tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4239249793651156212024-02-20T11:23:04.687-08:00my neighbors at nickelsvillealekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-29220786337095764462011-12-29T10:35:00.000-08:002011-12-29T10:35:50.857-08:00Sacramento, CA: Homeless campers forced to move say shelters not an optionCame across this article at news10.net - mainstream news... A college student . . . A part-time office worker with pets... A man with children who was a carpenter, but work dried up... Sacramento encampment used to have more than 150 people, their stories are very similar to stories of people in Nickelsville, Tent City 3 and other tent cities; the stories are the same across the country. And now Sacramento people have nowhere to go. Watch the video and read the entire article at link below, I only quoted some of the closing paragraphs. We better wake up.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Homeless campers forced to move say shelters not an option</span></b><br />
<i>8:56 AM, Dec 29, 2011 </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.news10.net/images/300/169/2/assetpool/images/111228072445_camp-move-2-640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.news10.net/images/300/169/2/assetpool/images/111228072445_camp-move-2-640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">copied url of the pic from the article, but it gives no credentials...</td></tr>
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<i>"I can't go to a shelter, because it'll conflict with my schooling," full-time Sacramento City College student Jordan Davis said. "The scheduling for sign-ups is tedius and certain programs you have to attend, if you miss one, they'll kick you out."</i><br />
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<i>Another homeless woman refuses to give up her pet dog she's had for 10 years to enter a shelter.</i><br />
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<i>"Can you give up your best friend? My dogs are all I have," said the woman who didn't want to be identified, because she works part-time in an office.</i><br />
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</i><br />
<i>"There's no shelters you can go to with dogs."</i><br />
<a href="http://www.news10.net/news/article/170043/2/Homeless-campers-forced-to-move-say-shelters-not-an-option">Rest of the article here....</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-85360058468716834522011-12-21T13:21:00.000-08:002011-12-21T13:21:01.946-08:001.6 million US children are homeless now - Merry Christmas America<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO420a1fSL4jt7PXcevWNiGqivQVxpZFELxXVkQZIszSxREBMIdlMszN4l8etQ64sjBPxOX7WmASUU2hPOx7dd3-nUV2oe9QKJ3dwAMOqZvOpDISQOdZkz42bXVN1yJdoOhZ-Zf3uv0zg9/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO420a1fSL4jt7PXcevWNiGqivQVxpZFELxXVkQZIszSxREBMIdlMszN4l8etQ64sjBPxOX7WmASUU2hPOx7dd3-nUV2oe9QKJ3dwAMOqZvOpDISQOdZkz42bXVN1yJdoOhZ-Zf3uv0zg9/s400/IMG_0082.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville's Christmas tree - 12/16/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With all good wishes </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">for a Merry Christmas </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and </span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">a Happy new Year to our friends in Nickelsville!</span></span></i></div><br />
While the mainstream media informs us that CEOs of our banks will unwrap the biggest ever (did I say 'ever'? Yes, EVER) bonuses this year for Christmas, I found this, just published gem on the webpage of <a href="http://www.familyhomelessness.org/">The National Center on Family Homelessness:</a><br />
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<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 24px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e6b91; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><i>America's Youngest Outcasts 2010</i></span></span></h2><br />
<i>A new report by The National Center on Family Homelessness finds that more than 1.6 million children - or one in 45 children - are homeless annually in America. This represents an increase of 38% during the years impacted by the economic recession. The 124-page report, America's Youngest Outcasts 2010, ranks the 50 states from best (1) to worst (50), and offers specific policy solutions. </i><a href="http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/reportcard.php"><i>Read the full report and find out where your state ranks</i></a><i>. </i><a href="http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/media.php"><i>Media inquiries</i></a><i>.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbFa5umCujVnpkgaBEDOI9ebR1l9onx8vEppDvXqziGnYXclxmIL2vMV6v78VypA2TVQerj3k8OVsH-r5XazXP28OOLbR25hxG0KvOR0OUcDLyMFJ884sBVEmepR0BNsAwxOvVL8vweqQ/s1600/IMG_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbFa5umCujVnpkgaBEDOI9ebR1l9onx8vEppDvXqziGnYXclxmIL2vMV6v78VypA2TVQerj3k8OVsH-r5XazXP28OOLbR25hxG0KvOR0OUcDLyMFJ884sBVEmepR0BNsAwxOvVL8vweqQ/s400/IMG_0074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville, 12/16/11 - general view</td></tr>
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Six of those children, aged from 1 y.o. to 16 y.o. live in Nickelsville now; sure they have extended family of 120+ tent city members who dot on them and take turns providing care for them, which is way better that untold numbers of other homeless children who will spend their Christmas in cars, shelters, friends' couches or maybe nowhere close to warmth and light; but is this kind of childhood we meant for our youngsters? One in 45 children means roughly one child in every classroom in America!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF9gVSvMQHVAY7YZfPX9YY0XA6X1xA55FXy_M2ijC1PkewhqePOUJu6qKcbkpsRvJrOeZDbiU8X_iW8hfXrdCZ3uNeBijBgN76hI0JNgPsH34iv-4dJ2SFwAUt_Q1dqOQ82RXbHtKo-q9/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF9gVSvMQHVAY7YZfPX9YY0XA6X1xA55FXy_M2ijC1PkewhqePOUJu6qKcbkpsRvJrOeZDbiU8X_iW8hfXrdCZ3uNeBijBgN76hI0JNgPsH34iv-4dJ2SFwAUt_Q1dqOQ82RXbHtKo-q9/s400/IMG_0078.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T.J. and her son, Adam - Nickelsville, 12/16/11</td></tr>
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Last Friday Lynnda packed her car full of wood for Nickelsville, bags of warm clothes she collected among her neighbors, bags of fresh fruit (none of her signature cookies, because we read in <a href="http://www.realchangenews.org/">'Real Change'</a> paper that Nickelsville is currently overloaded with surplus holiday pastry donations from bakeries and restaurants, and that they wish for simple fresh fruit) and off we went to see our friends, who still live outside of the city, on Marginal Way (address and map on the right hand corner of the blog), where they moved to in May of this year. Of course we brought a bucket of soup, and of course it was West African Peanut soup, which became my signature by now...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO-OPdIWhoH6j6Pqh1nrOkWOzkBL53dXd5_zZjcrXfL35w09z9imRnosUrXSHSG1E0FXm4TbhYNfr9A2tJN2x2_1tNWs-ANX3IpnoPLWaekRVeV50Ep11VOVVOPksZnKjssizhyphenhyphenDl56IJ/s1600/IMG_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO-OPdIWhoH6j6Pqh1nrOkWOzkBL53dXd5_zZjcrXfL35w09z9imRnosUrXSHSG1E0FXm4TbhYNfr9A2tJN2x2_1tNWs-ANX3IpnoPLWaekRVeV50Ep11VOVVOPksZnKjssizhyphenhyphenDl56IJ/s400/IMG_0073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The camp's original entrance became a donation gate - Nickelsville 12/16/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The gate of Nickelsville has been moved to the opposite side of the encampment, much closer to the bus. The original entrance serves as donation entrance only (has parking space). We found mainly new faces in Nickelsville, and what appeared as an extended area of tents, way past the line where it ended when we visited in September; but we were told that the current number of residents is still the same: about 120 (including six children), and that some of the tents are temporarily empty.<br />
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The camp's original (and resident from the Day 1) historian of the place, Richard, did leave as planned, and hopefully is enjoying holiday cheers with his family in Arkansas - hand-wave to Richard in Arcansas... Lynnda was worried about Jarvis - his phone has been disconnected for a while and he no longer calls her, either - we learned that he reunited with his wife and kids in California, so hopefully he and his family also enjoy a nice holiday break now - hi Jarvis in California...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSK8KrS_kAhhFnPTaSqLZXAuhElUppp2CNN4np9OefGw_pbvc2W0zMmrym11RY6HKwHXDcYegHDHdZ3cEYqUQ93G9-zmAljC5vaiB4imZR9Gs0zSXwrXWt-izL5jTXU7U3XM4ydyzKV-i/s1600/IMG_0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSK8KrS_kAhhFnPTaSqLZXAuhElUppp2CNN4np9OefGw_pbvc2W0zMmrym11RY6HKwHXDcYegHDHdZ3cEYqUQ93G9-zmAljC5vaiB4imZR9Gs0zSXwrXWt-izL5jTXU7U3XM4ydyzKV-i/s400/IMG_0083.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg enjoying a quiet moment by the fire - Nickelsville, 12/16/11</td></tr>
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Tracy and Mike are still in Nickelsville, and so is Nate (we didn't see him), Jerry, Greg and T.J. We run into T,J, and she was beaming - introduced us to her just recently found son, Adam, who came to pick his mother up and drive with her to see their family in Bellingham - hope Adam's truck is now safely parked there and there is lots of family joy to share.<br />
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Nickelsville has a beautiful Christmas tree and there was a party to dress it - lots of lovely hand made decorations and even some gifts under the tree already; Lynnda and I wondered who has a job of moving them indoors when it rains.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXobCXsmf39WOkd7NLKSSkJW3zjgI3pHH39c3Tf5ErdMWRrfrcKnTmrGZbdDVZHaxPO0Dzk_5mIrKl-EAAwUrpUIr7ZxwNqerr8x6AAh_Rf2yv_XMMof26ZIC8nUlL0lIoFVBRlRTGfPqv/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXobCXsmf39WOkd7NLKSSkJW3zjgI3pHH39c3Tf5ErdMWRrfrcKnTmrGZbdDVZHaxPO0Dzk_5mIrKl-EAAwUrpUIr7ZxwNqerr8x6AAh_Rf2yv_XMMof26ZIC8nUlL0lIoFVBRlRTGfPqv/s400/IMG_0076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tracy's sic-pawed cat, Socks, is all grown up and very cuddly. Nickelsville, 12/16/11</td></tr>
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Nickelsville has large number of military vets, maybe next time I'll find a study on how America treats them - judging from number of them being homeless, not too kindly.alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-58683813535718504542011-09-24T21:04:00.000-07:002011-09-24T21:04:34.729-07:00Sweet and sour sorrel soup<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIX8HymL8bb-h6_el4MeUNgcbGEc-2sfAVQXPTNdwTbjZL34uP8te4ZcTSjoEQvEQTDrMRd6at2W2T8KKjE5ELstKYW1hMBRlZ8AIc0x9rJOhYpclPYvpRpjwzYBjsWlsyDZdrWW47knz/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIX8HymL8bb-h6_el4MeUNgcbGEc-2sfAVQXPTNdwTbjZL34uP8te4ZcTSjoEQvEQTDrMRd6at2W2T8KKjE5ELstKYW1hMBRlZ8AIc0x9rJOhYpclPYvpRpjwzYBjsWlsyDZdrWW47knz/s200/IMG_0001.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7/22/11 • new bright fence <br />
at the entrance to Nickelsville</td></tr>
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Lynnda came on Thursday with her car full of firewood (her yard lost a tree recently) arranged around a big rain barrow and with big box of her homemade cookies on top of the pile, of course – she seem to be unable to leave the house without them (my husband thanks you, Lynnda, for the cookies you kindly appropriated to him, he is enjoying them as I am writing this).<br />
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We poured the content of two big pots (sweet and sour sorrel soup – recipe below) into a soup bucket and off to Nickelsville we went. Lynnda had, but I did not visit the place since June - the new, bright colored fence greets visitors at the entrance: such a joyful accent!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYhRhIXKQ8Q-fwwuUOLhy8Qu9FfqPG0F8zdEwQraQZQ4_ci-NRQ7H_Autd8LednY3zSmJDg-iw5j609EUBVoyUcIr77Hk9j6XStNzdQC1QXUB0EshtwOSV8dwIXwzG4Ej5Dl4-lfFPWgF/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYhRhIXKQ8Q-fwwuUOLhy8Qu9FfqPG0F8zdEwQraQZQ4_ci-NRQ7H_Autd8LednY3zSmJDg-iw5j609EUBVoyUcIr77Hk9j6XStNzdQC1QXUB0EshtwOSV8dwIXwzG4Ej5Dl4-lfFPWgF/s400/IMG_0002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • General view of Nickelsville from the entrance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLzDL7wLHr8OjuetzW_jvn4PKPwrP8Je_4zreHZN8I5sS-vr4cNYjeQqgo0icIkDKZDEJr5NbFm9Txe9I5bfGJY_F81XSASrg9Er6yxDeJ6m23UrLZlV2Mi2Kiu39ogQfIe0GxsehmE5w/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLzDL7wLHr8OjuetzW_jvn4PKPwrP8Je_4zreHZN8I5sS-vr4cNYjeQqgo0icIkDKZDEJr5NbFm9Txe9I5bfGJY_F81XSASrg9Er6yxDeJ6m23UrLZlV2Mi2Kiu39ogQfIe0GxsehmE5w/s200/IMG_0009.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Inside the kitchen tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Right now Nickelsville hosts about 120 residents, including 2 families with 8 or 9 children between them: we met very pretty Jackie, almost 2 year old, enjoying a quiet lunch with her mother… At the height of summer Nickelsville had about 150+ people + numerous four-legged family members (lots of them still there). Many new faces now, but we met some old friends, too: Tracy, Richard, T.J., Nate and Tim; there must be more, because as Richard walked us through the compound to show the new developments we heard greetings of recognition: the soup ladies are here… :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa7804sfCkFhUlvwHL-WHuwzi0MGgeo_d860JWWDQGykCAq3_TSXPthkJwa-kQOdUSuZwT1EVFVPMVa50_ke1-JcSFsoroozDg1OuUfshDOfNSYtEK0G3RErtZb2wXEBvXxSzrzHAgple/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa7804sfCkFhUlvwHL-WHuwzi0MGgeo_d860JWWDQGykCAq3_TSXPthkJwa-kQOdUSuZwT1EVFVPMVa50_ke1-JcSFsoroozDg1OuUfshDOfNSYtEK0G3RErtZb2wXEBvXxSzrzHAgple/s400/IMG_0011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Container garden space</td></tr>
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Richard may be leaving soon: his family had a reunion in Seattle this summer and there was a talk that he may join them in Arkansas - he would live with his sister, while helping elder family members with tasks they no longer can do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR7zlbkcrPCrVIWY-zG6mii0bYaOoleoMpQGAMVWs_udawFoO-TvlybMoyw_MK7bO0un_O4sMvPsyszx-D5egB_m1mWihbw6V3HzMzM6E1QvAgwghQXfuBwLa3DxeAYgxfcehlxq80uG6/s1600/IMG_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR7zlbkcrPCrVIWY-zG6mii0bYaOoleoMpQGAMVWs_udawFoO-TvlybMoyw_MK7bO0un_O4sMvPsyszx-D5egB_m1mWihbw6V3HzMzM6E1QvAgwghQXfuBwLa3DxeAYgxfcehlxq80uG6/s200/IMG_0018.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Swing set for <br />
the children of Nickelsville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, what is new in Nickelsville? Several more structures went up, the container garden is growing healthily, there are 2 resident-goats which are tasked with clearing the brush, a play-structure for children was assembled and there is a cat castle – a separate tent where kitties enjoy each other’s company + cat-gym and toys.<br />
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I’m sure there is more that I didn’t catch –our visit too short, as usual, alas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOYYEDJzzFfw2P72JPGXXMv-dpbXCs6Mv2i3iibtbSXX8AOWJJUH-Vff6Yu8yvB5aiQTtPsuRtxSlpduAmAHByQn2t9Nc_Amvzc53oT4k59vF-UbXK47DXmndJdco6oAiRGD9b0JBvy5U/s1600/IMG_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOYYEDJzzFfw2P72JPGXXMv-dpbXCs6Mv2i3iibtbSXX8AOWJJUH-Vff6Yu8yvB5aiQTtPsuRtxSlpduAmAHByQn2t9Nc_Amvzc53oT4k59vF-UbXK47DXmndJdco6oAiRGD9b0JBvy5U/s400/IMG_0033.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Shelly petting resident goats</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>SWEET & SOUR SORREL SOUP RECIPE:</b><br />
(Vegan – but you can ‘fix’ it by throwing chunks of chicken in the beginning).<br />
<br />
The ‘essence’ of this soup, as Brian, a one-time resident of Nickelsville would put it, comes from combining the sweetness of sweet potatoes and caramelized onion with tartness of sorrel.<br />
<br />
I cooked it in 2 large pots: the <b>actual soup</b> in one and the <b>filler</b> (to make the soup go further) in second. You can either follow the actual soup and skip the filler, or add some (or all) of the ingredients from the filler part to your ‘actual’ soup pot, if you are cooking for 60+ people.<br />
<br />
<b><i>‘Actual’ sorrel soup</i>:</b><br />
<br />
1. Combine in pot and cook till carrots are semi-soft (about 10 minutes):<br />
- Caramelized onion (you know that one: sautéed on low flame in scanty amount of olive oil, till it is very juicy and sweet, about 20 minutes – I actually do huge amounts in crock-pot ahead of time, and freeze it in containers for further use)<br />
- Chopped carrots<br />
- (Optional:) any seasoning you have – mine: laurel leaves, chopped fresh rosemary leaves, lovage spring or 2)<br />
- Water to cover the stuff in the pot; + add water later as you see it fit.<br />
<br />
2.) Add chopped sweet potatoes and cook some more till carrots and yams are almost soft, but not mushy (about 10 minutes more)<br />
<br />
4.) Add veggie cubes and chopped sorrel – the more sorrel you add the more sour the soup will be (I harvested and chopped a humongous bunch from 2 pots - this stuff is easy to grow and seem eternal as it comes back in same pots for years now). Cook for some 5 minutes (not long, you want the leaves in nice green color, not rotten green).<br />
<br />
5.) Add chopped broccoli and turn the flame off (broccoli needs just the surrounding heat to steam itself up) and some canned butter beans (or other favorite beans you) for protein content.<br />
<br />
6. Finish the soup - all optional; my fixings here: crushed garlic, olive oil (anything with fat will taste better) and chopped cilantro and parsley. If the soup is not sour enough for you, add lemon juice, too. Serve with good bread.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Soup filler</i></b> (you can use any, all or none from this part of the recipe); mine was a combo of:<br />
- Red lentils (cooked for some 20 minutes to thicken the soup)<br />
- Broken spaghetti noodles (5 more minutes)<br />
- Chopped cabbage (+ 5 minutes)<br />
- And more veg cubes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ztFT8AOlWXE8j3zpai3w0brZWaBs-7lkWrz3mLcAd5Xl9I1aP39M8EeZy2ae0B9o88dEVbyrby8K-Qh_gj1iAtWbAp7IyEK26llHKbdRT3N04uIAO4KpJvtgRIjVkuoAIXEkglryksHk/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ztFT8AOlWXE8j3zpai3w0brZWaBs-7lkWrz3mLcAd5Xl9I1aP39M8EeZy2ae0B9o88dEVbyrby8K-Qh_gj1iAtWbAp7IyEK26llHKbdRT3N04uIAO4KpJvtgRIjVkuoAIXEkglryksHk/s400/IMG_0038.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Kristin and Abbie. Abbie is an cat from India, where Noreen rescued it and brought back to US last July.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMIoWmTqZBzeMOPPV29BWb5nkNb_G8fIorlJO0TkKTqdOBUpgGofKSUdcJbtqU7z1U_-DT8XLzvT8Pz9fLZYa2bWjEGd2Fvt5XSiQ7V0Dh3uz1JzRVGI_-_cza9JC3R-ej4OyLHDibglU/s1600/IMG_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMIoWmTqZBzeMOPPV29BWb5nkNb_G8fIorlJO0TkKTqdOBUpgGofKSUdcJbtqU7z1U_-DT8XLzvT8Pz9fLZYa2bWjEGd2Fvt5XSiQ7V0Dh3uz1JzRVGI_-_cza9JC3R-ej4OyLHDibglU/s400/IMG_0051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Tracy's cat: Socks</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbh66XICNaTvD1tfp7ymQXkpSFdTy83hZcvePWienAEehuBCAAyNbHSDqqKDUG-tv6c5mtKOVtzNfFkeCkEWJMLiI6YgsWyQLwyUo-KjQofhSIeQY5q19E3xgVt3L55wkwH3d8ukZR6wf/s1600/IMG_0029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbh66XICNaTvD1tfp7ymQXkpSFdTy83hZcvePWienAEehuBCAAyNbHSDqqKDUG-tv6c5mtKOVtzNfFkeCkEWJMLiI6YgsWyQLwyUo-KjQofhSIeQY5q19E3xgVt3L55wkwH3d8ukZR6wf/s400/IMG_0029.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9/22/11 • Lynnda and Richard look at the new structures; <br />
the blue tarp/tent on the right is a house for the goats</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
P.S. Sorry for possibly misspelled names in captions – will get it fixed when able.<br />
<div><br />
</div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-50128606323759470122011-09-22T21:17:00.000-07:002011-09-22T21:17:13.261-07:00Comment from Hanna: Another article on homeless vets from 'Seattle Times'<h1 style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px;">'Stand Down' offers homeless vets access to services, benefits, clothes</h1><div class="summary" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 6px;">Some three hundred homeless veterans went to Seattle Central Community College on Thursday for a "Stand Down" event where they could access health care and counseling and learn about disability benefits or other services. At the end, they could leave with a new backpack, a jacket, socks and other essentials for life on the streets.</div><div class="summary" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 6px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"></span></div><div class="block" style="font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="byline" style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px;">By <a href="http://search.nwsource.com/search?searchtype=cq&sort=date&from=ST&byline=Hal%20Bernton" style="color: #003388; text-decoration: none;">Hal Bernton</a></div><div class="source" style="font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Seattle Times staff reporter</div></div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; font-size: 16px;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;"></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a class="popup_enlarge" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2016222259.html" style="color: #003388; text-decoration: none;" target="popup_enlarge"><img alt="Vietnam veteran Jerry Shaw, 57, picks out a sleeping bag from a pile of government-surplus items Thursday. " class="pic" height="431" src="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/15/2016221924.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial;" title="Vietnam veteran Jerry Shaw, 57, picks out a sleeping bag from a pile of government-surplus items Thursday. " width="296" /></a></div><a class="popup_enlarge" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2016222259.html" style="color: #003388; text-decoration: none;" target="popup_enlarge"><img align="left" alt="Enlarge this photo" class="ui" height="11" src="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/ui/zoom_photo.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-width: initial;" width="48" /></a><div class="credit" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: right;">GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES</div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; font-size: 16px;"></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">Vietnam veteran Jerry Shaw, 57, picks out a sleeping bag from a pile of government-surplus items Thursday.</span>Jerry Shaw, a rail thin Vietnam veteran, entered the gear room at Thursday's "Stand Down" at Seattle Central Community College and gazed at the huge piles of sleeping bags, gloves, hats and jackets.<br />
<div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"This will save lives here this winter," Shaw said. "If it only saves one, it will be great."</div><div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shaw was one of about 300 men and women who showed up at the event, which offered homeless veterans a kind of one-stop shopping, where they could access health care and counseling and learn about disability benefits or other services. At the end, they could leave with a new backpack, a jacket, socks and other essentials for life on the streets.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The event was a cooperative effort launched by veteran and student Sam Barrett, 30, and involved more than 50 agencies and organizations. Barrett is a Seattle Central graduate now attending Seattle University, and both institutions helped sponsor the event.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">King County officials estimate 2,500 to 3,000 veterans are homeless in King County, and their plight has twice-spurred voters — in 2005 and again this past August — to approve a special levy to help improve their lives. The levy has raised more than $13 million a year for veterans and was one of the funding sources for Gossett Place, a 62-unit low-income housing complex that opened in Seattle's University District earlier this week with some apartments set aside for homeless veterans.</div><div><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016222258_veterans16m.html">More here...</a></div><div>Thanks, Hanna!</div></span></span>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-68863823034496661632011-08-05T11:31:00.000-07:002011-08-06T09:59:21.360-07:00Another article<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/174784_182664378429415_6043548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/174784_182664378429415_6043548_n.jpg" /></a></div>Sol commented below on another article, here it is, with an active link:<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Feeding Seattle's homeless: a decade of doing "good"</span></b></i><br />
<i>Posted by Nancy Leson</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>In 2001, John Platt and Paul Butler had an epiphany: They could help feed the homeless. As owners of St. Clouds bistro in Madrona, Platt (who knows his way around the kitchen) and Butler (whose contribution to the cause is a central spot in the dish-pit) remain committed to that goal. On Aug. 17, they'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of their "Homeless Cooking Project."</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>What began as a half-cocked effort to feed 125 residents of a nearby tent city has blossomed into a monthly community celebration providing a restaurant-quality meal to 450 people at seven shelters throughout Seattle.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>On the third Wednesday of each month, a small army of volunteers descends on St. Clouds. Troops show up at 9 a.m. with paring knives and cutting boards, fresh produce and other staples. They're done by 1 p.m. Old hands know the drill. New recruits ask, "What should I do?" Platt -- a former high-school principal -- is the friendly taskmaster who provides the answer: "Good."</i><br />
<i><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/allyoucaneat/2015801867_feeding_seattles_homeless_a_de.html">Rest of the article here....</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
Now that I'm back from travels, time to check on my friends who are homeless .... Lynnda says tent city 3 is moving again.... They are closer to me than Nickelsville so I may visit them first. She also said that the homeless in Seattle funding was cut by FEMA - it affects SHARE and WHEEL... A story on this on Nickelsville's FB:<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543">http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543</a><br />
<br />
Visiting Krakow this summer I noticed many homeless?/begging people on the streets - a truly sad sight... I guess they are now free to beg...alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-15003646765579364952011-07-03T21:54:00.000-07:002011-07-03T21:54:42.316-07:00Article about homeless family in SeattleI will be traveling most of July, but before I go just wanted to bring to your attention an article about a single mom in Seattle - it is written by Mark Horvath, Founder of InvisiblePeople.tv:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hvcgroep.nl/uploads/pageLImage_imageName_b59e7e384d3398aa57a384564ce70ce8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.hvcgroep.nl/uploads/pageLImage_imageName_b59e7e384d3398aa57a384564ce70ce8.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>I spent the day with a homeless family here in Seattle, yet it felt like spending the day with a normal family. The big difference was at the end of the day Carey and her daughter Maggy drove their van to a park to sleep for the night.</i><br />
<br />
<i>I first met Carey Fuller through I post she wrote on change.org, "What It's Like To Be A Homeless Mother". She blogged anonymously so I had to beg the editor to connect us. From that point on, I have been so very impressed by Carey. I have done everything I can to help her and will continue to do so.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Yesterday, I met Carey and her daughter at a yard sale they were holding. On weekends she tries to make a little money by selling either old stuff she had in storage or new stuff she finds. Carey is very resourceful. When she needed money to repair the van they live in, she published a Kindle version of a book she wrote on Amazon.com, Writings From The Driver's Side.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Carey wants to start chronicling homeless life on video. I was bringing her cameras, but they were stolen at my first stop when my car was broken into. I am all about empowering homeless people so that did not stop me. I just took Carey to Best Buy and let her pick out a camera that would fit her needs.</i><br />
<i>[...]</i><br />
<i>If you live in the Pacific Northwest and can help please contact me or Carey directly. Let's get this family the support they need. Let's get this family into housing.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-horvath/homeless-single-mom-daughters_b_889503.html">The rest + video is here....</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-73563018997140606592011-06-03T12:50:00.000-07:002011-06-04T10:13:10.633-07:005 bucks shower & need for (hale - cross that out) HAY bales<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89XNytbL5U1SFtXbg_-qWQoRP0urVtQr04B8hoccAVbdfJcIcwZQG-CFUn-j1gOUs2E4Uz13SSMTif86JbCCm2yBNhzokWjUSP2B14FYMDsRtMJFv3Js54yenBbAv62R4txrqxegGsgZb/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89XNytbL5U1SFtXbg_-qWQoRP0urVtQr04B8hoccAVbdfJcIcwZQG-CFUn-j1gOUs2E4Uz13SSMTif86JbCCm2yBNhzokWjUSP2B14FYMDsRtMJFv3Js54yenBbAv62R4txrqxegGsgZb/s320/IMG_0009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/2/11 • Guard gate at Nickelsville</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>P.S. 5/4 - Lynnda just pointed out that Jeremy asked for HAY bales, not hale bales - thank you my friend! (I do keep making words up - why is the world not catching up to them, dammit)....</i></span><br />
<br />
Tracy was waiting by the gate when Lynnda and I arrived at Nickelsville; she left a message earlier that morning, and I called back, thinking that perhaps she wanted to alert us to some specific needs we might fulfill, but no, Tracy doesn't have a computer (she wishes she had), didn't know we were coming and generally just called to see how I am - what a timing! 'I'm several shades darker than last time you saw me' - she laughed, responding to my noticing how suntanned her face is; she must tan very easily, as we had total of 1.5 days of sun since Nickelsville moved to Marginal Way.<br />
<br />
Tracy gave us a camp tour while other residents were emptying Lynnda's car from firewood and lawn chairs she packed for them, and oh, the cookies she bake, too - Jeremy intercepted them with a fast smile, saying he will hide them till proper dinner time, when most people are in the camp - I didn't even see what kind of cookies Lynnda baked:)... <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yZmO3pQ_TSPbgCFuqUbK4ku0zF6zCYFqQp3N6ybfsULzix2_1ayg2RmY002QQnw9PQ-4IrN7yi34gizHYMku2WyPu6-F4zycFieDKHtAh-43hHP2W0RroRWCxUf-FEhD7rXUlpwjYb13/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yZmO3pQ_TSPbgCFuqUbK4ku0zF6zCYFqQp3N6ybfsULzix2_1ayg2RmY002QQnw9PQ-4IrN7yi34gizHYMku2WyPu6-F4zycFieDKHtAh-43hHP2W0RroRWCxUf-FEhD7rXUlpwjYb13/s320/IMG_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/2/11 • Nickelsville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We walked past sheltered from rain and sun social area of tables and chairs, along rows of tents and toward the end of the encampment, where the first solid wooden structure was being completed behind the orange warning fence. The pic here shows men working on it, although it was finished by that very evening (go to Nickelsville's FB page to see it); Jeremy was rushing there to help, too, even though he and Andrea are planning to move to their own place August 1st (Andrea's daily school commute is now 1.5 hrs to reach her veterinary school in North Seattle) - there was a sense of pride, excitement and solidarity in the voices of all who talked to us about this project: homes they are building together for themselves, more solid than tents and mainly using recycled materials, true eco-village. They have architectural and material support from friends of Nickelsville and need some more - again check<a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543"> Nickelsville FB</a> page, hopefully somebody posts a list of needed materials and maybe you even have it in your garage. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WUphlWNm0K3umNHxqVUNdLTAN1tyCmFhSOvk9YLvtrGJpZ4ILYObJqOouVBkInxszG7a29pXXFlx6jqbJvPPyUqK7orz_1c9b_5lGoAIOF0Qxl5eMi60ee-3EM65S-p07zzxCTifPiEf/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WUphlWNm0K3umNHxqVUNdLTAN1tyCmFhSOvk9YLvtrGJpZ4ILYObJqOouVBkInxszG7a29pXXFlx6jqbJvPPyUqK7orz_1c9b_5lGoAIOF0Qxl5eMi60ee-3EM65S-p07zzxCTifPiEf/s320/IMG_0002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/2/11 • Work on the first wooden home-structure</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Tracy sounded quite happy and settled about being in the tent again and pointed out that although the old fire station provided them with kitchen and roof, it was definitely crowded and people were more cramped than they are now. Presently camp has about 120 residents, which is 20 above the fire station capacity - and there is space for more; she also mentioned the benefits of the fresh air. Asked about daily life details, Tracy said there are 2 food stores in a short bus ride distance - it would be walkable distance, but it's up the steep hill to White Center, so the bus ride is definitely preferable; they had some food shortages at the beginning and went through the most of the canned soup pantry collection, but now are reconnecting with services + a few local churches also started to help. I promised Tracy to find a phone contact number for the agency which used to drop wrap-sandwiches to their old place - need to ask Lynnda about the name of the agency...<br />
<br />
How about laundry and showers? That is somewhat inconvenient, informed us Tracy - the closest facility is downtown service center with free showers and laundry, but a bus ride there costs $5 round trip - $10 if she and her husband Mike go together.... We run into Julie, who seems fine and was about to go out for the 5 bucks shower with 2 friends - she, too, said that is one of the inconveniences of being not close to city services; she mentioned that she obtained a voucher for a bus ride, so it'll be free for her, but just the idea of having to figure out where to get voucher for the bus, then ride it with backpack full of change clothes in order to complete such a simple task as shower, gave me a pause.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxQFny_a3BexbJErhofTe9WXZ1ilAHDBhUr_ByR1c1-ezIRAWYlujoSLRQbp2CnVIArdm81BpStsdBzpTJM95j26O-l_eXRy7WDRfObJLk9oSqAlI70q9Sqmm6_kT8OCBuNNPn22Dkc2i/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxQFny_a3BexbJErhofTe9WXZ1ilAHDBhUr_ByR1c1-ezIRAWYlujoSLRQbp2CnVIArdm81BpStsdBzpTJM95j26O-l_eXRy7WDRfObJLk9oSqAlI70q9Sqmm6_kT8OCBuNNPn22Dkc2i/s320/IMG_0011.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/2/11 • Richard and puppy Bear</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We were about to leave and I still didn't see Richard, so Tracy pointed out to his tent and I went to harass him - I called his name and told him mine when he responded with 'yes?' He came out for a brief chat and played with baby dog Bear (now much bigger than puppy we saw back in the fire station).<br />
<br />
Our visit happened to be in a dry moment of this rainy Seattle spring, but the puddles around the camp were not quite dry and Tracy cautioned us repeatedly to avoid them. Dealing with mud must be one of the daily irksome tasks of life in Nickelsville, because Jeremy was speculating on how much time it'll take for it to dry completely - a month? two? - and before we left he asked to post this message on the blog: '<b>WE NEED <s>HALE</s> HAY BALES, PLEASE</b>'. So if you have them - share with Nickelsville, so their pathways are dry and safe to walk on.<br />
<br />
• The soup, for those wishing for a recipe: Lebanese tomato soup with rice and black-eyed peas; originally it was a simple black-eyed pea stew in tomato sauce, very garlicky and served over rice that my friend's Lebanese mother fed us on her visit to Seattle. Here I just combined it into one pot meal: soak the peas overnight then cook till soft (about 1 hr+), add rice and more water, cook additional 20 minutes till rice is cooked, add canned tomato or tomato paste, season (salt, pepper, lots of fresh garlic + I added chipotle chili peppers for a kick, but not necessary), and you are done. Nickelsville version had onions, celery and carrots added for extra nutrition somewhere around with rice, as well as loads of fresh parsley and cilantro on the end, but none of that was in the original Lebanese recipe - you have to figure out your own proportions, we cooked for about 50-60 people.<br />
<br />
• I'll finish this long post with a link to very interesting article form MSN.money, the last place I'd look for such story, but here it is:<br />
<br />
<b>'I didn't think I'd stay homeless for that long ...'</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">By <i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Rick Newman</i>, </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.usnews.com/money" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;" title="http://www.usnews.com/money"><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">U.S. News & World Report</b></a></span><br />
<br />
<i>A few months after losing her administrative job in the summer of 2008, 23-year-old Brianna Karp got rid of her furniture, a beloved piano, and most of her books so she could move back in with her parents. When that didn't work out, she moved into an old trailer a relative had left her, settling into an informal homeless community in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Brea, Calif. By the summer of 2009, she was living without electricity, regular showers, home-cooked food, and most basic conveniences.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Karp held tight to her laptop, however, and began writing a blog about her experiences. That generated attention that helped her land a part-time magazine internship, and eventually ink a book deal. Although her book, "The Girl's Guide to Homelessness," was recently published, Karp still lives in a dilapidated shed that the state of California considers not fit for human habitation. I spoke with her recently about her experiences.[...]</i><br />
<a href="http://money.msn.com/family-money/latest.aspx?post=8e6b71c6-8ab8-43be-a1ec-abd5de3a8feb&GT1=33038&ocid=xnetr3-1">The rest of the article here...</a><br />
<br />
Note, that Briana has a blog <a href="http://girlsguidetohomelessness.com/">'The Girl's Guide to Homelessness'</a>, and a recently published book based on her blog, she also has a job and still is semi-homeless (she cannot afford an apartment) - very instructive and well told story which will resonate with struggles of many people trying to survive in the present economy of no jobs or low paying jobs and scarce affordable housing. This is what she said when asked:<br />
<br />
[...] <b>What do you feel people should know about the homeless? </b><br />
<i>There's a stereotype that they're lazy, dirty, mentally ill, or there because they want to be. It's a hard life. You can't be lazy and be homeless. You have to do so much just to survive, to get by from day to day. You don't always have transportation, money, or food. You have to worry about where it comes from. Yet get tired easily, and depressed more easily. It's not like you say, I don't feel like working any more so I'm going to go sleep on a park bench. [...]</i>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-76408655115057699432011-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:002011-06-01T23:33:17.643-07:00Thursday is comingI read Ibu's post on FB a few days ago about people being hungry.... It made me sad; I don't know what exactly is happening, but imagine that being far from stores and food-banks does not help. Having to truck water, no electricity, no kitchen. And all that energy spent to adapt to the new environment. Must not be easy.<br />
<br />
Last issue of 'Real Change News' had a short article about former Nickelsville's home, Fire Station 39:<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">With Nickelsville gone, old Fire Station 39 up for grabs</span></b></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">by: Cydney Gillis , Staff Reporter</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Now that residents of Nickelsville have moved out of the old Fire Station 39, two groups are competing for control of the 1949 building.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced that he and council would work to turn the firehouse into a shelter, but the question is, who will run it?</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/5579/">The rest is here....</a></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></i><br />
Anyway, this coming Thursday Lynnda and I will go to Nickelsville; will bring some cookies and soup; Lynnda also found more firewood.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/solar-cookers-save-lives-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/solar-cookers-save-lives-3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>P.S. Perhaps I should take my super-simple solar cooker to Nickelsville and see if anybody is interested - that is if we have any sun in Seattle anytime soon... I cooked quite a few soups and stews in it - it's wonderful, because it requires no energy but solar to use it - you just put the soup stuff in it, turn it towards the sun, go do something else, and 4-6 hours later the soup is ready, no sweat, no worry. Mine looks like the picture here - just a cardboard with reflective aluminum foil.alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-78384624425617860682011-05-25T09:54:00.000-07:002011-05-25T09:54:12.846-07:00Visit to the new location, 5/24/11<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxI1kKYSQI_4Q9HZFvjc_M7YQSNXYBvw2Yh15k95iICt00iP8889w95rQ0NdqjI1KZkIx6SmJjBXb1EsSov_a6C9lNlJaqg_wgWRsfeqEjM2mvmn0GeeZaqxtVNiSGx4HIIX7UguFcNWL/s1600/Food+Tent.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610683461878502978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxI1kKYSQI_4Q9HZFvjc_M7YQSNXYBvw2Yh15k95iICt00iP8889w95rQ0NdqjI1KZkIx6SmJjBXb1EsSov_a6C9lNlJaqg_wgWRsfeqEjM2mvmn0GeeZaqxtVNiSGx4HIIX7UguFcNWL/s320/Food+Tent.JPG" style="float: left; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville 5/24/11 • Food tent <br />
(limited amount of food available to residents);</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
by Lynnda<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVj7jEyOxKDQkFw39GnHoFQ0tsC0cNMxMfMoUgaaLpH1ot1WcIRo2gmb0ebmTuj6YZGnT5vjXC9lul5uFasJYDA5X5mTf1tN4wSuAfBzgLR4umVf_DY6pNRgFhQRVTLy3awUUlcJTG3YT/s1600/Cooking+area.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610684085623720850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVj7jEyOxKDQkFw39GnHoFQ0tsC0cNMxMfMoUgaaLpH1ot1WcIRo2gmb0ebmTuj6YZGnT5vjXC9lul5uFasJYDA5X5mTf1tN4wSuAfBzgLR4umVf_DY6pNRgFhQRVTLy3awUUlcJTG3YT/s200/Cooking+area.JPG" style="float: right; height: 150px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville 5/24/11• Cooking area <br />
with 2 propane grills and one charcoal grill</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Yesterday, I was in South Seattle and decided to visit the relocated Nickelsville. I have been making soup with Aleks on Thursdays, and last week was the first week I wasn't cooking in the Lake City Fires Station. I missed visiting with my friends. So, I was glad to have the opportunity to drop in and bring a batch of freshly baked cookies and a carload of firewood. <br />
<br />
Jarvis gave me a tour of the camp as others unloaded the firewood. The outdoor cooking area has two propane powered grills and a few smaller ones. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uP-WfA1-2nN3Gm1UtOQRlpQDfhR1RotPj9mkcjeWVMILvEgX9EL9X1vVUOKv16pCSl-9U6krUHVybIETZ4inWxlB4K-KauDBy1dx95PT1kw1CAOqxFQBOQjtwHv7CFEUPCgBG8bPNUGR/s1600/Water+supply.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610684988825287490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uP-WfA1-2nN3Gm1UtOQRlpQDfhR1RotPj9mkcjeWVMILvEgX9EL9X1vVUOKv16pCSl-9U6krUHVybIETZ4inWxlB4K-KauDBy1dx95PT1kw1CAOqxFQBOQjtwHv7CFEUPCgBG8bPNUGR/s400/Water+supply.JPG" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville 5/24/11 • water station (water brought in from off site <br />
since there is no city water at Nickelsville)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBFGstqB8_h8u0mnMLRe1tOmDU7poTDLjX_DgtsjHiB88AkbLeNdcvshXlXGEZYml6gPnQqdWBTiEv6xBpNV4p4Fzn-hmYAZbSZFEK9Hdml0fR6KSDIosvEpMwGL_6vmNSN0jnkzQfsAb/s1600/Main+Social+Area.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610686185390911954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBFGstqB8_h8u0mnMLRe1tOmDU7poTDLjX_DgtsjHiB88AkbLeNdcvshXlXGEZYml6gPnQqdWBTiEv6xBpNV4p4Fzn-hmYAZbSZFEK9Hdml0fR6KSDIosvEpMwGL_6vmNSN0jnkzQfsAb/s400/Main+Social+Area.JPG" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nickelsville 5/24/11 • social area and meeting location.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Water is brought in from off site and is available at the entrance to Nickelsville. They use wheelbarrows to transport heavy objects lile the firewood. There is a community gathering place with lawn chairs around a firepit. It was sunny when I visited and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.Lynndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12697125066571056601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-35050502792105109532011-05-22T22:35:00.000-07:002011-05-31T22:45:42.540-07:00The kitchen is closed.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alpineextreme.co/product_images/j/815/Eureka-Timberline-Outfitter-6-Tent-2__33776_tiny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alpineextreme.co/product_images/j/815/Eureka-Timberline-Outfitter-6-Tent-2__33776_tiny.jpg" /></a></div>It's a bit over a week since Nickelsville moved from my neighborhood - I miss the people and hope everybody is dry, warm and has a full belly, too. Present location of Nickelsville precludes my routine involvement, so now I'm only able to follow on Facebook or through emails, unless I'm as lucky as Lynnda who run into Jarvis on the bus the other day!<br />
<br />
So no more direct reports, unless I visit, which I occasionally plan to do - there is no way to actually know how people are, without actually seeing them in their environment. I know Lynnda is planning a visit shortly; she will be in Nickelsville's new neighborhood for something else and plans to drop off some firewood she has and never uses, but they are short of - have you seen that pic Pamela Kliment posted on FB where cardboard is burned with a caption 'needing wood'?<br />
<br />
Again: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543">Nickelsville's Facebook page, click here</a>.<br />
<br />
I will try to keep the pages of this blog alive by posting local stories about Nickelsville or issues of homelessness, as i find them. <br />
<br />
Here is one very nice, from 'West Seattle Blog', although I loathe the premise of the article - that there is a separate category of people who are homeless, and the authors found one who is, surprise, surprise, just like the rest of us. The truth is the people in tent cities are one of us, and we are one of them; there is no separation. <br />
<br />
I'll assume that the authors knew the normal bias mainstream media has when it comes to the homeless people in our culture (quite sick culture of revering the rich no matter how they gained their goods, and blaming the poor people for their misfortune) and decided to work from that angle against the bias; but I'd much prefer if they quit looking for 'special' homeless people and realized our common humanity. With that small complaint, enjoy the article (most comments are refreshingly sane in support of Nickelsville, at least when I looked at them some 12 hours ago):<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">So you think you know who’s at Nickelsville? Read Mike’s story</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">May 20, 2011 at 10:22 am | In West Seattle news, West Seattle people | 67 Comments</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(EDITOR’S NOTE: Shortly after the encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” returned to West Seattle a week ago, two longtime WSB Forums members e-mailed with news that another longtime member and WSB site participant, whose many comments have provided humor and history, Mike aka “miws,” was among its newest residents; they helped him get set up there after he was evicted from his Morgan Junction apartment. We have met Mike several times over the past few years; we knew he was struggling, but didn’t know he had become homeless. We were glad to hear they wanted to tell his story, provided he gave his permission, which he did.)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Story by Joanne Brayden</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Photos by Kevin McClintic</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Special to West Seattle Blog</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">On Monday, Mike, who posts on the West Seattle Blog Forums as miws, became a resident of Nickelsville, the tent-city encampment that recently made news as it moved out of a city-provided shelter at old Fire Station #39 and back to an empty field in the industrial area along the Duwamish River at the eastern base of West Seattle, without the city’s blessing.</span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">By Wednesday, Mike had already worked one shift as Security and voted in camp meetings that will determine the future of his new home. He hasn’t just settled in, he has become part of the community, and can’t stop telling everyone how lucky he was that Nickelsville moved back to West Seattle so there was space for him when he needed them.</span><br />
<a href="http://westseattleblog.com/2011/05/think-you-know-whos-at-nickelsville-read-mikes-story">The rest is here...</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-70991427240621352102011-05-15T18:55:00.000-07:002011-05-16T08:42:32.743-07:00Saturday visit to ex- Nickelsville.I stopped by the fire station in the evening on a hunch that somebody might still be there: maybe cleaning, maybe guarding, or maybe packing whatever was left. 2 or 3 people were on the guard duty and 6 or 9 people (coming and going, hard to count), I'm not sure why still there: looking for a way to get to the new Nickelsville location? Cleaning stuff? Packing? I really don't know - but we were all very happy to see each other - like an extra bonus time given after our paths were destined to part. One of the hugs nearly broke my ribs - given in such an earnest joy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://honeyislandelementary.stpsb.org/images/fish_philosophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://honeyislandelementary.stpsb.org/images/fish_philosophy.jpg" /></a></div>Oh, and we saved the fish: 'I lived in this pet room for six months - with cats, dogs and fish. People took their pets with them to the new Nickelsville location, but that one fish was somehow left behind, I don't know why. I just put it in a small aquarium and want to save its life. Soup Lady, could you please take it and keep it?'. Oh, sure, I said - the young man's empathy for the fish was contagious and who wants to be on the record as a fish-executioner?<br />
<br />
'Look here, it comes with this big nice aquarium, and great stuff to put it in for the fish to play with - (looked like a fish-playground and a tree-park) and there is the fish food to go with, too'. He was now emptying the big aquarium from water and working fast on assembling the whole thing for me to take, breathlessly advertising how personable the fish is + its biological name (which I promptly forgot by now); all the while my mind was in over-drive trying to figure out who should inherit the fish - I know nothing about the fish-keeping, and at this point mainly worried that I'd off the fish accidentally (by not feeding, not playing) while looking for a home for it.<br />
<br />
Then I met Rob - he was there volunteering to help with the move, and presently was in the parking lot packing two residents' belonging into the trunk of his car - he was about to give them a ride to the new location. Fortunately Rob has 2 children and he thought his boy and girl would enjoy taking care of the fish. THE FISH HAS A HOME - hallelujah! Thank you Rob, and whoever left the fish behind feel better, too.<br />
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How about dinner at the fire station? 'Well, could you make a soup out of fake eggs and old bread?' - somebody asked jokingly. That was all we found in the kitchen, so I went to Fred Meyer nearby and brought back some sandwiches, roasted chicken and potato salad. It went fast - the people were hungry, probably no food since Nickelsville moved 24+ hours ago..<br />
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Later in the evening I looked at Nickelsville's Facebook page and found pictures and videos from the new location - was very happy to see familiar faces in the pics, making themselves home and pitching the tents . Less happy about the all night rain, followed by nearly all day rain today and cool temps... Hope everybody is warm and dry. <br />
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TJ posted on the FB about trying to get to Nickelsville on the bus + this poem - a very sweet one:<br />
<br />
<i>10 years have past since ive been back</i><br />
<i>to the seattle streets i call home</i><br />
<i>I,ve missed the well known faces</i><br />
<i>and wondering around by road</i><br />
<br />
___________<br />
<br />
And here a story about Nickelsville from yesterday's KOMOnews:<br />
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<br />
SEATTLE - The homeless camp known as Nickelsville is back where it began.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.komonews.com/images/110514_nickelsville_moves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://media.komonews.com/images/110514_nickelsville_moves.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Tents now sit in the same South Seattle lot where the camp first popped up in 2008, when Greg Nickels was still mayor of Seattle. The city forced everyone out in 2009 - sending them all over town to find new locations every three months.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">While Seattle is in the process of finding the camp a permanent location, residents say this is their choice.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"It's a good middle ground - a lot of green, a lot of room for people to come in anytime they need to, good bus routes, only a few neighbors who might have a problem with us - and who we hope to negotiate with them in good faith," says Nickelsville resident Nate Martin.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/121834234.html">The rest here....</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-64997373004365359532011-05-14T08:44:00.000-07:002011-05-14T12:18:21.253-07:00Nickelsville has moved. 2 days ahead of schedule.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WxobD_inNqiFgRPuUN0NkvGo1_OMuNYvMbDn_Q8eumNMPRJmafzdK6tvF7srpl9-Ly6Gj-7aNor9vJVafG-iDNQ5QMB3PrJm20m6EI-425f6i3qWQcIylxvCVQGAp-3LT3jOprVId7pd/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WxobD_inNqiFgRPuUN0NkvGo1_OMuNYvMbDn_Q8eumNMPRJmafzdK6tvF7srpl9-Ly6Gj-7aNor9vJVafG-iDNQ5QMB3PrJm20m6EI-425f6i3qWQcIylxvCVQGAp-3LT3jOprVId7pd/s400/IMG_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thursday 5/12/11 - tents are getting packed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>No wonder the atmosphere in Nickelsville was crazy last Thursday when Lynnda and I went there to cook chicken pesto pasta. 2 huge trucks parked in front of the fire station made my heart skip a beat, so I stopped to take a few pics before entering.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Tracy was so nervous she could hardly speak, Richard was busy taking down the tents in the backyard, the cupboards were empty, people were milling frantically, the pasta was gone, and so were the pots, big kitchen utensils or most of them, anyway... I went out to the truck and asked where the pots are: Jimbo pointed his finger indicating the stuff behind him, tightly packed: 'there'... Anyway to retrieve them? 'Nope. Like half an hour of unpacking'. All of this 3 days before move? I kind of lost it: 'don't you guys need to eat for the next 2.5 days? What about today's dinner? I thought we discussed it last Monday!' - I started to yell at Richard. Lynnda stayed cool and said: stop it, we will cook in the two pots left, whatever we can, and we can get pasta at Fred Meyer; it's crazy enough without you adding to it. True dat - thank you, my friend, and so we did. <br />
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Jarvis and Nate helped us with chopping, and Richard emerged in time from tent packing to deal with garlic - the pesto pasta turned very good, especially that it was fortified with Lynnda's homegrown basil. A few people stopped to shake our hands and said words like: 'well, if nobody officially thanked you yet, than I am' - I though it weird, only now know why: all the talk about Sunday service before moving was just that: a talk, they knew we might not see each other for a while...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvHFcfBT7leQTbHhi6Qv7cTX5FwhrcXb-Dpt7ltX7ouN63whl0e5Pfvwqen4wjDdGCfimu1uqL-GP0UiCgTiNqeqSAQs40jXocXX8rqwHgkHB7x8QxAnQDlnnVGOwjzkqin_8cA9rZ5Ro/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvHFcfBT7leQTbHhi6Qv7cTX5FwhrcXb-Dpt7ltX7ouN63whl0e5Pfvwqen4wjDdGCfimu1uqL-GP0UiCgTiNqeqSAQs40jXocXX8rqwHgkHB7x8QxAnQDlnnVGOwjzkqin_8cA9rZ5Ro/s400/IMG_0002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/12/11 • Bye, bye pasta and pots. Note Nickelsville's portable container garden in forefront - hope it wasn't forgotten!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The same night there was a concert at Nickelsville. Friday, the next day the Black Caravan procession, which I was tempted to join, but got stuck at some other errand. My heart was heavy all day with concern about the people in Nickelsville, so I resolved to stop by on Saturday afternoon with bunch of shopping bags for the last minute packing. This morning, Saturday, I woke up to an announcement email posted by Ibu Oni last night:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">***NICKELSVILLE MOVED TODAY**</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Our new location is our First Location. We have come full circle!!!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">We are at 2nd Ave SW and W MArginal Way SW</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">7116 W Marginal Way SW</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">WHEN PEOPLE CALLED COUNCIL PRESIDENT CONLIN THIS WEEK, HIS AIDES TOLD </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">THEM NICKELSVILLE COULD JUST STAY IN OLD FIREHOUSE #39 FOR A COUPLE </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">MORE MONTHS</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">BUT WE MOVED ANYWAY!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">WHY? LET US COUNT THE REASONS:</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">1) Nickelsville isn't an indoor shelter for 99 people; it's an eco-village for up to 1,000!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">2) Every night at old Firestation #39 we were turning people away - a larger site is needed to save human lives! 8 homeless people have already died outside or by violence this year.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">3) Sleeping in the Bay Station for a Fire Truck, with 20 other people, doesn't afford anyone privacy and everyone deserves that - especially families and couples.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">4) Last May, 2010 we were advised to give the new Mayor a chance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Last August the Mayor's Encampment Panel got started and recommended giving us a permanent site. 7 months ago we were told that the Sunny Jim site would be ready in 5 months. Now Council President Conlin says he'll decide what to do by the fall. We think this fall Council President Conlin will say maybe something will be ready next spring.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON CONLIN</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON NICKELSVILLE</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">5) Nickelsville has pets, couples and kids. They all need privacy and simple sturdy sleeping structures. None of these are possible long term at Firestation #39. That is why we asked Mayor McGinn on February 22, 2011 to let SHARE and WHEEL take over Old Firestation #39 on May 15th, and begin operating it as shelter.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">6) We told Richard Conlin about this but he ignored Nickelsville.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">SHARE/WHEEL told Richard Conlin about this but he ignored SHARE/WHEEL.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Richard Conlin hasn't written us or anyone about working something out. Richard Conlin hasn't written the Mayor and asked him to keep the Old Firehouse open for Nickelsville or anyone.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">7) Richard Conlin's aides will talk the talk about Old Firestation #39 with any tom, dick or harriet, but Richard Conlin hasn't walked the walk to make anything happen.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">8) That's why we've got to make something happen for ourselves. Richard Conlin won't do it for us!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The Black Cat Caravan (has arrived!)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">by Tex Shirey & The Nickelsville Central Committee</span><br />
<div><br />
While checking the Internet <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=7116+W+Marginal+Way+SW+seattle&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x5490419bf34419eb:0x63aba11ec2ced706,7116+W+Marginal+Way+SW,+Seattle,+WA+98106&gl=us&ei=Z5LOTaH8G4q4sAO9vfHCCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ8gEwAA">google maps (click here) for Nickelsville's new location</a> I noticed a blurb in <i>The Stranger's Slog</i>; read it for yourself and don't forget to check the comments - some of our fellow citizens have pretty callous hearts or very weak, prone to propaganda minds; fortunately there are a few sane and sympathetic comments as well - hopefully more will appear as the day goes:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Nickelsville Moves to West Seattle</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">posted by CIENNA MADRID on FRI, MAY 13, 2011 at 3:53 PM</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Nickelsville has moved to 7116 W. Marginal Way SW, two days before their move deadline, according to a press release sent today by the group. Nickelodeons were invited by the city to stay at their old location—Fire Station 39 in Lake City—for a few more months, however, Nickelsville's press release notes that, "Nickelsville isn't an indoor shelter for 99 people; it's an eco-village for up to 1,000!"</span><br />
<a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/05/13/nickelsville-moves-to-west-seattle">http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/05/13/nickelsville-moves-to-west-seattle</a><br />
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DON'T FORGET TO VISIT <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">NICKELSVILLE'S FACEBOOK PAGE</span></a> - that's where the whole communication action is!</div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-16130257679001308042011-05-11T11:53:00.000-07:002011-05-13T22:32:46.572-07:00The first goodbyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING 5/15 & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.missouriinjurylawblog.com/Greyhound_bus_usa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.missouriinjurylawblog.com/Greyhound_bus_usa.jpg" /></a></div>Joanna was in the parking lot when I was unpacking my car last Monday and she came up to chat about her big news: the family is moving back to California. 'We gave it 6 months here. It didn't work. It's hard to survive, and I'm never going to leave California again, as long as I live'. They are going back this Thursday on the Greyhound bus, Andy already has his $280 ticket, and Joanna will get hers and LeeAnn's on Wednesday, when she receives the last payment form Jack in the Box, where she works. The paycheck will be not enough to cover the tickets, but a charitable organization (Joanna wasn't sure about its name: 'Mother's hand'?) is paying the difference. What is LeeAnn's reaction? "She is too little, she doesn't understand, but she is happy to hear that she will see Nana again. There is much to be said for family support; here we have no family to help us'. Joanna and her family will be staying with her mother or possibly sister once back in California. Good luck to the 3 of you and sorry Seattle didn't work for you - happy travels home!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kizilderili.net/Resimler/Haberler/konyaflut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.kizilderili.net/Resimler/Haberler/konyaflut.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>T.J. was just leaving Nickelsville and also stopped to chat: 'I'm only visiting here now, found my long last love and staying with him now, in a place near Gasworks park'. She, too, won't be moving when Nickelsville moves, but she will come visit her friends. In her hands she had carefully wrapped in a tribal blanket a native american flute, that once belonged to her Klinkit father: 'He performed healing ceremonies with it for 20 years'. Can you play it? 'Oh, yah'. Too bad I didn't know that - love Native American flute playing, but T.J. was saying goodbye now.<br />
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Once in the kitchen I found Jarvis cooking on 2 burners already, and he will need the 3rd one for the rice: long promised traditional red beans and rice and if he doesn't cook it now... Who knows when there will be a kitchen available anytime soon. He was making a meat version and a vegetarian version - any of the stuff meant for peanut soup would be of use for you? 'Naw, cabbage, zucchini, cilantro or tomato cans don't really fit this traditional southern recipe, I already had and used onions, unless you have the green ones'. Nope. 'Oh. Any peppers?". Now pray to me - I have 5 of them! Jarvis bows and waves his hands up and down: 'You are my Kitchen Goddess, now hand over the peppers!' After a bit of horse-playing he swiftly and expertly chops them into little bits and throws them into the pot. Tracy said she will find use for the other veggies: 'maybe I'll cook a cabbage stew'.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kchomes.com/images/boxMovingDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kchomes.com/images/boxMovingDay.jpg" /></a></div>With no soup to cook I briefly visit with Julie - she will be moving with Nickelsville - 'I have no other choice'... Then join Tracy, Richard and Terry at the table; Mike, LeRoy, Jeremy (holding his aching head) and other folks coming in and out. Richard says not everyone will be moving along with Nickelsville: 'some people find it too nerve-racking and/or afraid to be distressed or arrested'. Tracy is speaking about the upcoming week of cleaning and packing - 'everything in refrigerators has to go, so we can clean them'; Terry mentions trucks showing up on Wednesday or Thursday to haul away not needed stuff. The atmosphere is palpable with anxiety: Richard tells me to better check with Scott regarding Thursday chicken pesto pasta: 'who knows if the stoves will be there, or electricity and so much is happening now'. (Later checked with Scott: 'stove and electricity will be there, pasta much appreciated, although advisable before 5:15 pm, as at 6:30 Jim Page and Joe Martin will be giving a music performance, complete with a meal of chili dogs - the only meal planned so far; BTW, you are invited to the performance'). <br />
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About that chili last Thursday: so how much longer did you cook it after Lynnda and I left? 'Well, about 3 hours, but then it was soft and good', said Mike. 'And cookies! I found cookies in the office, everybody forgot about them, so I brought them in and we had them after chili', added Tracy.<br />
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Nickelsville has a facebook page now, please visit:<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543">http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208520775849543</a><br />
___________________<br />
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While looking for some articles about homelessness to add to this post I came across a promising 2/8/11 snippet about 'Nickelsville model coming to Hawaii?', so I clicked it, and what a load of crap I found there! Was wondering if it's any good to link to this obvious propaganda, but was so taken aback by soulless and loathsome attitude of the writer, that thought exposing how some people frame other people's misfortunes could be quite educating... The author speaks about the 'homelessness industry' - as if he honestly believed there is a manufacturing plant somewhere, cranking up the homeless people solely to annoy the rest of the population and embarrass the politicians. Yeah, right. And, oh horror, the homeless are self-organizing in Seattle, instead of waiting for some private corps to run them. Here is a fragment of this despicable piece, full of arguments no doubt known to people who has been active in fighting homelessness, but eye-opening to the rest of us:<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Seattle’s tent cities are organizing bases for self-appointed activists who use the homeless to extract money and other benefits from various government agencies. The residents consist predominantly of methamphetamines addicts. They have also become a factional tool in Seattle politics used on behalf of Seattle politicians who give the organizers money and against those politicians who don’t. The camps are moved from one district to another to embarrass and extort politicians. </span></i><br />
<a href="http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2505/Homeless-tent-cities-Seattlersquos-decadelong-nightmare-coming-to-Honolulu.aspx">http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2505/Homeless-tent-cities-Seattlersquos-decadelong-nightmare-coming-to-Honolulu.aspx</a><br />
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On positive note and to balance the crap above I also found an article in 2/2/11 Seattle Post Globe, truly informing about issues of being homeless; enjoy:<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">David Bloom, one of the early organizers of the Center, says the trend Cole forecasted has continued unabated and is anything but encouraging. “Since 1980 in Seattle, the growth in numbers of homeless people has continued to outstrip our capacity – some would say our willingness – to provide shelter for those who need it,” Bloom said.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">“Despite many caring and creative efforts to develop more shelter and more affordable housing, we’ve witness growing numbers of people who are homeless on any given night,” he explained. “That number is now approaching 10,000, while it was less than 1,000 at the time of the first One Night Count – a tenfold increase.”</span></i><br />
<div><a href="http://seattlepostglobe.org/2011/02/03/seattle-homelessness-a-long-standing-problem-with-no-easy-solution-in-sight">http://seattlepostglobe.org/2011/02/03/seattle-homelessness-a-long-standing-problem-with-no-easy-solution-in-sight</a></div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-80708239360010967882011-05-09T11:40:00.000-07:002011-05-11T09:55:48.843-07:00Thursday: Chili and Andrea's well passed exam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mccormick.com/~/media/Images/Recipes/Recipe%20Details/Main%20Dish/Touchdown_Chili.ashx?w=380" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.mccormick.com/~/media/Images/Recipes/Recipe%20Details/Main%20Dish/Touchdown_Chili.ashx?w=380" width="200" /></a>• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING 5/15 & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div></div></div></div><br />
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Tracy pre-soaked 5 lbs of mixed kinds of beans a night before, and Lynnda pre-cooked ground beef. I got to Nickelsville an hour earlier than usual to meet with Glen, who is kindly helping me create a facebook page for one of my blogs - that was good for the beans, as they started to cook before Lynnda got there, but not good enough after all: later, after total of 2.5+ hours of bean cooking and what we presented as finished chili, Mike pronounced them as undercooked still - and so we left it on a small flame to hopefully finish after Lynnda and I left. Perhaps today I'll find out if it was ever soft and done.<br />
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Small cooking note: Lynnda and I differ on chili cooking methodology - she believes and has experience of no harm in putting beans and tomatoes together for cooking, while I believe (and have a sad experience of it) that acid in tomatoes may stop some beans from ever cooking soft, therefore tomatoes should be added after the beans are completely soft. Well, they WERE soft enough for me (I like beans in my chili still intact) when we added tomatoes after more than 1.5 hrs of cooking time, but apparently general taste for beans in chili is way softer than mine, so we may find out the about the tomato/bean theories... I should remember to ask today.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZobHrAAKRvomBisI-KQJTKzE4v3F1D_qlvw8SfjMTdRfQ3eGsj7v-K9-1LY2yl2JXA2i27DU0-tjUPwU3I9lP4BPRwdHJ5OWiwE09UkDMvLW_Sqg3ZGQ2JXpyT-_CmY57HhIXkllpDI5/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZobHrAAKRvomBisI-KQJTKzE4v3F1D_qlvw8SfjMTdRfQ3eGsj7v-K9-1LY2yl2JXA2i27DU0-tjUPwU3I9lP4BPRwdHJ5OWiwE09UkDMvLW_Sqg3ZGQ2JXpyT-_CmY57HhIXkllpDI5/s400/IMG_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see Garrett and Richard are the real chefs; Mike (in the middle) is just sitting, and like a good overlord doing nothing but smiling:)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When Glen and I went to the nearby library (Nickelsville internet connection is too weak) to tackle the facebook issue, Garrett and Richard set out to chop the mountain of onions, green peppers, also garlic and cilantro and open cans of tomatoes.. By the time we were back the bowls of chopped veggies were almost ready and Lynnda appeared with Thursday usual: a mother/daughter production of many cookies - THANK YOU LYNNDA AND BROOKE! As usual the cookies traveled to the office, so nobody mistakes them as appetizer.<br />
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Lynnda also brought 2 big bags of tortilla chips which we planned as chili companion, but as the beans took seemingly forever to cook, the chips started to disappear while guacamole dip and salsa miraculously appeared as a companion to them:)... Having nothing to do but season and watch the beans slowly simmer, Lynnda and I cooked 2 lbs of rice to go with chili instead. Before we left Nickelsville - the darned beans still cooking and not soft enough - Lynnda set out in the bowl another chili companion she brought: shredded cheese. Wonder if the cheese lasted - I can easily imagine that someone creatively made nachos from remaining chips and cheese while waiting for the beans in chili to get soft (at this point I can only hope that Lynnda's bean/tomato theory was right, and mine was wrong).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.touchnote.com/files/assets/TAYL006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.touchnote.com/files/assets/TAYL006.jpg" width="142" /></a></div><b>Andrea got 90% on her exams!</b> While we were cooking, a migraine stricken Jeremy (he ended up at ER the night before, but only slightly better now) kept coming to the kitchen to anxiously watch through the window for his wife Andrea: she had one of the final exams that day in the vet school she is attending, and Jeremy was hoping to see her coming off the bus home and to find out how she did. When she finally appeared the whole kitchen was pregnant with expectations and we were all delighted to hear that she aced the exam. BRAVO ANDREA AND CONGRATULATIONS!alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-69553732428545461262011-05-02T13:58:00.000-07:002011-05-07T12:15:12.739-07:00Butoh dance in Nickelsville<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
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<i><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING 5/15 & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>Thank you Sheri, Mary, Will, Joan, Doug and Helen + David and Herbert (music and lights) </b></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>for sharing your talents and giving us a night of wondrous art of butoh dancing!</b></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click on pics to see larger version)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KCRDbBrHkb-ffow6EOsrz0hGDiy6FgIwsFGT-GEZuECuQhXQ_FxVxUPWCScMFhtKMDevwO0AKs8K7kyhyphenhyphenmoFu2Z0sPyZi_NWRKtze7cqSka9jTulqs0dXxD0fPRM5OkHnO3fcQtw_gWu/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KCRDbBrHkb-ffow6EOsrz0hGDiy6FgIwsFGT-GEZuECuQhXQ_FxVxUPWCScMFhtKMDevwO0AKs8K7kyhyphenhyphenmoFu2Z0sPyZi_NWRKtze7cqSka9jTulqs0dXxD0fPRM5OkHnO3fcQtw_gWu/s400/IMG_0003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Last Saturday the dancers came about an hour before the performance to set up music, lights and prepare the stage: they put yellow tape on the floor, creating 6 lines, then they disappeared to change and get ready. 5 minutes before the performance Julie read and introductory note about butoh and then the music started. Each of us probably saw what our senses prepared us to see but here is my short description (not a dance-trained eye)...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B2UPvpNNMiFj2npN-B8x0yDJhzT2lHjVkcGPQgSk4sxFzr9kyLPNmZkzwfVFNxchDxeJcmtwl7qNXsC8dwTlyjYiK73ee8VOXoP0lZj9fYzuE8U94VssBaD8Jny2HRsTysP2J9jJjvlh/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B2UPvpNNMiFj2npN-B8x0yDJhzT2lHjVkcGPQgSk4sxFzr9kyLPNmZkzwfVFNxchDxeJcmtwl7qNXsC8dwTlyjYiK73ee8VOXoP0lZj9fYzuE8U94VssBaD8Jny2HRsTysP2J9jJjvlh/s400/IMG_0037.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The artists appeared on the side and proceeded in a mannequin-like state to dance their way each into separate line, every performer in a sort of non-descriptive trench coat and each carrying a suitcase. What followed was a fusion of modern dance and theater influenced by the Japanese culture: 6 stories and 6 lives told sometimes waltzing happily, sometimes whirling half-crazily, sometimes hopping in bewilderment, sometimes stooped in pain, and sometimes contorted or curled in a fetal position. Sometimes twisting, leaping or treading solo, and sometimes getting involved into dance of lives intermingling - looking casual here, accidental or purposeful there. We found out the things the dancers carried in their suitcases, as each of them opened his or her and used the content to create another persona, perhaps from a different stage of life: green tutu-like skirt, white caftan, makings of an eastern warrior, red high heels, dramatic kimono, an umbrella. The suitcases also carried the gifts for each other between their shared lives and even presents for the audience - we enjoyed being suddenly pelted with candies....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiasiwVV-Ug3D_IdgOXUDqdCMxdMs-1-5ytddNSpF-RwvTvZ0N6aqlsBbXTw-sKywgNYAq7g0GqbfzT4HoRMMfnAqjrPFkSaY9BvivQLsP6Zk9Z3GC7fWDz4LQejuMaBN1ble3ml_IM2c/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiasiwVV-Ug3D_IdgOXUDqdCMxdMs-1-5ytddNSpF-RwvTvZ0N6aqlsBbXTw-sKywgNYAq7g0GqbfzT4HoRMMfnAqjrPFkSaY9BvivQLsP6Zk9Z3GC7fWDz4LQejuMaBN1ble3ml_IM2c/s400/IMG_0043.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
After the performance the people of Nickelsville were invited to ask questions, and I learned quite a bit from them, too, as naturally sum of collective knowledge and understanding is greater than individual one. All in all it was a a fantastic, delightful and thought-provoking performance which was very well received by the audience, in particular by 4 y.o. LeeAnn, who not only sat quietly through the entire rather adult-addressed form of theater, but after the end she enthusiastically joined the troupe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjkSdqo3FiklfB69vP_O9Y1X3kMCMzpG-arHyM8haPhDafnoZdqq4neSC1woc5kdLHejNhMqiGS5jG8cbQyv6VcjvT7iL7ioKm1Dj_5q55CfSmqV_8WB-HiuuGT74c7KCj0vXuqmM05XX/s1600/IMG_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjkSdqo3FiklfB69vP_O9Y1X3kMCMzpG-arHyM8haPhDafnoZdqq4neSC1woc5kdLHejNhMqiGS5jG8cbQyv6VcjvT7iL7ioKm1Dj_5q55CfSmqV_8WB-HiuuGT74c7KCj0vXuqmM05XX/s400/IMG_0050.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LeeAnn joins the troupe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sorry that my pics are lousy, I blame it on a camera which doesn't handle darkness well, as I am a perfect photographer:). Not.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHelhQ7qGyA1CYdycuMbOsXjVdnNbgaveTurpZCrFYX3qL-ckxVuVbMl-c7bWPFQAJYoBLsyqjYpeKPBjI3glZ1CL7BS9oQiQs3OoZXjM5qjz3O4301yeAy_tE9TKPQjIWTjSFRfseiYuW/s1600/IMG_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHelhQ7qGyA1CYdycuMbOsXjVdnNbgaveTurpZCrFYX3qL-ckxVuVbMl-c7bWPFQAJYoBLsyqjYpeKPBjI3glZ1CL7BS9oQiQs3OoZXjM5qjz3O4301yeAy_tE9TKPQjIWTjSFRfseiYuW/s400/IMG_0048.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artists and some of the audience</td></tr>
</tbody></table>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-21714013039834323182011-04-29T16:34:00.001-07:002011-05-01T10:22:38.981-07:00Check out music from Glen Still - Spoken Word & Monday usual: peanut soup<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
<a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" /></a>• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING 5/15 & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTMwNDExOTk5NjA5MCZwdD*xMzA*MTIwMDg5ODMzJnA9MjcwODEmZD1wcm9fcGxheWVyX2ZpcnN*X2dlbiZuPWJsb2dnZXIm/Zz*xJm89YzQ2YjA3ZmMzNTc2NDU4ZmFhYjlhNDVjYjM3OWU3ZmUmb2Y9MA==.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="200" width="262"><param name="movie" value="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_271873&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1008&font_color=333333&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=1031265"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="quality" value="best"></param><embed src="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_271873&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1008&font_color=333333&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=1031265" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowNetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" quality="best" width="262" height="200"></embed></object><br />
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<div>• Another song from Glenn Still for your listening and thinking pleasure above. </div><div><br />
</div>• One thing about blogging: noticed that unless the post is made close to the time it describes it's almost impossible to come up with anything but bland platitudes: the fleeting impressions are gone and so are the observations made in that time. Unfortunately, I waited too long to write about last Monday and now my head has something like this to say: came, cooked and left:(.... I know i talked to a few people about how did the Easter egg hunting/barbecue go, but can only report 'fine', as all the details left me, except that it wasn't raining.... <br />
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</div><div>I briefly talked to John of China, his going back home now moving from April to May - last week he missed his wife's birthday and was pretty dispirited about it. Have you called her? 'The day didn't start in China yet, waiting for her to wake up'... Jarvis is out of Nickelsville, and in Tent City3 now. Mike was making sure that we have everything we need for cooking, and Richard went through the veg donation pile to see what could be salvaged. That last task was somewhat depressing, the produce is likely donated the day of or day after 'sell date'; some of the things are half rotten already and if you leave them for another day or two, the entire content of package is one smelly mess. I once volunteered in the food bank doing the same sorting job every week and thinking that in a perfect world it would be the poor people getting wonderfully fresh and nutritious produce that they desperately need, and the rich and healthy would have the job of sorting out the leftovers to see what could go well with their caviar and shrimp. </div><div><br />
</div><div>All I have is pictures of Monday chopping team - by now it is quite easy to find a whole group of people doing this communal task of making gigantic pot of soup. I know I enjoy this time together, when we talk and laugh and chop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9qQOFH9CL9E4Q-lnW93kOuIhxS458od3dLEgK5bTY6jdtMkm3mzQctzbii5v__Z9nJnn6jYel_ZIZekaS8ka6ivbOJUZ1nElsVduk8aMsBMvSgBKTScXUYPkAUP7BHAjjSw7c9sEoJA0/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9qQOFH9CL9E4Q-lnW93kOuIhxS458od3dLEgK5bTY6jdtMkm3mzQctzbii5v__Z9nJnn6jYel_ZIZekaS8ka6ivbOJUZ1nElsVduk8aMsBMvSgBKTScXUYPkAUP7BHAjjSw7c9sEoJA0/s400/IMG_0007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4/25/11 - Tony, a.k.a. L.A, Richard, Terry and Patricia - soup prep</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDhKkOVQK_EqL1nNTbvV_KhH8nHlbWVhKQvZj0GAPJGw19tkFy6wTuVxafrzk5YYVYxqvJ_b-za13YETnEgSmd_ziBFcb2S4tw79pS4BkEcvXanWWhSZ3PdrNBs1qDRsVVXhyphenhyphenEh90ldcb/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDhKkOVQK_EqL1nNTbvV_KhH8nHlbWVhKQvZj0GAPJGw19tkFy6wTuVxafrzk5YYVYxqvJ_b-za13YETnEgSmd_ziBFcb2S4tw79pS4BkEcvXanWWhSZ3PdrNBs1qDRsVVXhyphenhyphenEh90ldcb/s400/IMG_0009.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4/25/11 - Tony a.k.a. L.A. and Richard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>• <b>Tomorrow is butoh dance performance in Nickelsville!</b> Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics.<br />
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• An item I found in Seattle Times, published 4/25/11:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Seattle homeless man and dog live in rowboat</span></b><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">By ERIK LACITIS</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The Seattle Times</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Under the concrete pillars of the Highway 520 bridge, anchored in a foot of water, William Kaphaem and his dog, Lulu, live in an aluminum 14-foot rowboat.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">They seem to have found peace at the edge of the Arboretum. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Kaphaem has rigged the boat so it's covered by a 20-by-18-foot brown plastic tarp, with a few feet of headroom. It seems to blend in with the muddy bottom by the bridge posts of the Montlake Boulevard East exit.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">You wouldn't even know there was somebody inside unless you yelled over the noise of the rumbling cars and trucks above, "Hey, Three Stars!"</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Kaphaem, 51, says he has Mohawk ancestry and so he prefers to be called by that name, which reflects the outdoors. Hearing your voice, Kaphaem - Three Stars - will lift up the tarp that serves as his cocoon. "Actually, a lot of light gets through," he says.</span></i><br />
<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014870523_apwahomelessrowboat1stldwritethru.html">The rest is here....</a><br />
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Check out the comments under the article, too - I find them more interesting than the article itself: some positive, but some complaining about the writer's trespassing privacy of the man:<br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I do not believe you should have published this article. He was doing just fine without any help from you. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Now he has officialdom looking into his situation. The state will want to charge rent for him anchoring on state property. The Coast Guard wants ot know what he is doing with waste. That will be the end of that.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-style: normal;">I certainly can identify with complainers, since this is the very issue I struggle with on this blog - how to write about the homeless people without bringing an attention they might not wish upon themselves: which details are ok to share and which are too private - thanks people of Nickelsville for teaching me some of that!</span></span></i></div><img border="0" height="0" src="http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/40/artist_271873//t.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" />alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-74413384946303692632011-04-24T13:13:00.000-07:002011-04-24T13:13:58.722-07:00Thursday: Chicken Rice Curry and Easter prep<div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING 5/15 & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div></div></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wzh4b1FlR-cjVv0B9NBzSe1l5OiParYOauPdLwcJ03lDsyhMZKN4ctvaSIQbNp25bY1WAK9Wizj96N1Qj0tAx5SGCeSMyU0foiCPIzD64Lg5ZTxrfKLqQ-mI1xrmlL6tA2ASqn6k7Cho/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wzh4b1FlR-cjVv0B9NBzSe1l5OiParYOauPdLwcJ03lDsyhMZKN4ctvaSIQbNp25bY1WAK9Wizj96N1Qj0tAx5SGCeSMyU0foiCPIzD64Lg5ZTxrfKLqQ-mI1xrmlL6tA2ASqn6k7Cho/s400/IMG_0002.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter egg painting - 4/21/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When Lynnda and I got to Nickelsville last Thursday, the Easter preparation was in a full swing: Joanna was leading a session of egg painting for kids and a man from the neighborhood was there too, to talk about Easter Sunday egg hunting and barbecue in the nearby park. Later in the afternoon Monte from <a href="http://www.sharewheel.org/Home/tent-cities">Tent City 3</a> came over with a woman who brought stuffed bunnies for the children - Nickelsville looked like any home full of youngsters preparing for a day of fun and sharing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghg2n8ygGfMzmDkmW9cd58Q0l5Zps2LUp5T48SWDsqSyROiBiGT-M3cSBpZsU4xfERT-Iy6aMoUeTbD-splQydpzMg36LCSoGJlfJ-8eQG1UqpzMb8icpSDZTVRQfby3LJzjbvRuImRAF7/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghg2n8ygGfMzmDkmW9cd58Q0l5Zps2LUp5T48SWDsqSyROiBiGT-M3cSBpZsU4xfERT-Iy6aMoUeTbD-splQydpzMg36LCSoGJlfJ-8eQG1UqpzMb8icpSDZTVRQfby3LJzjbvRuImRAF7/s400/IMG_0009.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike P. making a fruit salad - 4/21/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lynnda has been going an extra mile or 2 for her days in the camp lately: her last Thursday's production involved not only Brooke's cupcakes (this time decorated thoughtfully decorated with Easter-colored jelly beans - THANKS AGAIN, BROOKE!), the curry/chicken soup/stew but also what looked like a result of a small fruit-stand robbery: bags and bags of fruit she found on sale somewhere. She had Mike P. devoted to chopping them all afternoon, before she sprinkled them with fresh lemon juice and mixed into delicious salad - the most popular food item on the menu that day, as everyone is obviously craving fresh fruits in this cold and rainy spring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbLsZDQVmJe6qTXarrG13prGwUmst9jODkfKhFhTgIABGlZZuwGlZe7MXHSQtc3hGs9rzS0nJQRiyNDB3n88atRoPN4CpgOIR83AJ1zkfuulX9y5Wv6YfC3VKnOgqCtMJ-eT0MQtqxNC1/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbLsZDQVmJe6qTXarrG13prGwUmst9jODkfKhFhTgIABGlZZuwGlZe7MXHSQtc3hGs9rzS0nJQRiyNDB3n88atRoPN4CpgOIR83AJ1zkfuulX9y5Wv6YfC3VKnOgqCtMJ-eT0MQtqxNC1/s400/IMG_0006.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul with cabbage and cilantro - 4/21/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The chicken curry soup/stew: while Paul and Richard were dicing and slicing onions, carrots, garlic, cabbage, potatoes, turnips and cilantro Lynnda and I threw a 2lb bag of brown rice into a boiling water and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes before we started to add the other veggies; we also raided the freezer, which is now overstuffed, and must be emptied before the move on May 15th - we relieved it form a bag of frozen carrots and several bags of broccoli/cauliflower mixes. When the stew was not far from ready we added a huge pot of chicken in curry sauce which Lynnda precooked at home. On the end we decided it wasn't curried-out enough, so we threw in about 1/3 of a huge curry container content, some hot pepper flakes, lemon juice and of course what crowns nearly every of our kitchen soup inventions: natural vitamins in the form of fresh garlic and 2 bunches of chopped cilantro + some green parsley we found in the kitchen wanting to be used. For the sake of accuracy I should add that for broth we used chicken and beef bouillon cubes + powder of several Knorr onion soups, but you can simply use salt.<br />
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Homeless in Seattle: Here is a link to <a href="http://www.scn.org/housing/homeless/#advocacy">Seattle Community Network webpage on Homelessness</a>: it contains various info and resources for the people who might find themselves homeless on the streets of Seattle - I should show it to Julie and ask her if perhaps we could review all those links (I found some of them broken and outdated) perhaps Nickelsville already has a better list?alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-23963094504005473012011-04-21T13:53:00.000-07:002011-04-21T14:10:01.195-07:00News from T.J. and Julie + Monday usual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqrUjnmm77M2tvmZ7ySEAC2UQUsUjaYsDL7beQZZyUYyoRG-IxjxhCRdD7Tm1o8KmHPGemwSWO22s4ARelKkTm8eo2-P301-I7LancFPgmm0gjhk0glk0__okZ_V5Y7MXPSStCYZxdG0R/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqrUjnmm77M2tvmZ7ySEAC2UQUsUjaYsDL7beQZZyUYyoRG-IxjxhCRdD7Tm1o8KmHPGemwSWO22s4ARelKkTm8eo2-P301-I7LancFPgmm0gjhk0glk0__okZ_V5Y7MXPSStCYZxdG0R/s400/IMG_0001.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T.J. in Nickelsville's kitchen - 4/18/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Monday a week ago I added some (about to go bad if not used) mushrooms into the soup and asked Tracy to alert T.J. not to eat it, since she is highly allergic to mushrooms. Tracy responded that T.J. is very sick, 'on a bed-rest, not eating anything, too weak to eat or even walk'. The following Thursday I saw T.J. walking around the fire-station with a puppy in her hands - she said she is slowly starting to feel better, but only last Monday I saw her feeling well enough to participate in Nickelsville's life again - she came to the kitchen and did the stack of dishes. Over a week ago, when her condition was the worst she went to hospital to get some help, but the hospital refused to admit her, claiming that her awful condition requires longer care, therefore she is not an ER candidate. <br />
<br />
T.J. might have had a mini-stroke, or temporarily collapsed lung (she said it happened to her before), but our 'best in the world' medical care had no place for her in the system and turned her away because she is uninsured and requires longer treatment than emergency solution (I personally saw this great logic employed many times when my uninsured son was refused medical care while suffering attacks of chronic illness - the reason I'm mentioning this is to highlight the fact that it is 'normal' in our world of for-profit healthcare - according to government statistics 40 thousands people die in America each year due to lack of access to medical care + think about those countless that our government didn't track). Will picked T.J. at the hospital waiting room, and cared for her with other friends in Nickelsville: he stayed by her bed at night watching over her, and over the course of several days slowly put some fluids in her and fed her with chicken soup he bought for her, and when she finally regained a bit of strenght he helped her to get up and walk again. T.J. told me how grateful she is to Will and her Nickelsville family for being there for her when she needed their support - I'm honored to put it on the record here. Some day I should find out and post more about how Nickelsville residents cope with medical issues...<br />
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Also, update on Julie, the former paralegal - a good update, too boot: Julie became a step-mother or an auntie for 4 adorable puppies when her friend (a dog-breeder) suddenly became homeless - the experience was therapeutic, because in puppies' company she found out she can be alone again as a human (Julie is recovering from a bad relationship, effects of which sent her into being homeless). Julie also found her calling: advocating for the homeless - her skills already made her one of the arbitrators on the site and as self-proclaimed workaholic Julie gets involved in many administrative duties as well. She thinks those new activities + first hand knowledge of the issues facing people that are homeless + passion for the subject could lead to paying job in the field and to being self-supporting again. May those wishes come true for Julie very soon; she quipped that her new field of expertise will definitely be more joyous and good for her heart than being paralegal:)...<br />
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<a href="http://arturopeniche.typepad.com/.a/6a011570bfc682970c0133ecd43e95970b-pi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://arturopeniche.typepad.com/.a/6a011570bfc682970c0133ecd43e95970b-pi" /></a><a href="http://arturopeniche.typepad.com/.a/6a011570bfc682970c0133ecd43e95970b-pi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a>Mike and Richard are the new kitchen coordinators and Richard helped with chopping veggies for soup, as always, and so did Ramone and Jeff, who chopped fast and fine but left to see a friend before the soup was ready (I think Jeff is new at Nickelsville or perhaps he is just never around during soup-time). For the last two weeks in order to continue the 'Monday usual' tradition I started to bring peanut butter along with the veggies, because we finally depleted Nickelsville's seemingly vast supplies of it and apparently, some people were not too happy about it: 2 people recently stopped by the kitchen to ask similar question: 'So, what goes into peanut soup? you just open a jar of peanut butter and it goes in?' Yep. They both walked out without continuing the conversation, perhaps preferring jars of peanut butter over peanut soup...alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-19773399589922836842011-04-18T10:21:00.000-07:002011-04-18T13:14:21.759-07:00Thursday: Lynnda's Tex-Mex chicken soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.moving.com/moving/HMFR/move_house.gif" /></a></div>• Nickelsville is <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MOVING & YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!</span></b> - please, read the bar on the right.<br />
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• Lynnda got sick with that nasty bug going around, but she still pre-cooked the chicken in the broth, soaked 3 lbs of beans overnight and delivered it all to Nickelsville with bunch of red peppers and huge bag of frozen corn + jar of Tex-Mex seasoning and instructions on how to assembly the soup. She also brought Brooke's cupcakes, which Jeremy promptly hid in the office, so nobody mistook them for appetizers :)...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ivarschowder.com/images/content/soups_chowders/products/soup_chicken_tortilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://www.ivarschowder.com/images/content/soups_chowders/products/soup_chicken_tortilla.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Glen the poet shredded the chicken which we added to beans cooking with onion and carrots. Richard and Nam were chopping veggies - Nam not too successfully, as he didn't sort out bad veggies from good ones in donated bags that were lying around for a few days; my assumption that everyone is good in the kitchen turned out wrong - Nam said (afterwords) that he is 'lousy' at kitchen tasks as I took his bowl of chopped veggies to the compost bin:(.. We added a package of broken into small pieces linguini pasta for volume, found some frozen veggies, then threw in chopped fresh peppers and a bag of corn. Tex-Mex seasoning and a head of chopped fresh garlic (Richard's steady job) was just what the soup needed for finish - wonderful smell had people commenting well before we were done cooking. Along with the first bowls ladled out, Jeremy assembled Brooke's cupcakes on a big tray - THANKS, BROOKE!<br />
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• The date for Japanese butoh dance performance has been fixed for Saturday, April 30 at 7 PM. It'll be private event just for Nickelsville residents, titled: <i><b>IMPRINTS, collective and individual images and stories of our lives we share with our bodies in motion</b></i>. THANK YOU ALL SIX DANCERS, and especially Will, who created this beautiful poster for the occasion (click on the pic to enlarge):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtxkJPdl0TDS8GPA-4EVPy1rwds-XMMRhiJR-qJvXDA6JXxHWbmO9e6Nf8KIV978vTKGXRC0qFvWQkH6Yw5Rboj8DOsd3fNbHx91JUz8X9CRqBaXSXVkc6FIsXNoMsJtJujw9DOl8Mm8M/s1600/Imprints3c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtxkJPdl0TDS8GPA-4EVPy1rwds-XMMRhiJR-qJvXDA6JXxHWbmO9e6Nf8KIV978vTKGXRC0qFvWQkH6Yw5Rboj8DOsd3fNbHx91JUz8X9CRqBaXSXVkc6FIsXNoMsJtJujw9DOl8Mm8M/s400/Imprints3c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">• Mental chew for today:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tent Cities in America</b> - compilation of links, videos, articles about homelessness from Squidoo - a popular publishing platform and community that makes it easy for you to create "lenses" online. Lenses are pages, kind of like flyers or signposts or overview articles, that gather everything you know about your topic of interest--and snap it all into focus. This one is about homelessness:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>This is the most desperate our citizens have been since the great depression. Tent cities are springing up everywhere. People are simply not able to support themselves right now. What are we doing about it?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I am seeing a lot of blame, but is that really helping? Do we really think it is helping these people to make it a poltical issue?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>It is a humanitarian issue.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Let's get down there and help our neighbors, folks.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/tentcitiesinamerica">More here...</a></div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-23146918591703258232011-04-15T09:59:00.001-07:002011-04-15T10:04:51.499-07:00Check out music from Glen Still - Spoken Word<img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTMwMjg4NjY2ODE2MCZwdD*xMzAyODg2NzM2OTM3JnA9MjcwODEmZD1wcm9fcGxheWVyX2ZpcnN*X2dlbiZuPWJsb2dnZXIm/Zz*xJm89YzQ2YjA3ZmMzNTc2NDU4ZmFhYjlhNDVjYjM3OWU3ZmUmb2Y9MA==.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="150" width="180"><param name="movie" value="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_271873&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1008&font_color=333333&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=1031263"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="quality" value="best"></param><embed src="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_271873&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1008&font_color=333333&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=1031263" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowNetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" quality="best" width="180" height="150"></embed></object><script type="text/javascript">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://c2so.reverbnation.com/data_public/resource/image/146/1466499/small/visit_us_artist_271873_tuxedo00_glen-g_1261091012_1261091396_Glen_Still_-__Spoken_Word.png?1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://c2so.reverbnation.com/data_public/resource/image/146/1466499/small/visit_us_artist_271873_tuxedo00_glen-g_1261091012_1261091396_Glen_Still_-__Spoken_Word.png?1" /></a></div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Glen did email me his poems, his photo and his bio - all below. He also sent a link to his website which contains awesome songs for a free download (sample above).</span></i><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"I infiltrated the homeless [part one]"</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I got my orders in the spring of 2008</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But before that date</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I was going through every intel scenario</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That you could throw down my throat</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I stepped outside my porch</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Looked up and down the block</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Saw the U-Hauls drive off</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Towards something desperate</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Telling the kids in the backseat</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">To just hang on</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ma’ doing her best to convince the family</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That it would be alright</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Me, myself and I were preparing for a mission</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I was a bit skeptical</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">About how it would all fold out</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Knowing that I would love my dogs</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Until they were gone</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Knowing that they would never last</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As far as I had to go</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">One got contagious to the China strain of poison</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I watched her die everyday</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Skinning out into bones</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">With me there</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Nothing I could do to save her</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I just bit my lip</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Wanted Wal-Mart to fold into ashes</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If I ever thought of planting a bomb</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I did then</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But I never did</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">She died on a stainless steel table</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">At a Veterinarian</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That took her in without charge</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Administered that sweet syringe</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That took the last of her life</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Before she left</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">She looked up at me and smiled</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I said it then and I meant it</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"I'll see you on other side"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And somehow - I know I will</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The only other life that I knew as home</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Died in my arms</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On a dark dark road along a river</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Somewhere south of the city lights</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of Ashville North Carolina</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I was holding her leash</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As the first car propelled her into the air</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The tug at my hand</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Told me instantly that she would be dead</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When I covered the few footsteps</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Just to get her into my lap</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">She died there</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Me crying like I’ve never cried before</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When she died</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I knew then and there</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I had infiltrated the homeless</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Glen Still [The Seattle Sessions - 4.3.2011]</div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"What It’s like to be on Welfare"</b></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">First and foremost</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I’m protected</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Not like you</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On the street</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Trying to forget the way it use to be</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm stable</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">With 100 plus billion dollars</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Coming down the pipe</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Into my coffer</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I got a lobby</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">While you wait in the lobby at DHS</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I just whisper and suggest</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And what I want</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Reveals itself</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If I want land</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I got a politician</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That will reach out and grab it</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Build a factory for me</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">No dues paid...</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Just payoffs</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If I want cheap labor</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I got so much in foreign countries</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Little girls and boys underage</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Barely able to lift this capitalist bag</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Upon their shoulders</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But they never falter</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">‘cause I got the prime minister</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And dictators in just about every country</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Paid off and delivered</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Until they figure out</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">They could pull on the chain</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But then I send in the Military</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I can never allow that!</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Like Noregia and Qaddafi</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And all the others that have been like Blackwater</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">They storm troops</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Into slave factories</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A phone call from me</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Demanding</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">-Kill every mother fucker</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That thinks about forming a labor union-</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Need I say more?</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">(Wal-Mart - Your Fiend-ly Neighborhood Store</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Neal Stephenson was right</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Look into Corporate Sub-Division ruling over the world)</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So baby, this is corporate welfare</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the subsidies</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the rivers that were once clean</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the air that we can’t breathe</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the seas polluted</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the dying of nature</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Everything I put my hand to</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Dies</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And i don't respect it</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm a capitalist</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A welfare client</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A contingency</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Under Cover</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Because I’m a lazy fuck</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And my goal is to make you want to work</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For just about nothing</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">To lift that heavy load</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">While I demand that you pay</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Into that 410K</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That won’t mean shit when you need it</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Because I’ve got politicians</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That will allow me to fold it up</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Just when you really thought</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I’d pay you back</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For that 20 or 30 years of indentured servitude</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You serve the corporate welfare system like a</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Stupid mother fucker</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Like a sheep don’t keep up on the details</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Like an uneducated imbecile</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Like the slave that we expect you to be</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now here’s a lesson...</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Never expect a handout</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Unless of course you sit on a corporate board</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Wear a $5000 suit</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We ain’t like you</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We're a class above you...</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And we're always figuring out ways</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For you to give us more</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of your fucking money!</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Glen Still [The Seattle Sessions April 4, 2011]</div></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfUEX7crqYrfrhyphenhyphen8rGTMPhBnzGG-nepICU5D_V6TqMItRaXVMunrd9WEBj0IzQEUWTnpBrv2_SH6Z6kGDOASKZOe-X9a18OHCCM_ueWvOEQFQh1cJCBlkCUv8gvUBpIEFi34PT9BNH8j9/s1600/glenstill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfUEX7crqYrfrhyphenhyphen8rGTMPhBnzGG-nepICU5D_V6TqMItRaXVMunrd9WEBj0IzQEUWTnpBrv2_SH6Z6kGDOASKZOe-X9a18OHCCM_ueWvOEQFQh1cJCBlkCUv8gvUBpIEFi34PT9BNH8j9/s320/glenstill.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="221" /></a></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Glen Still</b>, who originally came out of the Southern California area, is a spoken word artist and poet in the true sense of the word. His commitment to the arts has taken him around the country mesmerizing his readers with the clear and dead on observations of an artist at the top of his game.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Glen’s creativity is not exclusive to his own work; he is also one of</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">the original founders of 10K Poets Zine, a group of artists dedicated to spreading the word and sharing unique, eye opening views that annihilate the stagnate, tried and true visions the average person has become stymied under. In addition, Glen has blazed a new trail with such work as, “A True Liberator”, “I Have Found” and “She’s My Religion”. His body of work breaks through the boundaries too often seen in the world of writing.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When Glen Still is not writing or performing his own work, he uses his time motivating and supporting the typically struggling artist and creating venues and avenues that allow them to get their work out into an often difficult and brutal arena, making him not just a great artist, but a humanitarian as well in a world lacking humane traits.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For more on Glen Still, visit his website at:</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/glenstill">http://www.reverbnation.com/glenstill</a> or add him on Facebook at</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/glencstill">www.facebook.com/glencstill</a></div></div></div><div><br />
</div><div></div><br />
<img border="0" height="0" src="http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/40/artist_271873//t.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" />alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-7231770555393139902011-04-12T23:46:00.000-07:002011-04-13T12:27:55.764-07:00About Garrett + Monday usual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/files/library/450nickelsville27_09_dd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/files/library/450nickelsville27_09_dd.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Monday usual being West African peanut soup - everybody seems to remember by now what Monday usual is and it is expected like Wendy's weekday special, and that is a good thing, I hope. No problem finding helpers, either, although a gripping film-drama played in TV room had Ramone too transfixed to chop, so I had to nudge him every so often. Richard and Taco smartly left the TV room to chop without visual distractions: Richard in his usual zen-meditative way till he is done (he has a way of timing it with when it's needed to finish the soup), and Taco in a fast and furious manner: 'and what's next?' Turns out Taco worked in restaurants and has speed-chopping in his blood.<br />
<br />
Over a bowl of finished soup I met Glen Still, a spoken word artist, a poet and a musician originally from California, currently working on a book about homelessness. Glen noted that the last blog post included poetry and shared some of his very interesting own; he promised to email me a few of his poems, so hopefully the next blog post will be featuring his work.<br />
<br />
After soup and with my laptop in hand I started to look for Garrett to write down his story. Garrett lead me to a cozy back room, equipped with a beautiful bright red sofa and hopefully, said Garrett, WiFI as well (connection rather spotty in the building). Surely enough my laptop registered 'Home' network, which Garrett said I could join without special password. Now we were in business: here is Garrett, in his own words:<br />
<br />
<b>• Garrett</b> – Nickelsville resident<br />
<br />
<i>I was a computer network engineer for 18 + years, also independent consultant, once earning $100/hr</i><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpbXSiS-aSo-QA3Z2G7pWzOWnQlNN_8EjnyllIEQjkk_t80GcVHsyTowtYi6YgPo6u4xATlv_Dn-rGGzrDJHbJK7ZA8amcz2-jb4cAdms4Gv2Dff2cti5RjR-ljrUMQoXrxDZm8hsJsy5/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpbXSiS-aSo-QA3Z2G7pWzOWnQlNN_8EjnyllIEQjkk_t80GcVHsyTowtYi6YgPo6u4xATlv_Dn-rGGzrDJHbJK7ZA8amcz2-jb4cAdms4Gv2Dff2cti5RjR-ljrUMQoXrxDZm8hsJsy5/s400/IMG_0005.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garrett in front of Nickelsville's entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>When the economy dropped from underneath me, all the contracts that were plentiful at one time, dried up. To make a long story short, I lost my wife, my home, my dog and cat, and now I’m here. I would encourage everybody reading this to donate to this worthy cause. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>When I was employed and still a network engineer, I used to watch on the news the tent cities; I used to tell my wife that I want to buy a trailer, and I wanted to configure that trailer with wind generators and solar panels and battery back up. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I wanted to pull that trailer behind my jeep and take it to the various tent city sites, to supply both free energy and WiFi Internet access to the individuals in those tent cities. </i><br />
<br />
<i>That was my dream. Then I lost my income, but it is still my dream, because I have not given up. I’m determined to give something back to society because much has been given to me.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Now the journey begins. Getting back on my feet, reestablishing myself, being an example and making a positive change, that is what I encourage everyone to do. God bless…</i><br />
<br />
Garrett was born in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in Compton, CA. While 5 years in the Navy he traveled to Japan, China, Diego Garcia Thailand and various other countries. After an honorable discharge from Navy he traveled a couple of years around Brazil from Rio to Salvador Bahia, to learn the culture and the language. After returning to US, Garrett eventually settled in Seattle, where he met his wife – he has been a Seattle resident for 15 years. The distress started 2 years ago, and about a year ago it affected his marriage… After his marriage broke down Garret lived downstairs (garage level), while his wife occupied the main part of their house. The couple was unable to meet mortgage obligations, and Garrett left so his wife could rent downstairs and be able to pay the mortgage….<br />
___________________________________<br />
<br />
• And here is voice of a fourteen year old Troye Sivan (hails from South Africa, but calls Perth, Australia his home), who shares Garrett's dream of helping the homeless:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/xaxukzu_n7A/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xaxukzu_n7A&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xaxukzu_n7A&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
Troye Sivan’s first original song, <i>For Them</i>, focuses on a very urgent issue: the homeless children around the world. Written specially for Troye by British songwriter Anthony Johnson, it has powerful lyrics and bring us an extremely important message... <a href="http://www.troyesivan.com/news07_forthemvideo.html">More at Troye's website (click here)</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• About the new sponsor of Nickelsville: it's JAZZ WITH JUSTICE: a progressive organization of legal professionals without a website, Peggy and Scott said, hm. Googling it seems to suggest that it's a national movement of lawyers with conscience - I found JAZZ 4 JUSTICE, and several similar names tied to bar associations around the country - looks like grass root, not a top-down type of organization. Thanks whoever you are!</div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-21993651100346558252011-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:002011-04-13T09:16:31.031-07:00Thursday: Cookies, lazanki and poetryT.J is back - a couple of weeks in Montana was enough for her to decide she didn't fit there: seems a bit too far from civilization for her liking. What about your boyfriend? 'He is not my boyfriend, although he likes to say that he is; he likes it in Montana, so I helped him to pay for necessities and came back here'. <br />
<br />
Thursdays in Nickelsville: Lynnda bakes cookies or brings Brooke's cupcakes since she started coming over a month ago - by now that feature also must feel like 'Thursday usual'; last thursday delicious chocolate cookies. I keep wondering if making things 'usual' is bringing comfort or discomfort if one is homeless; there is certainly some level of comfort when we create routines or traditions, as there is a comfort of things repeating themselves in the ever changing storms of life. But if you move often like Nickelsville does, or if you are there only a few weeks like some do, is 'usual' maybe just a burden if so fleeting? I mean, perhaps it is better not to expect routines than later miss them? I guess I should ask people of Nickelsville what they think about it. (Note to self: also ask about who the new sponsor is).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.eltron-electronic.de/resources/Lazanki+-+Natka64_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://www.eltron-electronic.de/resources/Lazanki+-+Natka64_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lazanki with cabbage and sauerkraut</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lynnda now plans Thursday meals, but was out of town to plan ahead, so we turned to an easy comfort food, lazanki - a recipe I brought along from my old country. It's a close cousin of lasagna, but more-leftover based and not requiring special type of pasta; basically it's just any short pasta mixed with onion, cabbage and sauerkraut, everything else added is optional - tomatoes, cold cuts, sausage, etc. When we were looking for kitchen assistants in the nearby TV room, one man (he and I never met) turned directly to me, smiled and said: 'I want to chop for you'; Ramon's simple statement had such a comical effect (obviously intended) that everyone burst out laughing and in no time we had a small army of chefs slicing and knifing fast and furiously.<br />
<br />
While noodles were cooking in one pot, we fried onions and sausage in a small amount of oil in another pot, then added some water and two chopped heads of cabbage + some extra veggies we found lying around; when this was cooked (10-15 minutes) we added industrial size (5lbs) can of diced tomatoes, then same size can of sauerkraut, salt and hot pepper flakes and cooked some more. Jarvis offered his help with just perfect timing: combining the content of two big pots was a big man's job, and so was the job of mixing it. Well, even Jarvis couldn't do the mixing because by now the restaurant size spoon was too short to reach the bottom of the huge vat the noodle dish was in. So Jarvis divided the noodles again between the two pots, mixed them separately and again combined. As if on cue Richard showed up with his expertly fine-chopped 2 heads of garlic; we turned the stove off and added it, along with chopped parsley and cilantro (not needed, but a nice vitamin injection to go with any meal). <br />
<br />
Dana, a new kitchen manager, had a huge apple cobbler (made from scratch!) in the oven when we arrived - it was done and cooled by the time lazanki were ready and she was serving it with ice-cream for a dessert; it was scrumptious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-LM6J5Jp4tv5TjSxs7KioqHk8_Tl2SQ-PvlOCjD2SiyTc_en4pZfJr88TUGQrA5rj2_yYrAw3Uzqwd1zXpiF7iwPkmZaCJ9AMUQgTydIOTXQ5RIwXWZnoxsaHdJ3dqQ1VwEsXLJJ1p5Q/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-LM6J5Jp4tv5TjSxs7KioqHk8_Tl2SQ-PvlOCjD2SiyTc_en4pZfJr88TUGQrA5rj2_yYrAw3Uzqwd1zXpiF7iwPkmZaCJ9AMUQgTydIOTXQ5RIwXWZnoxsaHdJ3dqQ1VwEsXLJJ1p5Q/s320/IMG_0002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garret with a bowl of lazanki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Before leaving I asked if anyone feels brave enough to have their picture taken for the blog - that is how Garret and I met; Garret said he doesn't mind sharing his story either, because anyone can become homeless anytime and knowing something about it beforehand might come helpful. He also added that that if we humans keep on the direction we are going, pretty soon Nickelsville's experience will be sough after type of organizational knowledge and skill (paraphrasing here, didn't record or wrote down his exact words). Garret said he is a network engineer, and interested in collaboration on this blog! So next time my laptop goes to Nickelsville along with the soup ingredients.<br />
<br />
Seattle has one of the best in the country homeless people's paper called <a href="http://realchangenews.org/"><i><b>Real Change</b></i></a> - it offers an interesting mix of local and international politics, cop-beat regarding homeless people, philosophy and even poetry - my personal favorite to start the reading with. Below is what I just grabbed from their on-line edition - I do not know who <a href="http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/4383/">Mac Crary</a> is, but I like his the images he creates a lot (google turned up a vet with disability, originally from Pittsburgh, a poet who currently lives in Seattle, not sure if the same person):<br />
<br />
<b>Poem: My Girlfriend</b><br />
<br />
<i>Jun 23, 2010, Vol: 17, No: 26</i><br />
<br />
Tennis shoes suspended in space<br />
dangling from telephone wires<br />
absolutely delighted deaf Jeannie.<br />
<br />
It was as if some perfect stranger<br />
had sent her an extra-terrestrial postcard<br />
and she had fallen immediately in love.<br />
I, her boyfriend, was put aside<br />
to her rapture.<br />
Try though I would, I could never make her laugh that way.<br />
<br />
As we walked down the north side of the riverside<br />
Ray said to me behind her back in sign language,<br />
“She’s beautiful!”<br />
Coming from Ray that really meant something.<br />
<br />
—Mac Crary<br />
<br />
If you read that far, here is your dessert (4/12 is 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into the outer space):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XeC4nqBB5BM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-41179883374429285512011-04-07T10:10:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:20:12.456-07:00Monday Usual: what is usual in temporary state?Pam, Richard and Jimbo chopped the veggies and quite a few people stopped to ask 'what's the soup today?' Oh, Monday usual. Many smiled back: 'ah, peanut soup'... It made me think how in a short space of several months of Nickelsville's time at the fire stations something became 'usual', and how temporary that 'usual' Monday comfort food is to be, in the light of the upcoming move May 15th. Nickelsville will probably move away from my neighborhood, my involvement will end, and so will the Monday 'usual'.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://nowhoopsmoving.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/moving20box20with20dog.309105628_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://nowhoopsmoving.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/moving20box20with20dog.309105628_std.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I was probably not the only one thinking about it, because when John mentioned that he has a source for inexpensive sea food, and I asked if he could access it fairly soon (repeat of shrimp linguini?) so we can cook it while still having a real kitchen, Tracy nodded in agreement... There might be no kitchen when the camp moves. Again. Look below for NPR story about Nickelsvile - it mentions that the camp moved 17 times already.<br />
<br />
Joan Laage stopped by Nickelsville to address the upcoming butoh dance performance; Nate gave her a tour and they discussed organizational details. Nate will be talking to Scott about securing a date and get back to Joan on this.<br />
<br />
Scott's weekly letter to supporters is almost all about moving preparations:<br />
<br />
<i>Greeting from Nickelsville!</i><br />
<i>It has been another busy week for us and we are still working non-stop to find a permanent site. </i><i>Our efforts include:</i><br />
<i> A meeting with Councilperson Nick Licata and a strong contingent from last falls "Mayors Encampment Panel.'</i><br />
<i> A tour and chat with Councilperson Tim Burgess. He reported that Lake City Community and Business Leaders both had positive reviews of Nickelsville.</i><br />
<i> An evening community meeting with Deputy Mayor Daryl Smith, where the future need for an interim survival mechanism for the Lake City community was expressed by Share/Wheel, the Mennonite Church, Local Homeless Advocates, and ourselves. (Also mentioned was that Nickelsville is moving on May 15th, with thanks.) Deputy Smith was encouraging, articulate and optimistic. He said that a lot of things were still on the table to be worked out.</i><br />
<i> An important discussion, with the Leadership Team at El Centro De La Raza, was held to plan for the future. Once we have a workable Request for Investment Proposal for the Sunny Jim site, the dialogue</i><br />
<i>will continue to create a partnership for the betterment of all.</i><br />
<i> A meeting with a sub-committe of the Lake City Taskforce to End Homelessness. Many different ideas are still under consideration, but we all agreed upon the great need for Old Firestation 39 to continue to be open for the homeless community (with new management) after May15th.</i><br />
<i> We were invited to a Persian New Year Celebration sponsored by a UW student that featured. phenomenal traditional dancers to say the least.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>There will be many events during our last week at Nickelsville - get</i><br />
<i>them down in your calendar now!:</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Sunday the 8th will be our last Mandatory Meeting and Tent Clean Up day. Monday the 9th is Red Beans and Rice Day, followed by our last day of rest on Tuesday. Wednesday the 11th, as always, is the Central Committee. Thursday the 12th will be Music night, with surprise guests and chili-dogs. On Friday the 13th the Nickelodeons will challenge bad luck with the Black Cat Caravan which will proceed from Nickelsville to City Hall in the mid afternoon. There our elected officials will be reminded that Sunday is move day.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Saturday will be de-crudification day at the Old Firehouse. Your participation in moving excess belongings to the dump will be greatly appreciated. We want to leave the Old Firehouse in as good of shape as when we came! The Nickelsville Pets will be sent to volunteer Pet Farms for the reminder of the weekend, in preperation for the move.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Sunday will not be a day of rest, but it will be a day of worship at the Old Firehouse. Final packing will finish in the morning. At 3 PM we hope the Religious Community will join us in worship, and at 5 PM</i><br />
<i>the trucks, cars, and other vehicles will head out to the permanent site.</i><br />
<i>You are needed - so we hope you'll be there with us!</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>CAUTION - Keep your ears open and your eyes peeled. Times may change with short notice!</i><br />
<i>PS: Our current needs include 33 gallon garbage bags, twine, permanent markers, duct tape, nails, and toilet paper.</i><br />
<br />
---------------------------------------<br />
Here is a NPR story on Nickelsville which KUOW run on February 11, 2011:<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Homeless Camp Puts Down Roots With Seattle's OK</span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/02/07/nickelsville_wide.jpg?t=1297123006&s=51" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/02/07/nickelsville_wide.jpg?t=1297123006&s=51" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span class="creditwrap" style="color: #666666; display: block; float: right; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="credit"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">In July 2009, Ion Gardescu lifts up his tent to shake debris out as he breaks camp at Nickelsville. </span>Ted S. Warren</span>/<span class="rightsnotice">AP</span></span><div><span class="rightsnotice"><br />
</span></div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">A lot of cities view homeless encampments like weeds that have sprung up in the civic garden. Sacramento and Fort Worth, for example, have shut them down. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Seattle, though, is taking a different approach: It wants a city-run camp on city-owned property. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">But some locals are criticizing the project for being at odds with the city's own plan to end homelessness.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">'There Needs To Be A Place For Them'</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Seattle's camp is dubbed Nickelsville — as a jab at the city's former mayor Greg Nickels, who tried to shut it down. The camp came together about three years ago and has moved 17 times since then.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">On a recent Sunday night, Nickelsville was full to capacity. About 100 of Seattle's more than 8,000 homeless people live there. For now, it's set up at an old firehouse in the city's north end, next to a stretch of strip malls. The parking lot is packed with tents.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Around 6 p.m., people start to wander inside. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"Nickelsville does take pets and children," says Peggy Hotes, one of the camp's organizers. "I think we have around nine dogs and eight cats."</span><br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/02/07/133443255/seattle-supports-homeless-camp-putting-down-roots">The rest of the story is here (text and audio)</a><br />
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/07/133443255/seattle-supports-homeless-camp-putting-down-rootsalekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-66071951721609209732011-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:002011-04-03T13:54:21.382-07:00Thursday: Chicken Corn Chowder and more Brooke's cupcakesLynnda decided to start the soup on time while I was detained by my dentist; by the time I got to Nickelsville she had the chicken sautéed, bacon fried and now combined with onion, carrots and potatoes in the pot half full of water and she was trying to will it to boil (industrial size pot on the home type of range - that's never going fast); Tracy was working on a head of garlic. We looked what else is going to the pot and decided to bring the soup volume up by throwing about half of the package of broken into small pieces spaghetti noodles. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4jbQz71zl8_Mvpu_bGwO9Rsxiewa3FQG0zdt5LWo8XUD4pSp-JgMfXGn3ha1thOJcxKSokgHfIVKcN5d4KCJl80f90EfbnJrrNaReolpvdhlTlD7Cy7bkxMt9yeaQU6YDICAntnEM74W/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4jbQz71zl8_Mvpu_bGwO9Rsxiewa3FQG0zdt5LWo8XUD4pSp-JgMfXGn3ha1thOJcxKSokgHfIVKcN5d4KCJl80f90EfbnJrrNaReolpvdhlTlD7Cy7bkxMt9yeaQU6YDICAntnEM74W/s200/IMG_0002.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooke's cupcakes arrive</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
When everything was about getting almost soft we added lots of whole and some smashed in the blender corn, a can of smashed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for a kick, and little by little the creamy part: milk, cream, shredded cheddar cheese and on the very end a box of instant potatoes. Garnished with chopped garlic and big bunch of Italian parsley - the best corn chowder I ever had.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDlCXtM5TXpzYxSdtkHoABte1OQRuX4Q0utVEy6La3MeDTnjlbZt8k19xZ3ZUaKPpm685a7mrbNW7is1ry6qXDv-40Wwz1Ev1SPEy3iZEHuaA6ouRb0bNGoW8BEYWIvRQ8pffSYWcNx8V/s1600/IMG_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDlCXtM5TXpzYxSdtkHoABte1OQRuX4Q0utVEy6La3MeDTnjlbZt8k19xZ3ZUaKPpm685a7mrbNW7is1ry6qXDv-40Wwz1Ev1SPEy3iZEHuaA6ouRb0bNGoW8BEYWIvRQ8pffSYWcNx8V/s200/IMG_0004.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeremy transfers cupcakes <br />
onto big tray</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Over the soup and Brook's cupcakes had a chance to catch up with Joanna, who was hoping to pass the post office exam for a job there, but now says that the post office is laying off its employees, so she is likely stuck with her job at Jack-in-the-Box for a while longer. Her daughter LeeAnn was also eating at the table, so I asked how she is getting along with the 2 new boys; Joanna told me that now there is 6 children in Nickelsville, so LeAnn can now play with the girls only, 'no boys':).<br />
<br />
While monkeying around with camera I checked with Jarvis what is ok to post about him on a public blog: 'that you are waiting for ankle surgery, and when this is done and healed you want to start trucking school and then trucking job, and everything will be all right for you then'. 'Yes', he smiled, 'if life would be only THAT simple, but as a matter of fact I can check on the school next week and will, because I can start the school before surgery'.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xGhY9FVvHEEfewHcicdMFBPk_0F7OCQ7JSaGi3VML1Xz9KPai24OT52KLEPNGKLUXTxGJq7EvEbudeFdqt00-AtPYn0LZ08A09_7sIg_irmJq2ohIy1cJMn1eEMXA3dwS1vhcNjrc2eH/s1600/IMG_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xGhY9FVvHEEfewHcicdMFBPk_0F7OCQ7JSaGi3VML1Xz9KPai24OT52KLEPNGKLUXTxGJq7EvEbudeFdqt00-AtPYn0LZ08A09_7sIg_irmJq2ohIy1cJMn1eEMXA3dwS1vhcNjrc2eH/s200/IMG_0008.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lynnda and Jarvis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>John of China was laid up with some stomach bug for a few days, but better now. While we were eating Tracy came from the food bank a few blocks up, carrying a load of donations; she looked pale and nearly dropped her box - turned out her asthma caught up with her and no inhaler in her pocket. When she put the box on the table she produced a happy smile while showing a big block of cheese - a rarity in Nickelsville. Both Andrea and Jeremy visited (they live in the tent outside, not the communal structure of the fire station) with the rest of us for a meal.<br />
______________________________<br />
Here is a fragment of the article 'Why are People Homeless':<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Why Are People Homeless?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Below is an overview of current poverty and housing statistics, as well as additional factors contributing to homelessness. A list of resources for further study is also provided. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">FORECLOSURE</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Recently, foreclosures have increased the number of people who experience homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless released an entire report discussing the relationship between foreclosure and homelessness. The report found that there was a 32% jump in the number of foreclosures between April 2008 and April 2009. Since the start of the recession, six million jobs have been lost. In May 2009, the official unemployment rate was 9.4%. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 40 percent of families facing eviction due to foreclosure are renters and 7 million households living on very low incomes (31 - 50 percent of Area Median Income) are at risk of foreclosure.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">POVERTY</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income that must be dropped. If you are poor, you are essentially an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">[...]</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">CONCLUSION</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Homelessness results from a complex set of circumstances that require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs. Only a concerted effort to ensure jobs that pay a living wage, adequate support for those who cannot work, affordable housing, and access to health care will bring an end to homelessness. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html">The rest of the article here....</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-423924979365115621.post-9673651859643491922011-03-30T12:53:00.000-07:002011-03-30T14:02:20.198-07:00West African Monday Soup & Doc Gurley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Another Monday West African Peanut Soup - joyful chopping in the Nickelsville kitchen, this time Scott being a chef chopper. Everybody is safe and sound, Mike much better after his bout with bronchitis/pneumonia, Karen playing solitaire on the table, people listening to music on personal devices and in the room next to the kitchen a film playing on TV screen; the frequent hunting cello solos were quite attention grabbing, so I asked Tracy about the film's title, and she said it was 'August Rush'.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pegasusnews.com/media/img/photos/2007/11/25/thumbs/keri_cello_august_rush.jpg.728x520_q85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://pegasusnews.com/media/img/photos/2007/11/25/thumbs/keri_cello_august_rush.jpg.728x520_q85.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I just checked this 2007 film on <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/august_rush/">Rotten Tomatoes website</a> (film ratings and reviews) and found this synopsis: <i>A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents</i>. 84% of the voting public liked it, although this was the featured comment: '<i>Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.'</i> Oh well, schmaltzy plot gets you through another rainy day of being homeless - people seemed to be glued to the screen, maybe because the movie's fairy tail appeal: <i>'Its almost desperate earnestness actually turns out to be its greatest appeal -- August Rush does believe in fairy tales, it does it does it does!'</i> (from another review on the site). And who does not - I'm going to watch it next time I'm in need of serious uplifting...<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/blogs/luminaries/gurley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/blogs/luminaries/gurley.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doc Gurley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In December I linked to an article from Doc Gurley, a San Francisco based physician, who has a column in SFGate, as well as her own blog, and who often writes about the issues of being homeless. Her February 17th column is titled: <b>How many Bay Area parolees are homeless? <i>Sentenced to indefinite homelessness, </i></b>and explores the subject of frequently older and frequently ill former inmates on the streets, who, due to incarceration, might have lost all the benefits they previously had (think blind or diabetic, mentally or physically challenged person now not qualifying for housing or food or medical vouchers - because the 'system' has them marked as 'receiving' in prison, while there is no automatic reconnection to benefits once a person is released). There are not many places which will tend to their needs (I understand even Nickelsville would not be able to help much: one has to be fairly stable functioning and not of 'interest to police' to be admitted), so the full article is well worth reading - it contains interesting thoughts and statistics + links to related articles, surveys, videos and other materials aiming on changing popular (not too positive, to put it gently) perception about the people who are homeless. Here are the opening paragraphs:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">It is universally acknowledged that the first wave of homelessness occurred when the mental health system was abolished. Many would argue that a second wave of homelessness occurred when vast amounts of affordable housing were eliminated. I would argue that a third wave of a more desperate, intractable, and frequently violent phase of homelessness has been created by our vast prison system.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">How many people enter the prison system homeless? How many leave our prison system with no fixed destination? What subset of the 70 percent of ex-felons who return to prison are homeless?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Just for public safety reasons, you might assume the correctional system would want to know those numbers. A homeless person, by definition, is a wild card. You cannot know where they are at any point in time – much less immediately after a crime has occurred in the vicinity.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Surprisingly, according to both California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) research division and the voluminous reports on its website, the prison system does not explicitly track that information.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gurley/detail?entry_id=81850">The rest is here...</a>alekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14017484473597055832noreply@blogger.com0