Say hello to my new friend

While I’m bobbing around out here with nothing to do, I thought I would tell you about an encounter I had during crew change back in February. I spent one night in Mobile, AL., before flying home. It was kind of rough. PW was sick and I was out of my mind with worry. I had an early dinner in the hotel and went for a walk as evening began to set in. My hotel in Mobile was only 2 blocks from I-10, where it passes just south of downtown and begins to rise over the bay. I headed in that direction to get away from the bar and restaurant crowd that filled the streets in the other direction. I wasn’t in the mood.

Under the first overpass, I ran into a homeless man. He was living in a cardboard box and had a fire going in a barrel. I stopped to warm my hands and we struck up a conversation about the state of the world. He seemed lonely and really wanted to talk. I learned a little of how he ended up under the overpass, living out of a box and eating garbage. It was a sad story. I felt a ton of sympathy for the guy. I mean, we seemed to be kindred spirits. He was witty, intelligent and damn good-looking, if I can get away with saying that about another guy. He could have been my alter-ego, my long-lost twin, or something!

Anyway, I felt really bad for the poor slob and after leaving, wished I had done something for him. A block down the road, I came across a pawn shop. I wandered in, looking for goodies and stumbled on an old laptop for 50 bucks. I thought this might make a nice present for the homeless guy, bought it and raced back to the overpass, stopping only for a pack of smokes and a pint of shitty booze. He was still “home” and I gave it to him, along with the booze. He became homeless long before laptops and PC’s were commonplace, so I fired it up and gave him a few pointers on porn surfing and email. Told him I had a blog and showed him my site. He was impressed and asked me to show him how to make him one. I didn’t have time, but I did set him up with an email account and promised to write.

Well, we have kept in contact the last few weeks and I’ve now set him up with a blog. He’s looking for a home. If you’re so disposed, his email is listed in his profile, over at his blog. I’m listed as a contributor, so I’ve added him to my blogroll and a button for his site under “OTHER PORTS IN A STORM”. He seems like a nice guy, go say hello, or offer him a place to live for a few days. He tells me he’s always wanted to travel and I can tell you, he desperately needs a shower, among other things.