromat where I finally got my clothes washed. Then the man said that he wanted to get me a motel room for the night.

I told him that I was not into "fooling around."

He gave me some money and told me to get my own room...And I did.

When I got back to downtown today, I saw a perfect example of Bad Boston Behavior:

An elderly woman struggled to get out of a car at an intersection. I felt for her because my right knee and my left foot often make it hard for me to go up and down stairs or extricate myself from a vehicle.

No sooner did she manage to get one foot out than a line of cars behind her began to blown horns.

I stood on the other side of the street in stunned disbelief.

People, who are supposed to be mature adults, laid on their car horn and swore obscenities at the elderly woman.

And all that dear lady was trying to do was get herself out of the backseat of a car!

Shame on you, Boston!!!

You're getting uglier every day.

Dump It Here, Boston!

I have included a link to the story about the homeless man who was burned recently by two attackers here in Boston. The link is to Minneapolis, Minnesota's WCCO news network.

[Click on the post headline above to go to that link.]

I am using the Minnesota link to illustrate just how far this story about the latest attack on a homeless person has traveled.

Garbage behavior in is garbage behavior out.

The lousy attitude portrayed by many of Boston's homeless is waste-material. So are the actions by those who set the young homeless man on fire.

I think it's time to take the trash out. ALL of it for the sake of EVERYONE!

No Class In Boston?

I went back to the Ye Olde Freaking Ancient Boston Public Library today and had a heck of a time trying to access my audio posts!

Geez!

Is there nothing in this city that unwinds easily?

[probably not]

Tonight I will be going back to Boston's Bum Barn.

And I will stand there with drunks, junkies, loud idiots and people who refuse to admit their actual potential.

Yeah, I shall be hanging once again with Boston's Finest. And I don't mean the cops!

I got this stupid slip of paper this morning that was supposed to guarantee me a pair of used jeans and a sweatshirt.

Before I got the chance to pursue that, a line of locals grabbed everything and left me standing there.

Yep, that's Boston!

If there is any class here...I have not found it yet.

Bad In Boston!

Here is a small slice of what I am dealing with right now:

I got into Boston's South Station at 6pm Eastern Time last night. Then I got on my cell phone and began calling numbers to find shelter.

I finally took a cab to a downtown location and that's when the crap began.

The place that I stayed at last night is nothing but a drop-in place for addicts and drunks.

Before the doors opened at 9pm, I was treated to the "thug-rugger" antics of pseudo-adults. These idiots sucked back 40 ouncers like they were chugging water.

After a two-minute appraisal, it was obvious that I was dealing with the swamp end of the Boston gene-pool!

I took a cab over to another shelter only to discover that being Caucasian made me a target.

So I returned to the drop-in place.

More forthcoming. I have to go now.

Boston Sucks!!!!!!!!

What a disaster!!! Everything that I want to do is contingent upon having a decent place to stay in Boston.

So far, my choices are AWFUL!!!

I have been up all night and am in rough shape at the moment.

However, I WILL figure this out!

TiVo This Tragedy

I was a little kid, in the mid-60's, when I got my first view of a color television set. I noticed right away that the bloody bodies in Vietnam weren't black-and-white anymore.

What do we want to see in the "United" States now?

Do we want tight-assed Republicans filled with "polite" paranoia and war-stickers on their vehicles, running the show?

On and off TV?

What is all of the Republican bullshit showing us, anyway?

Right now we have a line of Faith-Based Initiative flag-draped coffins coming back from the Middle East on a regular basis.

And do we have a clearer picture of peace in Baghdad today?

Hell NO!!!!

We have Republican war-mongers and wild-eyed insurgents taking an evil breath before they restart the death machine tomorrow.

All I want to do is change the channel.