Doc Stevens

Tondeleo: Doc has always enjoyed traveling - or rambling and roving. Sometimes he refers to it as being a hobo.  He says when the travel bug bites, he has to take off. When Marilyn was dropped off for him to raise, he had to cut back on his traveling to just a bit here and there, and for shirt little trips and time off.

Doc: "Yeah, I had to cut way back on my hobo ways when my brother's wife dropped her off here on her way to Tennessee with that piece of trash what she met at the carnival. Marilyn was about 10 or 11 and couldn't be left on her own, so it was up to me to be there for her and look out for her. Plus them socialist services was on my case all the time tryin' to catch me messin' up. I had to watch my p's and q's, which included not takin' off so much."

That seems to be a pretty common phenomenon among him and his friends. They can talk for hours about the various times they just "took off," to wander around the country for a spell. Some of them have spent years at a time hopping trains, and just going wherever the trains took them. To support themselves, they'd steal food or anything they thought they could get by with taking and then sell very cheaply. Doc won't talk much about what he calls the days of his darkness. Especially not with Marilyn around.

But he does talk about the urge to wander and roam. He talks about some of the good times, anyway. From what I could tell, the travel bug would bite whenever there was financial pressure, work pressure, family pressure or any other kind of pressure. When the pressure builds up too much for alcohol to wash it away, they would take off. They might just start walking. Just walk out the door with nothing but the clothes on their back, and keep on going.

Doc: You gotta go when you gotta go. It gets too much to be stayin' in one place and then that open road starts callin' and you gotta answer. I've hopped trains, hitch hiked, walked, took buses when I could do some work for a few dollars, and then one day you wake up an' you're ready to go back home an' see your friends an' family. Dependin' on where you are, it might take a couple weeks to make it back. Home seems better when you're far away and been gone awhile.

Once you been gone a while, you can remember all that's good about it and how the folks back home ain't that bad, and they mean well and how deep down in your heart you really do love them. Well, most of 'em.

I always take a guitar along. Usually my oldest Tele. That guitar's been a friend of mine for years an' years an' been on many 'ventures with me. I can count on being able to make a few dollars singing on the streets with that Tele and my battery powered amp, or play indoors with other people and pick up a few bucks.

Once people here you singin' and playin' and find out you're not a crazy person, you can get invited to their place to play at a party or barbecue or whatever. Mostly it's about playin' and  singin' the kind of stuff they want to hear, an' also about bein' friendly and not scary. A lot of homeless people scare people away as a way of protectin' themselves. I can take care of myself, and for me, bein' funny works most of the time.

I like going to churches and missions to play for 'em and share my testimony. Sometimes they give you a love offerin' and put you up for the night.The preacher might meet you for breakfast in the mornin' if you told your testimony well an' if the folks got touched or someone got saved. Oh yeah, I also take a Bible with me when I go ramblin'.

So I ask, "Doc, what is it that makes a man want to ramble, as you put it? How do you know when it's time to take off? What about the people in your life, like your family or boss or your friends?"

Doc: "Well, Tondy, it ain't somethin' you choose. A restless feelin' comes on you and won't leave. You start dreamin' about places far away an' wantin' to be there. Even if you don't leave, you're no good where you are. You're heart's not in it and your mind's not in it. You're better off just takin' off an' gettin' it outta your system."

Me: "But what about the people you leave behind? What about your boss?"

Doc: Well, when that bug hits you hard enough that you gotta roam, they all know it, and they are pretty ready for you to go. If you're poor, your job ain't much anyway. You get a little hard to deal with, and usually the boss man is about ready to let you go from the job. You ain't really hurtin' no one. I know, they cry a bit an' fuss, but they know that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and that you'll be back when you can. And then everybody's happy when you get back. Plus, you got new stories for them from faraway places."

You know what else, Tondy? If a man's gonna be poor, he ought to at least see some sights Y'all forget that poor folks can't go on vacations an' cruises an' all that. We work, we find some way to chill out, like drinkin' or smokin' weed for some, or playin' music - for some, it's drinkin', smokin' weed an' playin' music all at the same time - or goin' to church and gettin' on fire for the Lord.

That's one reason why a lot of our churches are more excitin' than the churches where richer people goes.
Church is all the excitement we got, if we ain't drinkin', druggin' or ramblin'. When I cut back on my ramblin', Marilyn and the people at her church got me goin' to church an' castin' my cares on the Lord. That's kept me calm and gave me a peace that passes understandin'.

People like you got money enough for vacations, travel and what not and you got money for them therapists and all that. We ain't got none of that. But like I said, I ain't done much ramblin' and wild cattin' since Marilyn came here. I had to stick around no matter how bad the itch got to take off. But nowadays, I can come and go as I please an' it keeps the pressure from buildin' up makin' me want to leave. Bein' with the Lord and His people has made all the difference in the world for me.

Tondeleo: I have been experimenting with Doc and his friends by exposing them to the American national news and then listening to their opinions of what I “made” them watch. 

They would not watch the news on their own initiative, and would rather be playing music or cards, or working in the garage. But, during this visit to the US, I have been staying at Doc’s and having him and whomever else is visiting to watch the news with me, and then we talk about it. 

I have been surprised at some of their insights and opinions. Part of it is because they are outsiders and have been outsiders all of their lives. They see themselves as separate from the “system” and they want no part of the system at all. They just want to live their lives and be left alone. 

However, after having them watch CNN, Fox, BBC, Russia Today and Al Jazeera news on the telly for the  last month, I am amazed at their comprehension. I will try to capture some of it for you.

Doc: OK, Tondy, I can tell you this much. Aint neither the Democrats or the Republicans care that much about America and the people what lives here. They care about America as a place for them to get rich. I mean they don’t want it to collapse ‘cause then where would they go where they could take advantage of so many people so easy, and make so much money.

They care more about hatin’ the other side. The other side is competin’ for the votes and the chance to make big money, so they hate the other side. At least when they is on TV they hate the other side. I think they is all cut out of the same piece of cloth an’ down deep they all have they own fellowship – which is the fellowship of power an’ money.

They ain’t pullin’ together to make this a better place to live. If one of ‘em has a good idea, the other ones is against it, just because of who’s idea it is.

Listen, it don’t matter WHO has an idea, if it is a good one, it’s a good one and we need to do it for the good of our country. And if it’s a bad one, then it is bad no matter who came up with it.

Also, both of them makes the other ones out to be the boogeyman. They try to scare you in how this country would be it you voted for the other guy. Ain’t none of them tellin’ the real truth. It ain’t like all the good people is one side and all the bad people are the other side. That’s just stupid. You can be an American and have a different opinion than someone else.

But both sides tryin’ to work the American people. And they both is actin’ – puttin’ on a show. They pretend that they are gonna be different from the other guy, because he is so bad. But really, they is all the same. They are lookin’ out for themselves and whoever it is that is given them money for all that travellin’ and advertisin’. It’s about greed, Tondy. You can’t run for President in this country without bein’ a millionaire. Even I know that. Greed ain’t a good thing in nobody. Especially not in someone who is able to spend all the peoples’ money what is paid in taxes.

Both sides try to get us scared, And that ain’t right. I ain’t believe in bein’ scared as a good way to think straight. It’s a good way to NOT think straight. And they know it, Tondy, and they USE that to get people to pick someone who is not right and vote for him. Bein’ scared ain’t nothin’ but fear, an’ my preacher says fear is not of God. God ain’t gonna make you scared, so when a man tries to make you scared, he ain’t of God, I don’t care what side he’s on.

These people try to divide the American people. We have a name, the United States, and that means that we are to pull together. Poor people know that. We pull together so we can eat, so we can keep the lights on and so we can keep that tags on the car and all that. But these guys try to make us hate each other and not trusts each other. That ain’t right in nobody’s mind. The good book says that if people can agree an’ work together ain’t nothin’ impossible. TO me, if a man tries to get to the top by makin’ folks scared of each other and hate each other, he ain’t much.

And look what they do, Tondy! They want whites to hate blacks and Mexicans, and for north to hate south, and people what ain’t religious to hate religious folk, and then to hate all the towel heads – and they ain’t all bad. I know some an’ they is just like you an’ me.

What I’m sayin’ Tondy is that if you is Republican or Democrat, you both want the same thing. You want to control the American people and keep ‘em divided so they keep votin’ for you. You want to get rich off the people was is the workin’ poor. You want people to hate other Americans and even some what is not Americans, and to keep ‘em scared of towel heads, Mexicans, blacks, whites, an’ religious people, and if that is what you are about, you are a piece of trash.

And worser than that, if you decide to go out there and make it known, they try to make people scared of YOU! That is what they is doin’ to the Occupiers that we see on TV! I watch the news and I see that it is old people, young people, white people, black people, Mexican people, Chinese people, and then the rich folk say that it is just spoiled college kids that want money for nothin’. That is so plain Ray Charles could see it.

Occupiers look like America to me. They ain’t some [predator] freaks what consume they own kind. They just want things to be fair. So the rich guys send fake Occupiers in to pee on the streets and steal things and make the Occupiers look bad. That ain’t right neither. All of it is tryin’ to make people scared all the time, and I ain’t buyin’ into it. Not for a minute. I gotta get back to work.

Tondeleo: The Occupy Movement in the US is in a sad situation. A sad situation for the people of the US, and ultimately for the government of the USA, I believe. I was discussing this with Doc after watching the scant coverage of it last weekend on the local Fox network from Washington DC. We also watched the coverage on NBC-4.

For some reason, the news media in the US cannot comprehend what Occupy is about. Even when the Occupiers articulate specifically what they are protesting, the American journalists seem to just not get it. And they SAY so. Doc and I discussed this and here are some highlights from that conversation.
Of course everyone knows that the American Constitution gives all citizens the right to protest, or assemble peaceably, but the police do not always see it that way. 

Doc: Well, Tondy, here’s what it’s about in my ‘pinion. You got the rich folks who is totally outta touch with the rest of us. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with makin’ money or getting’ rich because you’re makin’ somethin’ that people want to buy, or you’re helpin’ people in a big way and they reward you for it. Ain’t no one here mad about that.

What this is about, far as I am concerned is these are rich folk that make their money by buyin’ companies what wasn’t even for sale, but they bought up all the things called stocks so they controlled it. Then they sold off everything of value, an’ then sold what was left to another company. And all the workers there lost their jobs. But the first company what bought their company where they worked don’t care. They just wanted the money.

Now these folks ain’t got jobs, so they can’t pay the rent or the light bill or the car payment, so they are put out on the street and their car gets tooken away. That’s what some of ‘em is protestin’ about, and I don’t blame them one bit. It aint right.

Others have made big money by fore closin’ on peoples’ houses what they was tryin’ to buy, but then couldn’t pay for when they hours got cut down at the job, or they got laid off. So the banks take they houses, and lets ‘em sit empty rather than let the people what loved those houses be allowed to live in ‘em til things got better. 

So you got more people outta work an’ homeless, and no hope. But they’s house is sittin’ there empty and squirrels and possums and rats are livin’ in ‘em for free, and tearin’ ‘em up. That ain’t right neither.
Then we got them wars that ain’t right. Them people over there aint no threat to America. If they was, they’d be a threat to Canada and Mexico an’ Braazil an’ all the rest. So why do we think we gotta go over there an’ bomb the bejeezus outta they countries? 

I heard that some of them bombs we’re chuckin’ down over there is two million dollars apiece and some is three million dollars. And who pays for that? All these people over here what already can’t afford to live! What if they cut back by, say, 10 of them bombs a month? That would be… it’d be… uhhh…

Tondeleo: It would be twenty to thirty million a month, Doc. Good point.

Doc: Well, it would help a lot of people to pay off they houses or get ‘em back, and it would help a lot of businesses get back in business so people could work and spend money.

And if a man ain’t got nothin’ to do with his time, he’s gonna catch a bus up there to DC an’ make his voice be heard. 

When I finish up the couple of jobs I got in the shop, I’m gonna go up there myself. An’ I am takin’ my own little crowd with me.

What makes me mad is what I seen on TV, that the cops’ll come in an’ start sprayin’ people with pepper spray even though the people is just sittin’ there or ‘spressin’ they opinion. That ain’t American, Tondy. Ain’t American. 

I got some kids what is gonna protest with me an’ they ain’t care nothin’ about pepper spray! I got ‘em from in front of a buildin’ over to Virgina what was throwin’ ‘em out, an’ we got the preacher up to the church to help us letter ‘em up real good. I can Occupy anyplace I want now, Tondy! I am a one man protest!

I got a picture that Big Dave took of me last week when we was settin’ ‘em up to see how it would go. Put it in your blob about me.

Tondeleo: One thing that is immediately noticeable about being in the warmer rural areas of the US during the Summer is the amount of insects. I am fair skinned, and they seem to love English blood. (Think, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.") Whenever I am in the US, I have to cover myself with insect repellent, and even then, they feast on me, and I end up being an itchy mound of insects bites and scabs.

I was eating on the porch at Doc and Marilyn's with Big Dave. They were happily playing music and singing. I was scratching like a madman. I was covered in welts from mosquitoes, and gnats and flies were buzzing around my head.

There were several homemade fly strips hanging from the eaves of the porch, and they were covered with flies. Still the flies and mosquitoes were landing on me as though I was a living and breathing fly strip.

Between songs, Marilyn told me how they make their fly strips by cutting a brown paper bag into 2" wide strips, and then soaking it in mixture of sugar and thick treacle (pancake syrup). She said molasses works good, too. She mixes sugar, water and the treacle in a pan and boils it, then puts the strips of brown paper (which she has already fastened the string to, for hanging it up) into the mixture. After it soaks a while, she pulls them out and hangs them from the eaves of the porch and inside, and in Doc's garage.

Noting my lack of knowledge in this field caused Doc and Big Dave to join in and tell me their other solutions for dealing with insects.

Doc: Fly strips is one way to keep bugs away. When we play at barbecues an' pig pickin's or other outdoor parties in the summer or if we is playin' in the streets, mosquitoes, gnats, an' flies can really get on your last nerve. Makes you sing like you's mad rather than like you got the blues or is broken hearted. People ain't like it when you sing like you're mad, and I don't, too.

I ain't never liked coverin' myself with bug spray, but mouthwash works good for keepin' the bugs away. I use the Wal Mart copycat of Listerine 'causin' it's cheaper. We put it in a spray bottle and put a few squirts on us and on the mics. We use it at home the same way. Buy it by the quart up to the General Dollar, if you ain't got a Wal Mart. Use it for mouthwash, bug spray and shampoo if you're runnin' short.

Fly strips ain't the only way to keep bugs away in the house, neither. Marilyn ain't like no fly strips in her bedroom, Tondy. She don't want flies hangin' over her head when she sleeps! She uses them little cloths what you get at the laundry mat for puttin' in the dryer. I think she gets hers at Dollar General or the Wal Mart...

Marilyn: They's called dryer sheets, Tondy. I clothes pin 'em to my curtains so I can have my windows open at night and the bugs'll stay out. My mama used to do that down to Tennessee when I was a little girl.

Mama used them Bounce dryer sheets for keepin' her bedroom smellin' nice, an' to keep bugs out. She hung 'em on the celilin' fan and kept it on the slow speed all the time in the Summer. She put them in her boyfriend's truck to keep it smellin' nice.

Big Dave: Yeah, and if you got a bee sting or spider bite, you can put deodorant on it. That's what I do. Most everyone over here in the USA does that, I reckon. Stops the itching.

Doc: Sometimes you need to stop the itching if you've been bug bit an' then you got to go somewhere an' play an' sing. You can't be up there scratchin'. Deodorant does work good for that.

Doc picked his guitar back up to start playing, Dave started playing, and Marilyn picked up a harp, and looked at me and squinched up her face:

Marilyn: Tondy, you better get inside to the bathroom and use some deodorant on your face and arms! Your head looks like a bowl full of raspberries. You won't be able to get your hat on tomorrow with your head swolled up!

Tondeleo - This is the second part of my talking with Doc about being homeless and living on the streets. He has been in a rented house for a few years now, but the times he was homeless are still very real to him. I asked him to give some information that could help someone who becomes homeless.

Doc: Shoes. Tennis shoes don't work when you're walkin' the streets. A lot of homeless people wear them, but they fall apart, the soles come off, and they wear out real quick. Get leather work boots, either the ones that come up over the ankle or the taller ones. I like the ones that comes up over the ankle. Steel toe is what I always go for. Did then and still do. Leather work boots don't make your feet rot and stink, they protect your toes and they last longer. I get mine at thrift stores for about five or six bucks. Ten bucks for really good ones.

You can get free clothes at the dumpster behind a thrift shop. All of them throw away good clothes what no one bought yet. Clothes, shoes, hats, jeans, t shirts. All for free.

Tondeleo: I never thought of that. Thanks. How about staying clean when you're homeless?

Doc: You gotta stay clean. Staying clean is important and not stinking like crap. You gotta stay clean. I always used rubbin' alcohol and cotton balls. You can do  monkey bath with alcohol and cotton balls. Hit the back of your neck and behind your ears. Most people miss those and have gray necks. Do your face, armpits, privates and feet. Get between your toes real good to keep foot rot off your feet. You can use alcohol to get the smell outta your socks, too. Get the toe area a little wet with alcohol and it will kill the germs and get rid of the stink. Alcohol and cotton balls are cheap. I always carry peroxide - hydrogen peroxide, too. You need it for any cuts or scrapes but you need to use it as a mouth wash and for brushing your teeth in. It kills germs and will foam all up when it is in your mouth, which means you had a lot of germs in your mouth. It is cheap, too. The best way to stay well is to kill the germs in your mouth, where most of them come in. Use peroxide in your mouth in the morning and also before you go to sleep at night. I still do that a lot.

You can also wash up in a gas station bath room or fast food places. They got hot water and also got toilet paper which you need. If you buy a order of fries you're a customer and got a right to the bathroom.

You can't be going around sick, smelly and dirty and expect people to treat you with  respect. They SHOULD, but they won't. Because if YOU don't seem to respect you, how is THEY gonna be able to respect you? They won't.

Tondeleo: Tell me about food. Where do you get food?

Doc: Dumpsters behind fast food places after they close at night. Most of 'em throw out what they ain't sold. You need to be clean, polite and not spooky looking or creepy. What I would do is go in about ten minutes afore closin' time and say I was hungry and ain't had no money, and could I get whatever food was left outta their dumpster when they close? You gotta smile and be friendly. Can't be stinky and dirty. Clean shaved face helps. Mostly you can find at least one person in a fast food joint what will feel sorry for you and help you out. Sometimes they will set it on the ground behind the dumpster for you.

A couple days later you can do the same thing. Don't make it an everyday thing. That is one way. You can check the dumpsters behind grocery stores but do that in the late morning. Mostly that is the best time, because they throw out fruit and veggies, dairy products and meat. But you need to get it before the sun gets hot and makes it rot. By three o'clock to me, it is too late. I don't want to risk getting food poisoning. In the Summer, you got to really be there in the late morning before the heat makes the food rot. In the Winter, it ain't that big a hurry. It's better to go hungry than to get sick.

Sometimes, if you're friendly, clean and show respect, the sales people what come to stock the stores, like the bread man or donut man will give you a box of whatever they are taking out of the store. Offer to help them load their truck, and usually they will give you some donuts or bread or whatever.

Bein' helpful goes a long way. I have got jobs just by bein' helpful and offerin' to clean up the parkin' lot of a body shop or garage and then after doin' a good job, askin' if I can take out the trash and help with anything inside. Mostly, they would let me and then give me a few dollars. But you can't come in there smelling like alcohol, or smellin' dirty or actin' crazy and expect them to let you in. They will think you're just casing them to come back later and steal.

That's another thing, Tondy. If someone trusts you to do a job, like clean up they's parkin' lot, or mow they's grass, don't NEVER STEAL from them! That is lower than a snake, to steal when someone is trusting you and tryin' to help you out. I look at it this way: if it ain't mine, I don't want it. Lessin' it's for sale and then, if I want it, I will try to work for it and get the money and buy it.

There's some churches what can help. Not all of them have food pantries but some do. I found that if you look as clean as possible, and talk as nice as possible, they mostly will help you. Most of them won't give out money, cause they ain't got it, most of them don't have money sittin' around, but they can help with food. Don't never swear around the church people. Be happy, hopeful, and it is good to ask them to remember you in prayer. I have had them pray for me and then I got a job, more than once.

If you got tools or a ring, or a guitar or something, you can pawn it. But they don't give you hardly nothin' for it, and then you got to hustle some money or you'll lose it forever. I have pawned a guitar for just enough money for something else I might need to make some money - like cleanin' supplies to detail cars with for whatever I can charge, usually $25 or $30. But then you gotta get back there in a couple days before you blow your money on a motel room or somethin' else what takes your money but don't give you no return on it.

You can panhandle. But you got to look friendly, an' smile, and be nice. That is a lot of work when you are homeless and hurtin' an' hungry. Smilin' an' bein' nice or a little funny IS a job an' people should pay you for it! You cain't go up to somebody when you're dirty an' needin' a shave, and your eyes are all bloodshot and say, "Give me some money." They'll think you're robbin' 'em and call the cops. Learn to act nice and harmless.

You can sweep parking lots or take out trash. Mow grass. Rake leaves. Clean windows. Clean out people's gutters. Use their ladder.

  Here's one I did: I got $30 for doin' some work. I went to the Pep Boys and bought glass cleaner, paper towels, that car wash in a spray can stuff, some tire spray to make 'em shiny and got some of their sale papers when you walk in the door.

Then I went to office buildings and told people I could detail their car for $20. I would do it right there in the parking lot, so they didn't have to give me the key to the car. I would use the spray wash n' wax, clean they's windows and wheels with the glass cleaner and make the tires shiny black. Takes a half hour. For $20! You can always get two or three of those a day, which'll get you a motel room, some food and more supplies. Once you do one car, they look at it and pay you and then tell the other people workin' there. One time I did five cars in one day at one place! I did that down to Atlanta a few times so I could get money to get 'stablished. Ain't that hard.

If you can play harp [harmonica] you can set a can, or cup or box or hat on the ground and sing and play harp for money...

Tondeleo: How can you sing and play harmonica at the same time...

Doc: You sing a line, and then play a line. Then sing a line an' answer it with the harp. That works good with country or blues songs, which is what I do. And you put on a little show with it. Maybe dance a bit here and there, or something. Not scary or crazy but funny an' happy. Crazy runs people off. Funny brings 'em in. All you need is two or three harps in different keys an' you can sing most any song out there.

That's some ways to get food and keep clean and get some pennies together.

Tondeleo: Unlike in the UK where we have a good system of resources for the homeless, including dosshouses ("homeless shelters" in the US) in the cities, that can provide shelter for hundreds of people, in the US, there are just not that many good solid resources. Part of this seems to come from the American mentality of "if we reward non achievement, we'll get more of it." In other words, if they make it easier to live without having a job, more people wlll quit their jobs and go into government provided shelters.

Of course, this does not take into account the fact that many are jobless and homeless against their wills, and have absolutely no desire to be taken care of by Big Brother. There are some cities in America where "tent villages" are tolerated, but this is a relatively new phenomenon.

Doc and I were talking about this, and I wanted his take on it, since he has been poor all of his life, and has been homeless from time to time. He has talked about this in other posts, but there is such an increase in the jobless and the homeless, it seems as though one could talk about it and share experiences almost endlessly.

Doc: Yeah, I been homeless. Not since takin' Marilyn in, but afore that, yeah. I ain't usually stay homeless for long, just a few weeks at a time til I could get some money together an' get a motel room or 'ficiency apartment. But yeah I been homeless.

You gotta be real careful when you're homeless. Lotsa reasons. There is the weather, in the winter, even down south. And cops what think you're a drug addict or wino which I was not and a lot of homeless people are not. People think you're mental or crazy an' want you off the streets or they think you're gonna rob them or steal from them or hurt their kids. And some people does do them things, and it ain't always homeless people what does them.

One thing what is hard when you're homeless is to stay off the sauce...

Tondeleo: What sauce?

Doc: Alcohol. You get down on yourself an' on your life and think things won't get any better an' it's more than you can stand. It's easy to take a couple of bucks and buy a bottle of liquor and try to forget about your problems so you can sleep. But you gotta stay away from that, or it'll take over your life. Well, for me it would.

You ain't got much money, an' food is hard to come by, but liquor ain't. So you spend what money you got for liquor instead of food, an' now you're not eatin' but drinkin' and you ain't thinkin' right. That is a hard one to stay away from when you're homeless. But if you don't stay away from it, it'll keep you homeless. Drugs, too. When you you're down in the mullygrubs 'cause you're broke and out of work and not eatin' right, and if you got pains and ain't sleepin' right, it's easy to start doin' pills or smokin' weed to make yourself feel better. That can lead you down a path you have to stay strong to keep off of. Ain't nobody never planned on bein' a drunk or drug addict, but millions is. You gotta say away from it.

Tondeleo: How did you stay away from it?

Doc: I mostly stick to myself, even now, Tondy. On the streets, I kept to myself. When you're first homeless, you think you need to be with the other guys what's homeless, to keep you encouraged, and maybe for protection. It ain't worth it, cause they ain't gonna protect you. They'll steal from you and take anything you got when you're sleepin'. And some of them is crazy. They might get it in their head that you are the caused of they's problems and might wanna kill you.

Some of them is vets and they got that BBSB [PTSD] and they scream out at night, of freak out for no reason. Others is on drugs an' will rip you off in a heartbeat. There is some really violent people out there, and I got tired of the gossip and thinkin' everybody is out to get you that they had. I didn't want to get that way myself, which be easy to happen. Plus I ain't like fightin' so I stuck to myself.

Tondeleo: How did you stay warm in the winter? Did you build a campfire and sleep beside it?

Doc: A CAMPFIRE? No! Not where ever I was homeless! You can't build a fire in town. Cops'll get you and throw you in the can. No, that ain't how you keep warm. We mostly would go behind a store and get cardboard. You need cardboard under you to keep you off the ground. Otherwise it'll give you arthritis or room a tism sleeping on the ground.So get cardboard to sleep on. Then you need some over you. A fridgerator box is a good thing, cause you can sleep in it and it keeps the wind off you. You can make a lean to, and use the back of the store for one wall. That's the way we done it mostly.

I was up north one winter and on the streets for a couple weeks. What I learned up there was to get a pair of coveralls from the thrift store, and I would wad up newspapers and stuff them down in it so I looked like a snow man. Newspapers'll keep the body heat in. In the morning, you take 'em out and put them under the cardboard so they'll be there when you come back at night.

You got to keep your area clean, not messy. You don't want them throwin' away your cardboard and papers and you ain't got nothin' when you come back at night. Here's another way. Get a hot water bottle at Dollar General or Wal Mart. Go into the bathroom at a gas station or Wal Mart or wherever and fill it with as hot of water as you can. Put that inside your clothes and it will keep you warm at night. You got to stay warm or it will mess up your thinking and you might go psycho. Least that's what they say, and I ain't gonna find out.

People is scared of homeless people. Think you're psycho. You gotta do all you can to not seem like a psycho. And you got to keep lookin' for work.

Tondeleo: If you follow this blog, you know that I write it from various interviews and encounters with Doc Stevens, in the USA. He is the kind of American that we don't see on the telly, but that is very common in the rural areas of the States. He is a hard worker, and has a very simple life. He works, plays music, travels and does his best to help his friends and family members. He takes pride in his niece, Marilyn. He is fiercely loyal to his friends.

This series of postings is from interviews with Doc more than a year ago, when I was on assignment in America and was able to get several evenings with him, and also spent my days off with him and his friends. We were talking about poverty in America, and how even a sober, hard working individual can get caught in the cycle of poverty.

America is not like the U.K. in that there is not massive public transport, they don't have the dole as we know it, and many Americans have too much of a sense of independence to accept public assistance. I have discovered that for many Americans, there is a lag time between applying for public assistance and actually receiving it. During that time, which may be more than a month, people are on their own, and have to live by their wits. It is surprising, really.

I got several hours recorded on this topic and am posting them as I get the opportunity to transcribe them and post them. I have no idea how many postings this will produce, since the cycle of poverty and the ripple effects of it are a major part of the lives of America's working poor. I have learnt that these people tend to be caring, friendly, once you earn their trust and have the same needs, wants and hurts as anyone else. Just on different levels.

Doc and his friends are a hard working and hard playing lot. None of them are lazy, but they are not always the most efficient or savvy individuals. Now, on with the interview.

Doc: Here's a thing about bein' poor, Tondy. I figured it out. When you is close to the edge, you aint got no room for ANY mistakes. One bad move and you are done. Like a man with money can lose a $20 bill and he still got a place to live that night. It don't mean nothing. But if I am new in town, and all I got is $50, and the room for the night is $50, and I lose a twenty, I am not only homeless that night, but I can't get to my guitar or tools, if they is locked in the room, til I pay that night's rent and the next one. All 'cause of losing a $20 bill!

Aint no room for mistakes, if you're poor. I ain't no troublemaker. But If I am new in town and aint no one know me, and someone hits me and I hit him back, guess who goes to jail? Me, cause I am the new guy, and aint got no family or roots there. Everything matters when you're poor. You cant pay a traffic ticket. You lose your license. So then what you gonna do? you still got to get to work, so that means you still got to drive. In a small town, that same cop is gonna see you an' pull you over again.

One time, I was in jail for a couple days, and had a court date in another county for driving on suspended. Suspended why? Because I could not pay the traffic fine earlier. But I was driving on suspended because I was fixin' a lady's car, for some rent money and was test driving it and a cop pulled me over cause he knew I didn't belong in that car! Thought I'd stole it! He knew the lady! But he didn't know me as a person. He just knew my license was suspended.

So here I am in jail in another county, and my court date comes up and I didn't make it to the courthouse! I was in jail! They revoked my license! But I still gotta drive to go to work, but the boss man was gonna fire me for missing three days of work. Then, I couldn't pay my insurance.

Three days off work can mean a lot to a person's life if they ain't got much to begin with. Now what if I had a ol' lady an' kids what I was tryin' to feed at that time? They woulda been put out on the streets with no food, no clothes, no nothin! At checkout time on Friday evening, they are told they gotta go! Now where they gonna go? Specially in the winter! Lotsa families live under that pressure day after day.

When I showed up for court, and the cops what stopped me didn't show up, I COULD have probly got off. But I done what they said I done, and told the Judge that yeah I done it. He gave me a $90 fine, court costs and 24 hours community service. When I showed up for community service the lady there told me I had to first pay the $90 plus court costs before doin' community service. But I ain't had $90. I ain't had but bucks. And I had to take off a day of work just to get there to be turned away.

Folks what got money, even middle class people ain't never been in that position, so they just say to get over it. But you cain't get over it when it is your life and you aint got nothing, and your family aint got nothing and your friends aint got nothing and you caint go to the bank and get the money pout it on a credit card. When you close to the edge like a lot of us is, you aint got room to get a ticket, you aint got room to get fined, you aint got room to miss a day's work. You caint afford none of that. When you fall into a ditch it is hard to get out.

Folks with money pays car insurance 6 months at a time. Rich folks pay a year at a time. Folks without money get charged more for insurance and we pay it every 30 days or we get reported to DMV, and our tags are suspended! So we got to drive without insurance, so we can have food and a roof, hope we don't get stopped for a tag light out, and hope the person with us aint got no drugs in the car.

If they got drugs in the car, the car gets impounded and if it's lot of drugs, or if the cop SAYS it's a lot of drugs or he plants a lot of drugs in the car, everyone in the car is goin' to jail.

If I got a car or a truck, I can just sleep in that til I get on my feet. My boss thinks I get there early for work and just snooze till he gets there. No. I drive off at quittin' time and try to make some money playin' music or fixin' someone's car, and then I circle back to the shop and park in the parking lot or out back for the night. That's the best I can do when I am new in town. And I'm a lucky one, Tondy. I aint a drunk. I aint a druggie. I got a trade. I can talk ok. I can play guitar an' sing. An' I believe in the Lord. You aint gotta be a choirboy for him to give you a helpin' hand from time to time.

A man's gotta keep tryin, and not give up. When he falls down, he gotta get up as soon as he can, and learn whatever he can and keep tryin' and keep his attitude good.