Rodney posted a rant to his blog concerning that well-fed happy people tend not to suddenly jump up and try to kill you. Well, it was more about how little attention gets paid to the idea that poverty breeds discontent, and that discontented people are more dangerous than contented.
The title of this post comes from a sentence in that one, and it's something of a new rallying cry. What I really want to give people are "the tools to create their own prosperity" starting with the guys I'm living with right now. These fellas need some tools to create prosperity, and fortunately (no pun intended) I have quite a lot in my toolkit.
I'll write up some (tools) soon, because you might be interested too, and I'll keep y'all appraised of our progress.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Dramatis Personæ
So there are four folks living here: Dan "the Man", Saad, Chip, and Rodney.
Rodney's my friend from way back. We were homeless together here in Seattle about ten years ago. He's been doing well since then. Saad and Dan I know from those days. Dan is cool but kinda mildly unstable, and Saad wouldn't have been welcome in my home back when I last knew him. He's cleaned up now and managing well despite being diabetic (i.e. he's taking care of himself and has not died or lost a leg.) He's Black, gay, Jewish and single. Go get him boys!
Chip is some sort of conspiracy junkie and computer whiz. He lives in a darkened room on a diet of coffee and wild media and only comes out for occasional viewings of [Adult Swim]. I like him, or would if we weren't natural enemies (computer geek "testosterone" issues. We're cool.)
I love these guys, enough to put my whole fucking life on hold to cook and clean and hug them and wipe their noses. Moms! You've been doing this the whole time!? No wonder you're the lights of the world!
I love you mom! And all you moms!
Rodney's my friend from way back. We were homeless together here in Seattle about ten years ago. He's been doing well since then. Saad and Dan I know from those days. Dan is cool but kinda mildly unstable, and Saad wouldn't have been welcome in my home back when I last knew him. He's cleaned up now and managing well despite being diabetic (i.e. he's taking care of himself and has not died or lost a leg.) He's Black, gay, Jewish and single. Go get him boys!
Chip is some sort of conspiracy junkie and computer whiz. He lives in a darkened room on a diet of coffee and wild media and only comes out for occasional viewings of [Adult Swim]. I like him, or would if we weren't natural enemies (computer geek "testosterone" issues. We're cool.)
I love these guys, enough to put my whole fucking life on hold to cook and clean and hug them and wipe their noses. Moms! You've been doing this the whole time!? No wonder you're the lights of the world!
I love you mom! And all you moms!
A Healthy Breakfast
Basic nutrition is key to a healthy sane life. I've been cooking up a storm here, providing meals made from fresh organic ingredients rather than chips and soda (a common dietary component around here previously.)
It's incredibly fun to buy a ton of healthy food, bring it home, and cook big fat meals to feed a whole household. These guys say they can feel the difference.
I just wish we had a proper wok, and a real coffee maker. Soon!
It's incredibly fun to buy a ton of healthy food, bring it home, and cook big fat meals to feed a whole household. These guys say they can feel the difference.
I just wish we had a proper wok, and a real coffee maker. Soon!
PAX => Purple House
Well, I don't know exactly how to describe what happened and is happening up here in Seattle.
I woke up in plenty of time to catch my train back from PAX. With time, indeed, to sleep in another half hour or so which I gladly did. Except the half hour wasn't and I wake up just five minutes before my train is due to pull out from the station.
I went out on the porch and had a good sit down and think. I don't usually do that sort of thing: I'm very good about waking up when I "set" myself to, so what was this?
I had had the impression well before leaving that I might stay up here a bit longer than I intended. A sort of psychic emotional foreshadowing of the eventuality pervaded my preparations like a Lovecraftian miasma of the spirit.
And now here I was, "stuck" in Seattle, in a house that would not dismay a "crusty" street punk for fear of her not "keeping it real".
Basically, I see my job here as pouring out love and TLC and Reiki, and physical basic support of real food and hygiene. I find myself in the ironically amusing position of being the most "together" person in the house. I'm cooking meals, more than I ever did at home, and washing up and cleaning. I bought a mop!
I don't have the power to convert these guys against their wills to change and improve. But I don't have to, their hearts are sound, and they just need some care and a bit of good example.
I'll be posting here about things as they happen, and you can see all the pictures at the Flickr account.
Oh and Rodney's coming up to speed nicely with Django and Saad's learning HTML. Hurray!
I woke up in plenty of time to catch my train back from PAX. With time, indeed, to sleep in another half hour or so which I gladly did. Except the half hour wasn't and I wake up just five minutes before my train is due to pull out from the station.
I went out on the porch and had a good sit down and think. I don't usually do that sort of thing: I'm very good about waking up when I "set" myself to, so what was this?
I had had the impression well before leaving that I might stay up here a bit longer than I intended. A sort of psychic emotional foreshadowing of the eventuality pervaded my preparations like a Lovecraftian miasma of the spirit.
And now here I was, "stuck" in Seattle, in a house that would not dismay a "crusty" street punk for fear of her not "keeping it real".
Basically, I see my job here as pouring out love and TLC and Reiki, and physical basic support of real food and hygiene. I find myself in the ironically amusing position of being the most "together" person in the house. I'm cooking meals, more than I ever did at home, and washing up and cleaning. I bought a mop!
I don't have the power to convert these guys against their wills to change and improve. But I don't have to, their hearts are sound, and they just need some care and a bit of good example.
I'll be posting here about things as they happen, and you can see all the pictures at the Flickr account.
Oh and Rodney's coming up to speed nicely with Django and Saad's learning HTML. Hurray!
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