Otis sat at his tattered corner booth, the pale pink and teal upholstery ripped and worn by all those who had rested there before him. His charcoal-grey hair was oily and unkept as if he hadn’t known the pleasure of a shower or a comb since his early days in the war. His once green army jacket, faded to a light grey, covered the untucked, torn, and sweat-stained Goodwill T-shirt under it. He wore an old pair of denim blue jeans that were shredded in the knees and rested three inches above his boney ankles; exposing the charity he depended upon. His eyes, filled with loneliness and despair as if he had realized a lack of purpose in his life, were set in bags of black and purple rings two layers deep. His long, slender nose was set above a full crooked mouth with little lines at the corners giving his face the character of someone who used to smile often, but the firm set of his square jaw revealed a portrait of a man who knew only failure.
I glanced around the dimly lit dining room of our neighborhood Jack-In-The-Box at the collection of adolescent girls and boys gossiping about their absent friends, urban families enjoying their weekly treat of chicken fingers with exotic dipping sauces, and a teenage employee attempting to grasp a carpet sweeper with her fry-greased hands. As each of their gazes wandered the room curiously observing the quaint surroundings, their eyes conveniently skipped over the socially unacceptable figure in the corner, but I saw him clearly.
With both hands resting lightly on the table to each side of his white foam cup, Otis stared into its deep abyss of emptiness with his head bowed as if willing it to fill again, giving him a reason to enjoy the shelter that the indoors provided. I could almost touch the conflict going on inside of him, a battle of wills as if he was negotiating with an imaginary devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. I sensed a cramp of discomfort seizing his insides, compelling him to flee, then a silent resolve, as if a moment of clarity had graced his consciousness.
After my husband consumed the last bite of his fully stacked grilled chicken breast sandwich and deep-fried onion rings, he regained my attention when he continued to vocally reflect upon the horror of his day at work...
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...tow upon him the humanity we so brutally robbed him of the previous night. The counter clerk replied that he came into the restaurant often, ordered a cup of coffee, sat at the same booth in the dark corner, and slowly sipped the hot contents as if savoring every last drop of the civilization it provided.
That evening and the week that followed, my husband and I dined on sourdough hamburgers, french fries, and Pepsis in hopes that Otis would show. After eight nauseating days of engorging ourselves with red meat and grease, we left our home phone number with the shift managers who promised to call the next time Otis came in. They never called.
We will forever remember Otis. We see the humble lesson he taught us in the desperation of each person-in-need we encounter. Whenever we pass by the familiar fast-food restaurant, we stop in hopes of meeting this man who has become such an important part of our consciences; an icon symbolizing the very fabric of our humility. We long to learn his true name and ask his forgiveness with our heads bowed in respect and our arms extending friendship in the form of a fancy green thermos.
He then made his daily coffee and toast and took it to the living room sofa, he hated sitting on the table. The
It is said that when a man returns from war he is forever changed. In the short story, “The Red Convertible,” Louise Erdrich demonstrates these transformations through the use of symbolism. Erdrich employs the convertible to characterize the emotional afflictions that war creates for the soldier and his family around him by discussing the the pre-deployment relationship between two brothers Henry and Lyman, Lyman's perception of Henry upon Henry's return, and Henry’s assumed view on life in the end of the story.
The time span this book occurred in is from July 2006 to April 2007 in Charleston, South Carolina. Portraying as a homeless man, Shepard starts off in Crisis Ministries, a homeless shelter that would have “the resources necessary to get him [me] back on his [my] feet,” (Chapter 1, page 9) which was a great kick-starter for his project. Shepard would move into an attic of one of his boss's, George, friend, Mickey, because it was the “best all-around deal that he [I] was going to find,” (Chapter 11, page 137) and because he wanted to leave Crisis Ministries, due to Shepard accepting that the Crisis Ministries was unacceptable to consider to stay in. Afterward, Shepard bought an apartment with his co-worker, Derrick's, cousin, Bubble Gum, because Shepard “wanted something more permanent.” (Chapter 12, page 167) At the end of his story, Shepard ends his project short and moved back to his childhood home of Raleigh, North Carolina because “his [my] mom’s cancer returned and with even greater aggression (Chapter 16, page 203).
On a rainy Monday, I had come to San Francisco to do a cuisine comparison, sort of a tour guide-cum-restaurant review, covering the soup kitchens that I remembered from my time in SF—my two years of living on the fringes. Those years seemed distant now—I am a university student, and I feel suddenly distant from my old days. I am hipper now, I thought. I felt the smugness of a wise-ass. I had thought before I made the trip: here’s a twist on the old restaurant review. I can talk about worn-out things: the bouquet of the food, the ambience of the place. How original. I had felt like slapping my own back.
The ethical dilemma in the video and scenario provided is whether or not to keep the homeless people as hotspots. One of the negatives to keeping them is that some people could see it as being degrading towards the homeless people. People on the streets may treat them as objects and not realize their worth. They would be using the homeless people and there would be no equality. The biggest negative of all is that the homeless people might not value themselves. Whereas if we didn’t keep them, there would be non-sufficient wi-fi. On top of that the homeless people would be right where they were before in finances (no money). Unfortunately, most of the population would still look past them and not
The Homeless in America I never imagined that I would be homeless. " Although I have read this statement over and over again, the facts behind it remain astonishing. The facts are that there are millions of homeless people in America today. Many of these people had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing, have led people to live on the streets.
A host of tragic figures inhabit the diner. Memphis' struggle with the city is essential to his fate of returning south to get back the land cruel taken from his by white men. Sterling--just out of prison--is stymied in his attempts to, by any means possible, support himself. Risa, the waitress, has scarred her legs in an attempt to escape the prison of physical beauty. Finally, perhaps a symbol of them all, is Hambone. Tens years ago he painted the grocer's fence, but was paid a chicken when he felt he had earned a ham. Every day for ten years he has confronted the grocer, requesting and demanding his ham, until by now the only phrases he utters are "I want my ham." and "He gonna give me my ham."
As I walked down the corridor I noticed a man lying in a hospital bed with only a television, two dressers, and a single window looking out at nothing cluttering his room. Depression overwhelmed me as I stared at the man laying on his bed, wearing a hospital gown stained by failed attempts to feed himself and watching a television that was not on. The fragments of an existence of a life once active and full of conviction and youth, now laid immovable in a state of unconsciousness. He was unaffected by my presence and remained in his stupor, despondently watching the blank screen. The solitude I felt by merely observing the occupants of the home forced me to recognize the mentality of our culture, out with the old and in with the new.
There are currently over 200 million people living on this earth with no place to call their home. England contains a very small percentage of this population, around .002%, while its capital, London, holds an even smaller amount. This small amount is not surprising, because the United Kingdom has a very encompassing Safety Net. This Safety Net is in place to help those who are or are about to become homeless. In fact the United Kingdom’s Safety Net is one of the most comprehensive in the world (“Homelessness Facts and Figures”). Unfortunately many people still end up homeless, over 6,000 in the city of London. Many, more fortunate people, strive to help those sleeping on the streets, whether on their own or through a charity like St. Mungo’s on Broadway. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is an unfortunate amount of people who are not only apathetic, but cruel to the people left in a tough situation. These people, and all other people, are homeless too, searching to find a home in heaven. Humans are not
Homelessness is a major issue in our world today. There is an abundant amount of people who live on the street and barely have anything they can call their own. These people probably lived great lives at some point, they probably never thought of the concept of becoming homeless until it happened. Luckily there is help being brought to them from different kinds of sources in order to help get them back on the road to a happy and fulfilled life. Certain people in society have a desire to get homeless people off the streets, to get them food, clothing, and most importantly love. These people are volunteers who enjoy spending their free time helping the ones in need because they love to give back to their community . There is major volunteer groups out there like StandUp For Kids, this organization helps to improve lives of the homeless and street kids. Volunteers have a desire to get people off the streets because they know that no should feel as if they are worth nothing in this world. Besides the goodness of helping others, aiding to help the homeless people get back up in life, it can help make the economy better. Usually there is money
They are not uneducated, “just lazy”, or con artists they are simply the group of Americans who have been hit the hardest by this recession we are trying so desperately to get out of, the homeless. Homelessness is one of the most prevalent problems in America today. There are homeless people of every gender, race, and age. In 2011, an estimated 643,067 people where homeless. The idea of anyone having no place to call their own is depressing, but in such a large quantity, it’s simply ludicrous.
On Vine Street in Coryville, a thin, short, black man stands between two buildings fighting off another Cincinnati winter. He is unshaven with a scraggly beard. His skin is rugged looking and tough. His outfit consists of a tannish-brown jacket, which clashes with his turquoise pants that are short in length. Charlie wears a pair of black, puppy dog chewed up shoes. It is winter and he is shuffling back and fourth to keep warm. His steps are as timid as that of a mouse trying to sneak something to eat. The aroma of his alcoholic breath pollutes the frosty breath coming from his lips. Along with his breath, his eyes are glazed over, watery, and red. It is clear he has had been drinking. His hygiene is deteriorated to the point of him smelling like a dirty pair of socks, which had not been washed for quite some time. The teeth he had left are bright yellow and caked with plaque. His mouth is a nightmare for a dentist. It is a disturbing sight to see, but many passes by take no notice of him.
Table of Contents Literature Review — 3 Methodology — 5 Findings — 6 Summary — 8 Works Cited/Works Used — 9 Appendix: Survey Form — 11 LITERATURE REVIEW In this information behavior study, our group examines the everyday information resources, needs, and behaviors of the homeless. Literature research has led us to many key resources. Important literature on our topic includes Everyday Information Needs and Information Sources of Homeless Parents, The Homeless and Information Needs and Services, and Are the economically poor information poor? Does the digital divide affect the homeless and access to information?
Food has been a great part of how he has grown up. He was always interested in how food was prepared. He wanted to learn, even if his mother didn’t want him to be there. “I would enter the kitchen quietly and stand behind her, my chin lodging upon the point of the hip. Peering through...
...of chili and three spaghetti-o’s. After he had finished eating he decided that he had better get some rest, he went to bed in the small cot he found in the corner. He slept well in the warmth of the cabin, but awoke to the sound of a gasoline engine. Startled he looked around and saw a woman rekindling the fire. She saw him looking at her and told him he was ok, and that when he was ready her husband would take him back to town. She had already made coffee and some pancakes, and told him he was more than welcome to have some.