Well,
Who says bad situations don't become good ones. Well, it is turning out that way. I spoke with a board and care facility on the westside that doesn't care what SRO in their infinite wisdom is saying about me. And I know that living in this SRO is not conducive to my health and well being.
I had a very bad infection in September and November of last year that had me hospitalized and stuck here at home. Many of my friends who were searching for me couldn't even get into the building to visit or check on me. And SRO staff sure as heak wasn't.
In december I had a bout with 3 weeks of the most horrendous diarrhea and a chest cold that was so bad I had to turn the heat on. I have never had a chest cold like this one , ever.
As I get older, I know that , and I should have known that, with the past illnesses I was already dealing with that had caused my immune system to take a nose dive , well, with the new illnesses like diabetes.,I have to get these things under control. A nice rest from downtown and it's politics and it's criminal activity , such as is found in skid row and even the building I reside in , would be the greatest thing in the world.
Look, some of us don't use drugs and drink, people such as myself, and I think it is primarily because if I did , it would kill me quicker. So I need to get away from the paranoid drug dealers, users, etc of skid row. They aren't going anywhere. This is their domain. It isn't where I should be at all. I was up early on Wednesday and I walked outside and there was a parole sweep in the PANAMA Hotel. The Panama Hotel had cop cars and the white car that signifies who is doing the sweep or check parked in front of it. The Panama Hotel is run and operated by, you guessed it, SRO Housing Corporation. IF you think I am crazy when I mention that SRO has the job of housing parolees , and sex offenders , well, you just are not paying attention. SRO is.
I mean, a wake up call like this. I keep going over and over in my mind all of those whom I see rolled out of these SRO's on stretchers by the coroner and I don't want to be one of those. Alone , in my room , no one to help if I am in trouble. Living like this is not normal. Living without others around to take care of you and look out for you is not normal. SRO housing is not normal. We are people and people should live around and with other people. That is normal.
SO for now I will be living around people. I will have professionals looking out for me . If things work out on Monday, I should be in a place on the west side , if not, I will still be down here.
I have witnessed, though , as many have, those who have transformed their lives , those who have used the social services to turn their lives around and they are here. SO, I , myself don't give up on any of those parolees. But , this is their community, this is where they will recover. I have hope and faith as I have witnessed many have done that. But for those of us who literally have holes in our head and have to deal with conditions such as I have ,I don't want to be in this room suffering alone and then found dead.
In this building was a gentleman who lived on the third floor. He was one of many who would lend his keys to the many ladies who will sell their bodies for crack. Well, one day it turned out that she was seen coming and going , yet, no one had seen the neighbor . She had been living in his room for 3 days while he lay dead in his bed. This is SRO folks. I sincerely believe that this summer will be one of the hottest on records. IF I am wrong, I hope I am , so be it, but these buildings , the old ones that have been refurbished hold heat horribly and at night it is worse because there is only paint between the bricks and the inside of the room. We all know that the heat dissipates from those bricks to make an oven in the evenings. I am glad to be leaving because of this. I will be among those who will be able to see to it that I don't suffer during the hot months. And if I am having problems , well, they will be readily accessible. But I need fresh air. The mixture of crack smoke and pot in this community is not good for me. It isn't good for anyone.
Who knows, I may even recuperate to the point I can work at my web building business, without feeling sick and tired in this room.Somewhere, far away from here. I still have the laptop and clients are many. And who knows , many who remember me downtown will see me at my best and a multimillionaire.
Oh believe me . I still have a goal of buying turkeys for thanksgiving for URM and Midnight Mission. Make no mistake about it. I am not dead, but staying and living in an SRO building operated by SRO housing corporation , well , eventually I would have been.
Skid Row Housing Trust, on the other hand, has decided to build their new buildings with cross ventilation of the rooms of their tenants. SRO is still not getting the picture. I wonder of they ever will.
Folks, remember, this is a community in which most everyone is using drugs or is in recovery from them. Many are still using in these buildings. It is a place filled with outright having to watch your back because of the paranoia of those you live around who are using drugs or selling and using. When a person such as myself doesn't use drugs or engages in the activities such as using women or men for sex for drugs , etc , well , it gets downright uncomfortable and these people don't want you around for fear you may be a so called "narc." I can't live this way anymore. The norms in this community are not normal and I don't fit in.
Who says bad situations don't become good ones. Well, it is turning out that way. I spoke with a board and care facility on the westside that doesn't care what SRO in their infinite wisdom is saying about me. And I know that living in this SRO is not conducive to my health and well being.
I had a very bad infection in September and November of last year that had me hospitalized and stuck here at home. Many of my friends who were searching for me couldn't even get into the building to visit or check on me. And SRO staff sure as heak wasn't.
In december I had a bout with 3 weeks of the most horrendous diarrhea and a chest cold that was so bad I had to turn the heat on. I have never had a chest cold like this one , ever.
As I get older, I know that , and I should have known that, with the past illnesses I was already dealing with that had caused my immune system to take a nose dive , well, with the new illnesses like diabetes.,I have to get these things under control. A nice rest from downtown and it's politics and it's criminal activity , such as is found in skid row and even the building I reside in , would be the greatest thing in the world.
Look, some of us don't use drugs and drink, people such as myself, and I think it is primarily because if I did , it would kill me quicker. So I need to get away from the paranoid drug dealers, users, etc of skid row. They aren't going anywhere. This is their domain. It isn't where I should be at all. I was up early on Wednesday and I walked outside and there was a parole sweep in the PANAMA Hotel. The Panama Hotel had cop cars and the white car that signifies who is doing the sweep or check parked in front of it. The Panama Hotel is run and operated by, you guessed it, SRO Housing Corporation. IF you think I am crazy when I mention that SRO has the job of housing parolees , and sex offenders , well, you just are not paying attention. SRO is.
I mean, a wake up call like this. I keep going over and over in my mind all of those whom I see rolled out of these SRO's on stretchers by the coroner and I don't want to be one of those. Alone , in my room , no one to help if I am in trouble. Living like this is not normal. Living without others around to take care of you and look out for you is not normal. SRO housing is not normal. We are people and people should live around and with other people. That is normal.
SO for now I will be living around people. I will have professionals looking out for me . If things work out on Monday, I should be in a place on the west side , if not, I will still be down here.
I have witnessed, though , as many have, those who have transformed their lives , those who have used the social services to turn their lives around and they are here. SO, I , myself don't give up on any of those parolees. But , this is their community, this is where they will recover. I have hope and faith as I have witnessed many have done that. But for those of us who literally have holes in our head and have to deal with conditions such as I have ,I don't want to be in this room suffering alone and then found dead.
In this building was a gentleman who lived on the third floor. He was one of many who would lend his keys to the many ladies who will sell their bodies for crack. Well, one day it turned out that she was seen coming and going , yet, no one had seen the neighbor . She had been living in his room for 3 days while he lay dead in his bed. This is SRO folks. I sincerely believe that this summer will be one of the hottest on records. IF I am wrong, I hope I am , so be it, but these buildings , the old ones that have been refurbished hold heat horribly and at night it is worse because there is only paint between the bricks and the inside of the room. We all know that the heat dissipates from those bricks to make an oven in the evenings. I am glad to be leaving because of this. I will be among those who will be able to see to it that I don't suffer during the hot months. And if I am having problems , well, they will be readily accessible. But I need fresh air. The mixture of crack smoke and pot in this community is not good for me. It isn't good for anyone.
Who knows, I may even recuperate to the point I can work at my web building business, without feeling sick and tired in this room.Somewhere, far away from here. I still have the laptop and clients are many. And who knows , many who remember me downtown will see me at my best and a multimillionaire.
Oh believe me . I still have a goal of buying turkeys for thanksgiving for URM and Midnight Mission. Make no mistake about it. I am not dead, but staying and living in an SRO building operated by SRO housing corporation , well , eventually I would have been.
Skid Row Housing Trust, on the other hand, has decided to build their new buildings with cross ventilation of the rooms of their tenants. SRO is still not getting the picture. I wonder of they ever will.
Folks, remember, this is a community in which most everyone is using drugs or is in recovery from them. Many are still using in these buildings. It is a place filled with outright having to watch your back because of the paranoia of those you live around who are using drugs or selling and using. When a person such as myself doesn't use drugs or engages in the activities such as using women or men for sex for drugs , etc , well , it gets downright uncomfortable and these people don't want you around for fear you may be a so called "narc." I can't live this way anymore. The norms in this community are not normal and I don't fit in.
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