HOMELESS
one day at a time by dave johnson photos provided by daniel mustard
I
am politically ambivalent. In other words, I am disillusioned by our political process. It seems so self serving and, in the big spectrum of things, has very little to do with me. I vote but it feels futile because even if the person I vote for wins, very little if anything ever changes. And then I look around at the state of our country, supposedly one of the strongest in the world and I am embarrassed. While we spend trillions on a war that we can’t win, fifty million Americans go hungry, unemployment continues to skyrocket, and more and more people lose their homes every day. Additionally, 30 million Americans are uninsured and our educational system is in shambles. All the while oil companies, banks and major corporations post record profits. I wonder if anyone else wakes up, scratches their head and says, “There is something monumentally wrong with our system.” I have had a soft spot in my heart for the homeless as long as I can remember. I don’t recall the first time I ever met a homeless person, but I am confident I felt sorry for them. I remember my ultraconservative father saying something to me like “homeless people choose to be homeless” and me thinking who would choose to be homeless if they could have a roof over their head. Who would choose sleeping in a cardboard box in the
& Happy New Year
street instead of a mattress underneath sheets and covers? Who would choose eating out of a dumpster over a hot meal at a table with loved ones? I realized then that my father, like so many, and are quick to judge without walking in the tattered shoes of a homeless person. And yet there, but for the grace of God, go any one of us. Most people probably don’t think of homelessness much, if at all. In rural areas like Asheboro, what there is isn’t easy to see. That is, unlike New York City, there aren’t homeless people on every street corner asking for your loose change. But, the reality is, we are much closer to becoming homeless than any of us care to imagine. And, as you will see in this story, it doesn’t take much to find yourself a productive member of society one minute and a homeless alcoholic the next. Depending on your emotional disposition and your support system (i.e. family and friends), it can happen in the blink of an eye. So, while it is easy to discount the likelihood of something like homelessness happening to you, I would ask for the sake of this story that you try to imagine what circumstances it would take to become homeless and, what it would be like to be homeless. In this season of giving, please make it a goal to find a homeless person and show them a little kindness, because as you will see, it goes a long way. Daniel Mustard grew up in a traditional home in Hollywood, California. His younger years were rife with abuse from his mother. Because of this, he started drinking when he was only ten years old. Despite the less than ideal upbringing, he persevered, grew into an adult, got a job, got married and settled into being a productive member of society. Then disaster struck. His wife left him, taking most of their possessions, including their dog. Shortly after that his father, who he was very close to, passed away. Daniel found himself slipping into a constant state of depression. This resulted in the loss of his job and after six months, he was broke. He left Hollywood for New York City, to housesit for his sister, who was going to be out of the country for a while. She offered Daniel a place to stay while he tried to get his life back together. It was in New York that Daniel really started putting his time and heart into volume1 issue 5 asheboromagazine.com
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