I’m sitting at Dunkin’ Donuts. I’m supposed to be walking,
but my phone battery was already down to 60% which isn’t enough to last me the
day and I don’t know when I’ll get to recharge again. I wanted to stop in at
Dunkin’ one last time anyway, so I might as well, and I’ve just got a short
block of time here while my phone is charging. I’ll do my best to fill in the
highlights of the last few days.
The
last blog left off with Tuesday evening. I went back to the pavilion in
Haulover that night but I was awakened at 2am by a park employee telling me
that the park was closed and that if I didn’t leave I would get arrested. I
assured him that I’d spoken with other park employees and police officers who
had all told me that I had a right to be here and would, in fact, not be
arrested. He backed off and left me alone, so I finished out the night, but
even if I technically have a right to be there, I’m uncomfortable if I know I’m
not welcome. Then, as I was finishing up my breakfast, another park employee
pulled up beside the pavilion and told me that the pavilions were only
available for rent by reservation and that I needed to use the other picnic
tables. This is a fact that is actually clearly posted on signs, so I knew she
was completely right about that. The other thing is, she’s an employee who I’ve
seen around the park often, so she knows I’ve been making a regular habit of
spending the night here, so this was her subtle way of dropping a hint that I
need to move on. I don’t want to cause any trouble, so I figured it was time
for me to get scarce.
So I
headed back over to the North Beach area on Friday. The next several days
were spent sleeping in the patch of trees behind the North Shore library and spending
the days in the library waiting to hear back from Indian Creek Country Club. I enjoyed
another lovely Sunday at Calvary Chapel Miami Beach.
On Monday I determined that I
shouldn’t be wasting time waiting to hear back from Indian Creek, but that I
really ought to be applying to other places while I was waiting. So, that day
at the library, I started looking up phone numbers for some of the other local
golf courses, but I couldn’t bring myself to call any of them. The problem was
that I really didn’t want to get hired here. I’m feeling more and more that I
just don’t want to be in this area. The trouble I’ve had trying to save money
by living homeless, is difficult here because it’s so urban. If I do get a job
and try to look for a better living situation, rent in this area is far more
than I’d be willing to pay even for the tiniest studio apartment. I give up
looking in this area and instead spend the day exploring other areas on Google
Earth.
Monday night it was after midnight
when I rolled my cart into the patch of trees and I was just about to start
setting up my hammock when I noticed several new beer cans around that hadn’t
been there that morning. I try to keep the area clean, so that I don’t get
blamed for trashing it, and I know I’d left it clean that morning. Then I
noticed a man passed out on the ground laying in the dirt right where I usually
hang my hammock. I really don’t like the idea of sharing the space with a drunk
who’s going to wake up hung-over. If he wakes up before me, I worry that he
might try to get into my things and walk off with something.
“Open
Space Park” is nearby. That’s the one with the “No Trespassing” signs where I
drank from the fountain that one night and got surrounded by half the police
department and questioned for thirty minutes. Also, this late at night all the
gates to the park are closed and padlocked, but as an adept homeless bum, I
happen to know that there’s no fence on the beach side. It’s late and I’m
exhausted, so as much as I don’t like the idea of getting in trouble again, I
head over there. I find a couple trees to hang my hammock on and sling it up. I’m
going to be very conspicuous when the sun comes up, and likely get a lecture
from somebody, but at this point I’m ready for that as long as I can get a few
hours of sleep first. Unfortunately the two trees are just a little too close
together, so the hammock bunches me very uncomfortably. Also the temperature
drops just low enough to be uncomfortable. I doze off a few times but only in
short naps and when the sun rises I feel like I haven’t slept at all. Yea, I’m
pretty sure I’m ready to relocate out of this area. Ideally, I’d like to find
an area that wasn’t already overrun by the kind of homeless people who are
homeless because they’re lazy, brain-fried, drunks. I’d prefer an area where I could
disappear into some woods at night and not worry about being run off by the authorities
or robbed.
Tuesday
night I head back over to Calvary Chapel for the men’s Bible study. It’s good
to have a chance to say good bye to several of the friends I’ve made. Renzo,
Peter, and Herb have especially been a blessing to me and an encouragement just
by treating me with the love and kindness of Christ. We close the meeting with
prayer and the men gather around me to lay hands on me and pray for safety, blessings,
and provision as I continue on my journey.
Thankfully
there’s no drunk passed out in my spot this night. Sleep has been sparse for
several nights in a row now so I’m really looking forward to getting as much
rest as I can. I’ve got a little wine left; that should help knock me out for
the night so I polish it off and drift away.
I wake
up cold at 4:30. I could try to doze for a couple more hours, but I know it’s
not going to be quality sleep. Besides, I’m eager to get an early start walking
before traffic picks up. I take my time packing up my sleeping bag in the dark
and boiling up a generous pot of oatmeal to get me going. Without ceremony, I’m
back on the road. I am passing through Haulover when the sun rises, so as I
walk down the beach I watch the orange sun come up out of the Atlantic and
separate itself from the water like an upside down droplet of fire. A half hour
later I’m passing Dunkin’ Donuts again, and my phone battery isn’t going to last
the day, so here I am. While I’ve written this, my battery has fully charged.
It’s almost ten. I’m a little out of shape after almost a month of staying in
the same area, so I’m not sure how far I’ll get today, but here I go.
Even when I go several days without posting to the blog, I
often post updates and details to the Facebook page, so for anyone who isn’t
already following my Facebook page that can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Walkabout-the-Word/121270251358199
Go there and give it a “like” to see up-to-the-minute
updates in your newsfeed as well as photos that I upload on the go.
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