Tuesday, February 19, 2013

First Impressions Never Leave


In order to put the title of this post into context, I’ll dive right in and give a perfect example of how a few inconsiderate individuals can add fuel to an existing fire regarding stereotypes of the homeless. This happens so frequently that it’s little wonder even the cleanest and most caring of  less fortunate individuals get a bum rap.
I was not only shocked, but completely embarrassed as well when I took the friendly staff from Flux Magazine up to one of my old camping areas. I hadn’t been up in this particular area for about six, maybe seven years and I was overwhelmed at the bitter sight that filled not only my eyes, but the eyes of the people I was with as well.
In a nutshell, when a person is homeless, and it seems like nobody cares, it’s very difficult to give a damn about anything. This is a fact. I’ve been there. However, back in the days of my homelessness, and spending time with other homeless persons as well, we always managed to give enough ‘damn’ to keep a somewhat clean camp area. It’s not that difficult.
If a person takes a bag of whatever up to camp, consumes the whatever, the only effort required to maintain a neat and tidy campsite is toss the garbage back into the bag that it came in and simply carry it out with you the next day. It’s really that simple. Why can’t everyone do this and make the world a better place?
Here’s a picture that will hopefully deter some of the stereotypes of homeless camps. If you’ve paid attention to my website, you’ve seen this before:

I am hoping at least one of the team members from Flux Magazine reads this post in order to accept my apologies on behalf of the responsible homeless persons who are still out there and still give a half a damn.
Until next time,
Kirk Toncray
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