CULTURE CLASH a venue for Galveston’s free thinkers
Turtle lovers of all ages have the oportunity to see 50 colorful Kemp’s ridley sea turtle statues that have been installed around the island since 2018. Businesses, individuals and organizations graciously sponsor the turtle statues while local artists are commissioned to give each one its own personality and meaning.
Download a FREE map and go on a tour: Be sure to tag Turtle Island Restoration Network in your images (@TIRN-Gulf on Facebook and @TIRN.Gulf on Instagram) and tag #TurtlesAboutTown
Turtles About Town is a community art project that highlights the City of Galveston and the conservation efforts of Turtle Island Restoration Network to protect endangered sea turtles on the upper Texas coast.
BRINGING TOGETHER ART, AWARENESS, AND ADVOCACY!
3CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 seaturtles.org clapcupstudios.com
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GLOW RIDE 3rd Thur of Every Month City Lights & Glowing Bikes Meet up at 6pm in front ofshop!our 1808 Seawall Blvd (409) 762-2453
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LETTER FROM PUBLISHER:
“This piece depicts my fiancé Jon who actually used to be homeless in cities from Austin to Seattle, from communes to the streets. He says, ‘It started out of necessity but I came to see it as freedom and as an opportunity to travel and have new experiences. If I got bored, I could pack up and move onto the next town on the horizon. There were absolutely challenges, the hardest parts were finding ways to feed yourself and a place to sleep where you wouldn’t be run off by police.’ Jon and his experiences were actually a great source of inspiration for me to go into the field of homeless services.”
HOMELESSNESS
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 42022
A special friend and colleague came to me with the passion to write about homelessness. The topic carries so much stigma in our society, that the idea seemed obvious. I had no way of knowing how triggering and personal it would be. We spoke to travelers, people who wander the open road and had never ever considered they might be homeless. And then there were those who couldn’t deny the fact if they tried. Circumstances and dumb luck are all that is keeping some of us from poverty and the rest of us are one major injury away from losing everything we have. One thing I have been reminded of when exploring this topic is that we could all use a little more compassion and possibly to spend more time helping out our neighbors. We too may need help one day. Here at Culture Clash magazine, we aspire to shake the awareness up inside of our community. We encourage you to get involved in the many organizations giving back (see the list on pg. 22). But most of all we hope you read, enjoy, and share.
ON THE COVER: “The Great Jon Building” by Justine St. Cry. Ink on paper.
Janese PublisherMaricelli
5CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 CULTURE CLASH magazine PUBLISHER Janese Maricelli-Thomasson LAYOUT & DESIGN JanMar Agency EDITOR Leslie Whaylen CONTRIBUTORS Emma Alpern • Justine St. Cyr Rev. Michael Gienger José Mendiola • Dash One Alissa Walker MAKE A CONNECTION For ad rates or personalized marketing strategies, call us at 409.502.8221 CHECK US OUT CultureClashGalveston.com instagram.com/CultureClashMagazine cultureclashgalveston@gmail.comfacebook.com/CultureClashMagANNUALSUBSCRIPTIONS Please mail check payable to Culture Clash 1625 23rd St., • Galveston, TX 77550 In the amount of $24 Note “subscription” in memo line table of contents DEPARTMENTS HOMELESSNESS 6 Prophets in our Midst 9 An Attitude of Gratitude 10 Forgotten Voices 21 Language HomelessnessAround 22 Knowing Who to Call Coolture 25 Featured Artist 26 Unseen Art 28 Top 10 Causes of Homelessness 29 PULSE Calendar Vol. 5 Issue 6 (Sept/Oct 2022) 5 GET READY FOR THE NEXT ISSUE! 6 A LLEYLIF E 26 109
The courageous move is to invert that question: “What’s wrong with US that WE could allow such poverty to exist in OUR community?” It’s a subtle move that refuses to see the afflicted as “affliction,” but rather as symptoms of a diseased system, an unwell community.
Prophets in our Midst
Hot showers, clean laundry, and nutritional meals are important data markers, but the newfound friendships, transformed mindsets, and stories of empowerment are what make the work most significant and meaningful.
By Rev. Michael Gienger, Co-Pastor, Galveston Central Church
FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, I’VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS ONE OF THE CO-PASTORS OF GALVESTON CENTRAL CHURCH. It’s been one of the greatest joys of my life. During that time, our community has developed a robust menu of social services that attend to the needs of Galveston’s unsheltered population. Each week, a motley crew of volunteers - both housed and unhoused - work together to offer showers, laundry services, hot meals, bicycle repair, medical care, mental health counseling, computer assistance, social work consultations, locker storage, emergency shelter, and more to the Island’s overlooked and under-served. Our social service work operates with a model of equity and empowerment - blurring the line between service-provider and recipient. This has led to folks on all sides of the demographic divide to reclaim that piece of their humanity that gets lost in labels and categories. It’s not uncommon for sheltered and unsheltered persons alike to say things like, “This place makes me feel human again.”
When people first hear about this sort of work, they understandably have questions. Most folks offer really thoughtful inquiries, but inevitably someone puts forth some version of the following: “What’s wrong with these people experiencing homelessness?” Of course, no one ever asks it quite so bluntly, but questions about personal choice, addiction, financial acumen, mental fitness, etc. are all variations on that theme. In clinical terms, the best version of this question asks, “THOSE people are sick. How do we cure THEM?” At its worst, it wonders, “THOSE people are a cancer. How do we remove THEM from our social body?”
ofPhotoscourtesyGalvestonCentralChurch
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 20226 CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS)
David owned the room that morning. The community listened intently, hanging on his every word. When David finished speaking, the sanctuary erupted in applause. His words had captivated the hearts and minds of folks from across the demographic divide. I’ll never forget one of our non-religious attendees approaching me after the service, saying, “I don’t know if I believe in any of the shit you were talking about in your sermon, but I believe in that.” David had put skin and bone on abstract theological ideas like “resurrection” and “new life.”
Through some clever word play, Lacan teaches that social symptoms are prophets that should grab our attention. If we learn to approach the person on the street corner with a spirit of curiosity rather than condemnation, and ask the question, “Why are there people experiencing homelessness in my community?” ...we might find it’s because our social body is broken. Our community needs healing. We’ve forgotten that we belong to each other. As it turns out, those who we might otherwise cast aside become the prophets - the holy men and women - who call us to change and transformation so that we can have new hope, new freedom, and experience liberation in our lives.
Three years ago, my unsheltered friend, David McLaurin, offered his testimony as a part of the church’s Easter service. David opened up by saying, “Well, Mike told me to tell my story. This is my first time telling it. I didn’t think much of it, but Mike did, so I’m gonna tell it.”
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON
The real question is... are we listening?
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CLASH
The 20th century French philosopher and psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan, helped me understand this. Lacan preferred to write the word “symptom” in its Latin form: “sinthome.” Why? Well, if you put on your best French accent (ooh la la), you’ll find that “sinthome” sounds just like the French phrase “saint homme,” meaning “holy man.”
David quickly became a staple in the Central community. He cut my hair and offered free haircuts to community members who couldn’t afford to
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CULTURE (HOMELESSNESS)
CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS) CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 20228
ofPhotoscourtesyGalvestonCentralChurch pay for services. He opened up the scriptures in new and life-giving ways during Bible study. He always had a bit of wisdom and a bag of Funyuns to shareall of this while living on the streets. David died almost exactly one year ago. (I’ve rewritten that sentence a hundred times now. It still doesn’t sound right.)
C.S. Lewis once said that he was surprised that grief felt so much like fear. I’m surprised that it feels so much like anger. I’m angry because David’s death ... like Jereme’s… and Al’s… and Jim’s… and Melvin’s… and Jeramy’s… and Carol’s… and Jimmy’s… and so many others in Galveston’s unsheltered population… was preventable. He didn’t have to die. I’ll never forget walking into a seedy motel room and finding David on the bed, unable to move. This 6’3” man who once weighed nearly two bills was barely 80 pounds. Whatever abstract idea of resurrection David had enfleshed with his Easter message two years prior, had checked out of that motel room early. He was just skin and bones. David was really sick. Because he was sick, he couldn’t keep a steady job. Because he couldn’t keep a steady job, he couldn’t get insurance. Because he couldn’t get insurance, he was really sick. Because he was sick, he couldn’t keep a steady job. Because he couldn’t... David would bounce between the streets and the emergency room for the next few weeks. Finally, with the advocacy efforts of UTMB’s phenomenal social work team, we were able to get David into a place that would provide the shelter and care he needed to recover. He moved in on his 47th birthday. He died three weeks later. I am confident that if David would have had access to housing and healthcare earlier, he’d still be alive. But prophets are seldom welcomed in their hometowns. Three years later, I still think much of David’s story - so much so that I refuse to let it end here. Since David’s death, we’ve begun offering free healthcare services onsite through a creative partnership with UTMB and St. Vincent’s. We’re in the early planning of stages of opening a transitional housing opportunity for persons who are seeking to exit homelessness. But we can’t do this work alone. We need a stirring of our collective moral imagination - a stirring that begins by listening to the holy men and women in our midst. It’s no coincidence that “curiosity” and “cure” come from the same root word. A posture of openness and wonder towards our neighborsespecially those on the streets - might lead to the collective healing for which we all long. Are we listening?
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As an adult though, I was once without a home when my husband lost his job, our sole income, and then he unraveled. We vacated our employer-owned house where we were living with our children. On the day of our departure, he allowed stress to overcome him. He unleashed by assaulting me, and then abandoning us. At the time, we lived in a different place far from friends and family. I remember driving to the gas station, not knowing my next step. A man, perhaps homeless, approached me and asked me for money. I responded to him, annunciating each word probably more than needed, “My husband just left me homeless and I do not know what to do.” He responded with a kind voice, “There’s a place down the street where you can go for help. I’ll give you the name and address.” I nodded numbly and kept filling my tank with fuel. Being homeless was forced upon me suddenly, and I felt terrified. Humiliation, fear, and hurt overwhelmed me. My mother mobilized immediately and retrieved us, but not before I noticed my youngest child pulling out hair in distress.
An Attitude of Gratitude for What Could Have Been
By Dash One A friend offered lodging, where we lived in a 1-bedroom place for nearly a year until I got on my feet. I was able to pivot, but how different my story could have been without the resources (money, time, donations) my friends and family had to help me. Though I am resourceful and resilient, I recognize my fortune in having others uphold me in my most needed hours. My same hair that day in her heart handing out bars, bags she sees in stories for experienced closely might parts of my I try to maintain attitude of for what could been, but you?
Illustration courtesy of Shuterstock.com
A DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF “HOMELESS” IS A PERSON WITHOUT A HOME, AND THEREFORE TYPICALLY LIVING ON THE STREETS. Growing up as a military kid, we moved a lot. Sometimes my family was without a house in the transition from base to base, place to place, but only for a few days. “Home is where your mom lives” reads a sign I bought for my mom that hangs on her wall. She roots me. I acknowledge my blessings of having her in my life, with awareness that not all people share or relate to my story.
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THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND MISTY
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PART ONE: GUILT
Awake in my bed in the middle of the night recently, I wondered, “Had society wrought my thoughts and judgments to perceive these people who walk the streets as mere shadows of my life? Was it my upbringing? Was this my family’s fault? Was it my friends? Or was this simply my doing?”
Story and Photos by José Mendiola
It all started as a cruel joke. When I was a 12, I went to the mall with my friends. We were standing outside while I was eating a snow cone. I was so focused on this snow cone that I completely forgot my surroundings. My friends suddenly shoved me towards an elderly homeless woman. “Ask her for a date, she’s pretty hot!” They all laughed, and I have to shamefully admit so did I. When I saw the expression on her face, I ceased my laughter. I saw the elderly woman hang her head and stumble away from our little party. She picked up her belongings and wiped tears away from her face with her worn-out sleeves from this beat-up green sweater she was wearing. My friends didn’t seem to notice her reaction, or maybe they didn’t care. They walked away laughing; feeling victorious in their inconsiderate, shallow little world. As she walked away, I couldn’t help but wonder about what she’s been through. The world was cruel, but middle schoolers were crueler, and that I knew. I wanted to stop her and apologize, but the shame rooted me to the ground and rendered me speechless. I will never forget the look on that woman’s face. More than 13 years later, I still think about her. Every time I drive by a seemingly houseless person, I see her face and feel a deep guilt. I think about pulling over my car, hugging them, telling them everything will be okay, taking them to dinner, buying them new clothes, reconnecting them with family, and miraculously fixing their lives in the span of a day. But I keep driving.
The answer: I’m not sure. Later that week my roommate invited me to attend a charity event held in the back of one of Galveston’s many churches. The charity event was to give food, clothes, dogma, and other important commodities to the homeless. Because I had been thinking about the lady I made cry earlier that week, I, naturally, as a superstitious Godfearing Catholic, took this as a sign, and agreed that I would go to the event.
Forgotten Voices
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PART TWO: MEETING JOHN AND MISTY
The event took place at eight in the morning on a cold, cloudy day. With a bagel in my hand and a motive on my mind, I scouted the crowd to see who I could talk to. The loud gospel music was nauseating, making it easy to understand why some of these people have mentally checked out. A woman with a pink beanie stuck out of the crowd, and I approached her, hoping to not scare her away. I had no idea what she had been through, or what was her past experience with men; I couldn’t blame her if she didn’t trust me. The world was cruel, but men can be crueler, and that I also knew. When I got within speaking distance, I totally froze and told her I was working as a writer for Culture Clash and asked her if she wanted to do an interview for the magazine. She smiled, shook my hand, and told me her name was Misty. The man next to her was her longtime partner, John. She told me she would love to do an interview. John introduced himself again and shook my hand as well. John and Misty were not the aggressive, incoherent homeless people my ignorant anxiety had fearfully expected. Rather, they were both articulate, lucid, and, most importantly, were kind. I asked them if I could interview them the next week, and they said yes.
PART FOUR: CAR RIDE/ WHATABURGER
The next morning, I arrived at the weekly charity event where the homeless congregated. The preacher was going on about his usual ceremony while the homeless gathered early in line for food and clothes. I saw Misty and John. The closest analogy I can describe my sensation is the way that one feels before riding a rollercoaster. I said hello, and asked if they were still willing to do the interview. My anxiety was going through the roof, curious if I was the only one with some inner troubles, I had asked John and Misty how they were doing mentally. They told me they were hanging on by a thread. John told me he had PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, and BPD, and was prone to snaps. Misty told me she was depressed and had multiple personality disorder. She said one of her personalities was a young girl named Star. Misty called Star one of the nicest and sweetest people I could meet. With this being revealed I said whatever anybody would say, I said it was cold and asked if they wanted to go somewhere to eat. We all agreed on Whataburger.
PART THREE: ANXIETY
As we started to walk towards, what I thought was, Whataburger; John and Misty looked around and asked where my car was. It was at that moment when it seemed time ceased moving, and all of Galveston’s 50,596 residents came to a standstill to hear my a nswer. I’d like to take a minute to explain my brief hesitation having John and Misty in my car had nothing to do with their mental state, or them being homeless. I’ve had plenty of “homefull” people who I absolutely loathed having in my car, whether it be my girlfriend’s shrilling-drunk friends singing off-key slurred renditions of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”, or a sick roommate who showed me a firsthand example of what urinary incontinence was; I simply was uncomfortable with people in my car. With this going through my head, I felt the need to answer. I said yes, and showed them where I parked my car. I pulled up my car and they got in. Misty sat in the front passenger seat and John in the rear passenger. We had a brief conversation about how I was maybe the second guy to ever let them in a car. John clarified he had a knife in his bag. Before I could freak out, I rationalized with my anxiety that if I were homeless, and I had to be on the road with so few people to trust, I too would have a knife or some other type of protection in my bag. So, I thanked him for his transparency and we pulled into Whataburger. John and Misty ordered two Mushroom Swiss burgers. I bought their meals and let them get settled before the interview.
Q8: What was the last movie you saw? Both: Soul Eater
Q6: What’s your favorite song? J: ‘Adventure’ by Coldplay. M: Dirty Heads, ‘Vacation.’
Q2: What’s your name? J: M:Johnny.Misty. Q3: Age? J: J:Q4:M:Thirty-two.I’mthirty-four.Astrologysign?IbelieveI’manAquarius, I was born January 8. M: I was born on January 20. So, yeah, I was born on a cusp of Q5:Capricorn-Aquarius.Whereareyouoriginally from? J: Mississippi. M: I was born in Sarasota, Florida. But I was raised in Texas.
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Before I continue with the interview, I should state that I am aware that our self-proclaimed highbrow readers will consider these questions trivial, doltish, shallow, or frivolous. But I assure you, these questions serve a higher purpose. These questions are not meant for interrogation, or the means to call pity upon those who are less fortunate, but rather to call for the humanization of John and Misty and the many people like them afflicted by homelessness.
John: I’m okay. Misty: Ecstatic, very happy. I’m excited.
Q&A: John and Misty
J= CC=M=John.Misty.Me. Question 1: How are you?
PART FIVE: INTERVIEW
INTERLUDE: A BRIEF EXPLANATION
Q7: What’s your favorite movie? J: Sing, I really liked that movie. M: I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s that dragon movie from Disney. It was really good.
J: Scooby-Doo, I like the old-school cartoons.
M: Learning how to ride a bike when I was about six.
M: I’m gonna throw it back with Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. It’s amazing.
J: Yes, of course.
Q9: What’s your earliest memory of your life?
Q12: Who’s your favorite cartoon character?
M: My kids and having the gift to help others. Also, creating art and making things with my hands.
M: The most interesting times is when he gets into it with cops because sometimes they’ll grab him like this. [Grabs John by the neck]
M: Highly. Absolutely. I believe that I was abducted. I woke with these triangles in my arm. You’ll see UFOs at Crystal Beach all the time. They fly in a triangular formation. They appear and then disappear and appear somewhere else.
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Q11: Favorite book?
J: A whip, by my dad.
Q14: What’s the worst gift you ever received?
J: Feeding emus when I was about seven years old. They were huge.
M: (Laughs) I really liked Cat-Dog.
Q13: What is the greatest gift you ever received?
M: Seeing Galveston beach for the first time ever.
M: A coloring book, it was very strange and it had a lot of scribbles. I was kinda like, “Oh that’s weird.”
M: I do, but we don’t follow fully.
J: No, but I believe in Lilith the lord and lady. M: We had it shoved down our throat so much. We do, but just not fully.
Q15: Do you believe in aliens?
M: And they would hover, and I knew it wasn’t a drone because it was too high. That’s not an airplane.
J: Jane Yolen’s Blood of the Dragon, I didn’t get to read much, but I did enjoy that book.
J: We saw a good one at Brownwood one time, and they were close, too. It went above us and started blinking.
Q16: Do you believe in God?
J: People that chew with their mouth open, or like yesterday at a construction job. Guy just stands around and gets in the way, and I’m asking him to move. I don’t do well if you come up to me and yell at me for no reason. People walking behind me or acting, even playfully, like they’re going to swing at me can trigger me and I might accidentally hurt the person. She has had to stop me several times.
Q10: What’s the happiest memory you have?
J: Misty and my son. He’s 15, his name is Lewis Cayden. Right now, he lives in Brownwood, Texas with Misty’s mom.
M: If I hadn’t explained that John had military PTSD he would’ve been arrested. I’ve talked him out of handcuffs I don’t know how many times. [pause] My pet peeves are Shmacking, and smacking with your mouth open. High pitch noises. A messy house, I’m very OCD. Things that are half done. That’s about it.
J: Meeting Misty.
Q17: What are your pet peeves?
J: I’ve flipped a cop over because of the way he grabbed me.
M: (laughs) The funniest one is when he got the nickname Joker from Six Flags.
Q19: What’s your biggest fear?
M: But yeah, other than that, if I were to lose him, I’d be alone. And I fear that every day because he has bad health issues that can’t get attended to because we have no insurance. Every day is like a ticking time bomb. You know? I go to bed thinking, ‘I’m I going to wake up with my husband this morning?’
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J: I do.
M: Bob Ross.
M: A lot.
M: I learned a lot of my technique from watching Bob Ross. [Misty imitates painting] ‘I’m just gonna floof a cloud here. I’ll put a little tree here.’
J: Heart issues. Half a heart. Half a lung. I had stage two lung cancer. I’ve had four strokes. Five heart attacks. [Looks at Misty] What else?
Q18: Ever had a nickname? What was it?
M: None of our family cares about us, or has anything to do with us, really.
J: The security guard kicked her in the head when she was in a seizure. The cops told us we can have fun with the security guard, just not kill him. So, we chased him around the park, body slamming him on the ground, kicked him in the head, and the cop yelled stop, and we stop. I also go by Sprite.
J: I like Bob Ross. I like watching him paint stuff, I’ll sit and watch him paint.
J: [Looks at Misty] You, really. M: Me?
Q23: What was the last photo you took?
J: I took a photo of Misty. M: The last photo I took was up at the Seawall. I’m a water bug, I love water and nature.
Q22: Who’s your favorite artist?
J: As you can see. M: Him and art. I get inspired by art.
M: Losing him. Cause he’s the only thing I have right now.
M: And a bunch of mental issues. He was born a two-pound, nine-ounce baby, with only half a heart. I have seen his birth certificate.
J: Sharks. And snakes and spiders. My adoptive dad used to torture me with them. He used to throw me in tubs with spiders or snakes as a kid.
J: Except my real dad, my real dad likes you.
M: It means little demon. Cause’ he used to be a hellion kid growing up.
J: She gave me that name.
M: Mine is Moon-mist, ‘cause I’m always fascinated with the moon and my birth name is Misty. Or Red, everybody likes to call me Red, because of my red hair.
Q20: What kind of health problems do you have?
J: One kid called you Janice (Joplin).
Q21: Who inspires you?
J: You ain’t gonna lose me.
M: I wish! I wish. Now if I had my longer hair and curly with the oval glasses then, yeah, I might look like Janice- and lose some weight, then yeah.
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J: See, we both know the views of what each of us went through. We were both there for each other. But sometimes, some days, we both were really not okay. We do manage. Her mom would be looking for her and my dad would be looking out for me, but they couldn’t find us. We’d be three miles down deep in the woods together, they couldn’t find us. We were just trying to get away from it all.
M: I worked at a theatrical theater in Brownwood, cleaning it. It was called The Lyric.
Q26: If you had superpowers what power would you have?
J: Hey, anytime you want to hang out and just hang out at the beach or whatever, feel free.
[At this point Misty excuses herself from the table to give her food to a homeless person outside.]
J: Throwing things. M: Levitation or flying. I’d like to be able to fly. That way I can get somewhere, you know?
M: I like to consider ourselves freelancers of life. Hippy travelers. J: Truthfully, we’re thinking about traveling again. It’s going to be a while. I got to get a beach cruiser under my ass, I can’t ride a gear bike. The gears won’t work, I always mess up the breaks and the gears.
J: Get the supplies we need. Get a trailer. We want- she wants a hippie van, a Volkswagen, she wants to make it into a home and then travel around to different states and smoke pot.
J: We found the owner of the theater was the mayor of Brownwood. We became good friends with him. He would give us jobs.
M: Since we were in diapers. Might as well go ahead and say thirty-something years cause’ we knew each other since we were nearly in diapers. Crawling around on the floor together and eating dog food together. Climbing the rafters of buildings together.
M: The questions going to go for both.
M: [Laughs] Levitation.
J: I don’t know.
J: Honestly, that one. [Points at Misty]
J: Brownwood. I worked for a woman named Leslie, cleaning up stuff. She had a shop, an antique shop. I would straighten up things, make it look organized, and throw away stuff she needed to throw away. Tell people the prices of things. Help load cars.
Me: Oh, yeah. Thanks, man. I appreciate it.
Q25: How long have you guys known each other?
Q24: Who was your first love?
Q29: What would you do if you won the lottery?
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M: Sometimes he would give us money. He was really nice. So, yeah, The Lyric, we cleaned and even helped build stage props, that was always fun.
Q28: Would you consider yourself homeless?
[John[Laughs]looks at me]
CULTURECLASHGALVE S TON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022
Q27: What was the last job you had?
J: Poland. M: Q34:Hawaii.Doyou have any tattoos? If so what’s the story behind them?
M: Ferret! Yeah! You have the attitude of a ferret. Mischievous little thing.
Q38: What is the average amount of money a day?
J: My grandma.
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Q35: Where do you think we go after we die?
Q36:anywhere.Ifyou could be any animal, what would you be?
Q37: How often do you eat? M: Twice a day, try to. J: Depending on how the money is that day.
J: On a great day it’s thirty, but lately it’s been five dollars daily.
Q31: If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
M: [Laughs] Cat. I’d be sitting there getting ear scratches all day.
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Q: What would you do if you won the lottery, Misty?
M: I’d open an art shop. I want it to be like handmade beach decor and art.
Me: Yeah, I got you, man. [Misty returns back to the table]
J: Open a shop, a mechanic shop.
M: Buy a home. Probably buy my kids a home or put some investments for my kids. Save the rest of it in a bank. And then help out people who needed it. I’d also like to get a hippie van.
J: We know them, they just, they kind of get tired of our issues after a while. They can tell usually when I’m not there. And then they just talk to her and hang out with her.
Q30: And the people you hang out with here, are they your friends?
M: Janice. Janice Joplin, I’d love to be able to meet Janice Joplin. Probably go on a few psychedelic trips. You know it was good back then. Ain’t nothing wrong with the ’60s.
Q33: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
J: We have a lot of tattoos.
M: I think the most interesting one is the one behind my back, he’s the one that did that one. It goes all the way across. It’s a huge butterfly, and has both of our twin daughter’s eyes that passed away at a very young age. They would’ve been eighteen- nineteen already by now. I was like thirteen when I had them, they passed away when I was fifteen.
J: Purgatory. M: Me? I think the spirit world really, just floating in between, because there are so many hauntings and ghosts, you know? So, I think we linger around on Earth. I don’t think we go
Q32: If you can do anything without failing, what would you do?
J: [Laughs] Ferret.
Q39: What’s your favorite food?
When asked when was the last time they kept in touch with their children, Misty responded, “Our kids? It’s been since October of last year.” John then chimed in to say, “I got a hold of him on Facebook, but he said he didn’t want to talk to me anymore, and I was like, ‘Okay.’ Talking about my kids can be a sensitive subject. I can hardly ever see them. I’m pretty much just waiting until they’re ready to come find me, or ready to be in my life. I’m not going to push myself, or ourselves unto the kids when we’re barely in their lives anyway. Being in a teenage mindset right now and having a girlfriend, having sports, and he’s got friends. I don’t want to push myself into his life when he’s got all that going right now.”
When asked to clarify what she meant by shady, Misty replied, “There are some people who we’ve worked for that didn’t have the license to be doing what they’re doing and they’re going out hiring people and doing shady stuff. Sometimes it causes people to get hurt, and they don’t have any insurance or coverage if something happens to people.
Q40: Do you have anything to say to the people who are reading this? M: Just hope they can find some inspiration. You know? Everybody has their struggles. If they can find inspiration, they can make it.
J: Same.
“Or every time we get a home it always felt like we got boxed in. The way I tell it to people, it feels like you’re climbing a ladder and then you get knocked off. We kept climbing and kept getting knocked off. We finally were like, ‘Okay, let’s just be travelers. Let’s just forget about trying to get a home right now. Let’s just travel around on bicycles.’ First it was on foot. Then we got bicycles when we got here in Galveston three years ago. We started bicycling in and out, in and out, all over Texas, all over Arkansas, and Louisiana. I mean, we just bicycle everywhere. We sleep on the side of the road whenever we’re tired. We travel at night. We try to find work whenever we can. Sometimes it’s not legit work, so it can be really shady.”
J: [Laughs] Homemade rice and gravy. And all of Misty’s cooking. M: Chicken and dumplings, I would have to say.
18
I asked Misty if she could say anything to her children what would she say. She responded, “I love you, I really do love you. Hope you know it’s not all my fault for not being in your life.” She added, “I also have a daughter, about to turn thirteen. She has autism. She’s not all there, but she’s just the perfect special little gem to me. She’s the main one who has not been in my life the most. My son on the other hand actually knows us, and hangs out with us. However, my daughter is very shy.”
When asked how long John and Misty had been dating, Misty let me know briefly about the start of their romance. “We were eleven or twelve when we started to date. I was like ‘Okay, we’re going to date. You’re mine and nobody else’s.’ Pretty much.”
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS) PART SIX: JOHN AND MISTY’S STORY
“The way we ended up homeless was we were neglected by our families,” Misty said, “and then it went from being neglected by our families to our mental health issues. Pretty much just knocking on our door giving us a hard time, keeping us from getting jobs, keeping us from getting a home, or staying stable.
“He wouldn’t tell us,” John said. Misty continued, “Wouldn’t tell us our rights.
When asked if they could say anything to the Galveston Police Department what would they say, John responded with a simple, “Fuck you.” And Misty with, “Get your head out of your butts, and do y’alls job better. Because sometimes they arrest people or mess with the homeless for no reason.” John added on, “Quit treating the homeless like ragdolls.” It was then that policeman walked through the door. We left.
19CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022
“Then they grab me by my hair,” Misty continues, “and pull me around like I’m a ragdoll, laughing at me, mocking me, and using my mental issues against me. It was total mockery, it was not right.”
“They took us to jail,” John said. “When we get to the jail, they strip us of our clothes and throw us in the psych ward. We got out, went to court, and told the judge the same story we told you. The judge was really cool and tossed out the case. He asked what cop it was and I said I didn’t remember his name. All I knew he was my size, but he was a little bit more built and had an attitude of an asshole. The judge said he thought he knew who I was speaking about and threw out the case. The same cop has harassed us for quite some time now.”
“We’ve been through so much together. We’ve been through some battles. Battles with other people as well.” When I asked Misty what she meant by battles she told me that she and John had issues with the police. “Up there at the skate park two years ago, it was pretty much police brutality. I had just gotten out of the seizure, was lying there, just coming out of it. He’s [John] lying there beside me making sure I’m okay and monitoring my breathing because I wasn’t responding at first. I snap out of it to an officer standing over me saying, ‘Put your hands behind your back, you’re going to jail.’ I’m like, ‘Why are we going to jail?’”
PART SEVEN: POLICE
Wouldn’t read us our rights. I’m like, ‘Tell me why we’re going to jail, or me and you are going to fight.’” John added, “I’m trying to help. The cops grabbed me by the feet and I kick them. I start fighting the cops. Then they take about six cops- she’s three months pregnant at the time. Eight cops pick her up, after they handcuff her, and chunk her off the amphitheater stage.”
CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS) CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022
As the day came to an end, I knew I had to say my goodbyes. I asked them where they would like to be dropped off. They told me on Seawall by Academy. While we drove there, they thanked me for my kindness, and I thanked them for theirs. We talked about life and its ceaseless deliveries of ups and downs and turns and twists. We got to the destination. We sat on a bench to talk about their travels. Misty told me about her plans to go to Florida on bikes with John and go find her father. We were smoking a cigarette and watching the waves crash on the shore when one of their acquaintances pulled up on a bike. As he approached, Misty informed me that Randy smoked meth, but assured me that he was still one of the good guys. “The problem with being homeless is that everyone thinks you do drugs, which isn’t always the case, you know? But even then, if you do, like Randy, doesn’t mean you’re a bad guy. Sometimes the worst guys are in suits and ties, walking out of high-rises.”
As I finished my cigarette, I got up, thanked them for their time, and said my goodbyes. Misty gave me one of her seashell necklaces. A piece of me wanted this to end like one of those John Hughes movies, with John, Misty, and me crying in a group hug, while some ballad about journey or trust plays in the background. Credits roll. But it wasn’t like that.
PART EIGHT: WALMART
ENDING: A MEMORY
On my free time, I go to Seawall and sit at the bench where we had our conversation. Sometimes I see seashells discarded on the floor and think it was them picking out the right shell for the necklaces. When I had lunch, I would go to the bench and bring more than I was going to eat. I would sit there and watch the waves, waiting for John and Misty.
The sun was shining off the waves unto our faces. We sat there so peacefully, listening to the waves crash on the shore. I thought about the lady I made cry as a kid. I thought about the snow cone in my hand, and I thought about my friend’s laughter.
There’s no doubt they made it to Florida. Those freelancers of life would find a way. I’d like to think they changed my life, but I can’t tell you I changed theirs. I can’t tell you if they remember my name or not. I can’t tell you I miraculously fixed their lives in the span of a day. All I can tell you is that I’ll never forget the look on their faces.
We got in my car and I asked them where they wanted to go. They told me Walmart. On our way to Walmart, Misty would lower the windows to holler at somebody she knew. She told me she felt great. She’d point out various locations where she and John had camped out. In the back of a Red Roof Inn, an abandoned building, or simply on the beach. The world seemed to be at their disposal. Maybe this is irrational to say or even to think, but there’s something free about calling the world, and not some apartment complex, your home. When we got to Walmart, I let them pick out what they needed. John got a new bike pump and a bike tire. Misty bought some crafts to make necklaces, she told me that making necklaces was how she made her money. John and Misty had a phone. They even had a TikTok account. I bought their stuff and we left.
Until one day I saw John and Misty’s friend, I asked him if he had seen them. He told me John and Misty went to Florida, biking all the way there. I was happy for them. I walked back to my bench. I thought about our small experience and smiled.
It ended how it started, with a handshake and a smile.
20
Part Nine: Seawall/ Goodbyes
By Alissa Walker and Emma Alpern
The Language Around Homelessness Is Finally Changing
We no longer use the collective noun ‘the homeless,’ just like we don’t use ‘the elderly’ or ‘the disabled,’” said Paula Froke, editor of the AP Stylebook. She annouced changes in a session at the 2020 American Copy Editors Society conference. Instead, the stylebook recommends “homeless people,” “people without housing,” or “people without homes.” Other terms considered disparaging are “vagrant” or “derelict.”
In a rapidly changing society, where gender pronouns have become more inclusive, style manuals are being rewritten to reflect a broader range of people and identities. In recent years, many major style manuals’ guidance around subjects like race, disability, and sexuality have been increasingly informed by input from advocacy groups, reflecting a shift in our culture.
Perhaps we can all embrace more compassionate terminology when choosing language to represent marginalized identities. Using terms like “the homeless” is reductive and purposely isolates a specific group, making it seem like the needs of that group are not representative of the whole of society. People without housing must overcome stereotypes, get routinely harassed by law enforcement, and are often the victims of violent attacks. More humanizing language might make their neighbors who live in homes more understanding of their plight.
21CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS) ofPhotocourtesyShutterstock.com
From “the homeless” to “people without homes,” a new style manual recommendation could transform how Americans view the crisis.
GALVESTON CoCARE 4700 Broadway #E100A • Galveston, Tx 77551 346-324 4324 Chad Smith - csmith@galvestoncocare.com START HERE: their goal is to connect all of the service agencies of Galveston together and connect persons who need services to the proper agency OUR DAILY BREAD 2420 Winnie • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-765-6971day shelter, primary care, can act as mailing address, case management, AA meetings, counseling, breakfast & lunch, assistance with birth certificate, and driver’s license Angela Joseph, Director ST. VINCENT’S HOUSE 2817 Postoffice • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-765-2242primary care, rental/utility assistance, snack and hygiene kits, eye clinic with a voucher for free glasses, case management, free transportation (van) Paula Toban-Stephens, Director GALVESTON CENTRAL CHURCH 3308 Avenue O 1/2 • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES: day shelter, bike shop, UTMB medical services, dental services, computers, lockers, Tue. and Thur. lunch, showers, laundry services and PastorcommunityMichael Gienger SALVATION ARMY OF GALVESTON 601 51st St. • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-763-1691shelter, clothing donations, breakfast, community dinner, rental assistance RESOURCE AND CRISIS CENTER SERVICES:409-763-1441shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence, counseling, case management THE CHILDREN’S CENTER 4428 Ursuline St. • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-765-5212family shelter, counseling, case management ADA WOMEN’S CENTER 201 1st St. • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-763-5516female recovery halfway house, case management GALVESTON URBAN MINISTRIES 3727 Avenue H • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-497-2460youth programs, case management, family programs, money BrandonmanagementWilliams, Youth Director GOD’S KINGDOM & RESTORATION MINISTRIES 4628 Avenue Q • Galveston, Tx 77550 Pastor Shirlyn Thomas CHOSEN ONES OUTREACH MINISTRIES 2628 Avenue H • Galveston, Tx 77550 SERVICES:409-497-2138rental assistance programs and placement. Offices in Galveston and Texas City Reverend Edward Lawson KNOW ING WHO TO CALL CULTURE CLASH (HOMELESSNESS) CULTURECL ASHGALVESTON .COM • JULY/AUG 202222 ofPhotocourtesyShutterstock.com
23CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 CULTURE CLASH EPIC BASH 5 NOV. 18. 22 • FREE COMMUNITY EVENT • DRESS TO IMPRESS THE TASTING ROOM AT FALSTAFF BREWERY • GALVESTON ON TOP OF THE WORLD RSVP • FACEBOOK.COM/CULTURECLASHMAG
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 202224 COOLTURE
FEATURED
Already knowing that she wanted to go into a field to help the undeserved, hearing and being a part of her once homeless fiancé Jon’s story, made Justine want to learn the stories of others who have had similar experiences. Keeping this goal in mind, she landed her first position with Gulf Coast Center as a PATH Case Manager in homeless services connecting people to mental health services. In addition to driving the van, Justine’s days consisted of driving around Galveston County conducting outreach, completing screenings and intakes for GCC services, attending community meetings to collect resources, and once a year working on the Point in Time (PIT) Count. The PIT Count is a national event that occurs every year in the middle of January where agencies in each county come together to count and provide resource bags to all of the people without homes in their community. The purpose behind this count is to inform government agencies of the number of homeless people in an area which leads to grant funding for agencies who serve that population. Justine describes this as, “an amazing event” that she has had the pleasure of being the lead coordinator for Galveston County in 2020 and 2021. Her next role with the center was as the Homeless Services Team Lead, where Justine helped oversee both the PATH and PSH (permanent supportive housing) programs. She is now the Pathway to Care Navigator in crisis services, where she provides short-term therapy to people who engaged with the crisis team due to suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt. Justine doesn’t see her homeless neighbors as often as she used to but will always cherish her time serving them and hearing their stories.
Justine St. Cyr is a Galveston resident, artist, and activist working in our undeserved communities. “ ”
“If God is Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise” is a piece I created dur ing a printmaking class at Galveston Arts Center. It was inspired by a gentleman who would ride the van I drove from Our Daily Bread to Salvation Army and back. He was in a wheelchair, so he’d often sit up front with me and tell me stories about growing up in Kentucky. Every time I’d say “See you tomorrow!” he would reply with, “If God is willing and the creek don’t rise.” a saying taken from his grandfather stemming from living near a creek prone to flooding.
Justin St. Cyr
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 CULTURE CLASH (Coolture) 25
FEATURED ARTIST ARTIST
ABOVE: I have two pieces that make up the beginning of my series “Flying A Sign: Stories of Our Homeless Neighbors.” I love collecting people’s stories and I was inspired by the folks I worked with during my time in homeless services. I wanted to do something to showcase these homeless anthologies and invite others to see and experience the stories behind the people they may meet on the street. The title comes from “flying a sign” - a term used in some homeless communities to describe panhandling with a cardboard sign.
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 202226 CULTURE CLASH (Coolture) UNSEEN
RIGHT: The Marilyn Monroe piece is one done by a man named Michael I knew from Our Daily Bread (ODB). He wasn’t a client of mine but I saw his work while I was there one day and desperately wanted it! He found the paper with the flower design on it and added the gorgeous Marilyn sketch. Pencil sketches were his niche and he had others including Tupac and Michael Jackson for sale. He’s one of the most talented artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
COLLECTIONFROMTHE CYRST.JUSTINOF
Homelessness is a draining existence. Daily life becomes much harder and the future at times can seem very bleak. Art gives homeless residents a way to feel human again. It allows for self-expression and the ability to be seen not as a homeless individual but as a talented artist
27 ART CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022
Tracking
10 Root Causes of Homelessness is a human right, but millions lack this basic right. According to a global survey, over 1.5 billion people don’t have “adequate” housing. It’s difficult to identify more precise numbers because countries have different definitions of “homelessness.” the issue is also expensive, so updated records are not common. know that homelessness is a major concern around the years, many countries have seen their rates increase.
world. In recent
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 202228
Regardless, we
Housing
Here are 10 root causes of homelessness: Stagnant wages Unemployment Lack of affordable housing Lack of affordable healthcare Poverty Lack of mental health and addiction treatment services Racial inequality Domestic violence Family conflict Systemic failures *data courtesy of.homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 2022 Sept. - Oct. 2022 Calendar of Events SEPT pulse MISTER & MISS PRIDE PAGEANT Friday Sept. 2 | 9pm Robert’s Lafitte 2501 Ave Q Galveston, Tx FREE to enter (21+) pridegalveston.com OCT WANT YOUR EVENT LISTED? Email Us. CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com WALKTOBERFEST 2022 PUB CRAWL & POKER HAND Saturday Oct 8 | 7:30pm Murphy’s Pub 213-215 22nd St, Galveston, Tx Register in advance or at Murphy’s day of. $30 tickets postofficedistrict.com/walktoberfest(21+) SEE ART ALONG THOSE LINES GALVESTON ARTS CENTER MAIN GALLERY THRU 10.02.22 Anne Allen, Michael Henderson, Charles Mary Kubricht, Kathleen McShane, Eric Schnell, & Randy Twaddle Along Those Lines features six Texas-based artists whose work in drawing, painting, and sculpture draw connections to the landscape, mapping, and perceptions of the worlds we live in. The works are rooted in both observation and imagination, creating a series of personal geographies that contemplate relationships between physical and imagined spaces. Through their works a subconscious architecture reveals a meditative map for viewers to navigate. 29 CULTURE CLASH (FEATURE) THREE DOG NIGHT Saturday Sept. 17 | 8pm The Grand 1894 Opera House 2020 Postoffice St. Galveston, Tx thegrand.com/three-dog-night$TBD ARTOBERFEST Sat. Oct 16 & Sun. Oct. 17, 10am -6pm & 11am - 5pm Postoffice Street, 21st to 23rd streets $5 entry. Kids 12 and under free artoberfest.com ISLAND OKTOBERFEST Fri. Oct. 21 & Sat. Oct. 22 5pm - 9pm & 11am - 10pm 2415 Winnie St Galveston, Tx FREE to enter | Family Friendly galvestonoktoberfest.com SAVE THE DATE CULTURE CLASH EPIC BASH 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY Nov. 18, 2022 Old Falstaff Brewery The Tasting Room GALVESTON ISLAND SHRIMP FEST Fri. Sept. 23 & Sat. Sept. 24 7:30pm - 10pm 2314 The Strand Galveston, Tx Multiple Events. Tickets $13 and up galvestonislandshrimpfestival.com MOVIE NITE ON THE BEACH Saturday Sept. 24 | 8:30pm Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl East Beach 1923 Boddeker Rd, Galveston, Tx FREE to enter | Pay to on-the-beachvisitgalveston.com/events/movies-Park
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON .COM • SEPT/OCT 202230
For All of Life’s Celebrations Cultivating Community in Galveston’s Historic Falstaff Brewery We work to create the perfect package for you. 3316 Church Street, Galveston 409 - 750 - 1810 TheTastingRoomEvents.com
