Everything is Realitive

Some scientist, somewhere, sometime, somehow came  up with the term that everything is realitive. I'm not really sure what that person was talking about, (Science was never my forte'), but I think I can fill in some of the blanks on this one. Here's what I'm going to do. After I explain that for the last two nights, I have met and worked side-by-side with some of the most caring, giving, and intelligent individuals that anyone could ever work with. I'm talking about the awsome volunteers at the local shelter, which is provided for homeless persons when the temperatures dip into a dangerous level. It's called, The Egan Warming Center(s), here locally and it's not only necessary, it's heartwarming. So, I've decided to post an excerpt from my memoir, Behind the Signs, that has a portion of the actual warming center that Beth and I used during our days spent without a roof over our heads.

Here goes:

After taking the first morning yeller piss, I walked back and zipped the tent flap down before we walked over to get a cup of hot coffee. It was definitely a coffee morning, the steaming hot liquid felt excellent when it hit the back of my throat. After we sipped some coffee we grabbed the sign and headed out to the freeway. There wasn’t much traffic that morning; I figured most people stayed up late for the New Year celebration and then slept in. It didn’t matter much; within the first five cars that went by we got a “Happy New Year! Here you go!” yell from some guy who looked like he was still about half sloshed from the night before or he never quit all night long. Either way, he gave us a ten dollar bill. That put a smile on Beth’s face. We walked over to the mini-mart as usual but I stopped at the bus station and got a newspaper to read.

It was the Thursday paper and on the front page said something to the effect of Warming center open through weekend for the homeless. That caught my attention so I turned to section that contained the article and read it while walking through the parking lot.

The warming center was to take place at the Armory across town. The bus ride would be free to anyone in need and bus tokens would be given out upon exit for a return trip.

After Beth came out of the mini-mart, I filled here in on the details. She was a bit leery about the whole idea but I told her, “We might as well try it out; it’s worth a shot.”

We discussed it for a while and decided to give it a try. It had to be more comfortable than a tent, and it couldn’t be any worse than the mission. The newspaper said the center would be open form seven pm to seven am. Everyone must be ready to leave by seven o’clock. They were to have some kind of small meal during the evening for those who wanted it and a pastry and coffee or orange juice in the morning. Showers were provided although numbers were limited on how many would be able to use that benefit.

We flew sign for the rest of the day taking an occasional break then went over to camp to check things out before we left. Then we hopped on the bus at about five thirty and headed for the Armory. When we arrived we could not believe the turnout. Beth and I managed to acquire folding cots to sleep on but some were not so fortunate. Some people were forced to sleep in different rooms on the floor with nothing but a blanket. It was warm though, the temperature was supposed to drop into the low teens the next four nights. When a person is exposed to that kind of cold, it can lead to death very rapidly. In fact, one homeless person did lose his life that year from hypothermia because he couldn’t make it to the only warming center that was in operation.

I hope you enjoyed that little excerpt.
Until next time,
Kirk Toncray
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