Never a Dull Moment

It seems like every holiday season brings up new and challenging situations. This year seems to be a little busier than the past years for me. Several factors are in this equation, the most serious of which are one; my mom is scheduled for major surgery the week of Thanksgiving, and two; my grandmother (on my mom’s side) passed away early this morning. If that’s not enough, the weather has to pull a nasty and toss a few gnarly tornadoes into the area where my grandmother and most of my mom’s family live.

A quick look at the Egan Warming Center website shows me that the average temperature from all data collected means temperatures at 28 degrees for Wednesday night. That means we will probably activate the warming centers to lower the risk of homeless persons freezing to death during the night. With all that said, here’s an excerpt from Behind the Signs about cold temperatures and some of the things homeless persons must deal with for survival.

Behind the Signs – Chapter 3

  

    I needed something to lie on and cover me so I went on a cardboard hunt. I walked behind the supermarket and found just what I needed. I scored one large box, kind of thick, and one that was thinner but larger to use as a cover. I carried the cardboard over to the makeshift sleeping area and proceeded to make a bed. My pillow consisted of an oval shaped river rock about eight inches long and five inches in diameter. It was the perfect size. It wasn't soft, it was a rock of course, but at least it was some elevation for my head.

    After I had everything in place I went for a walk around the area. After that I walked over to McDonald’s to warm up and use their facilities one last time before returning to my new found comfort zone for what would be a night of cold, wet sleep.

    The rain drops on the cardboard kept a constant enough rhythm to put me to sleep. I was exhausted anyway so sleep came relatively easily. When my bladder wakened me that it was time to pee, I rolled out from under the cardboard to discover that I was sleeping under a white blanket of snow. I finished my business and crawled back underneath and fell back asleep. I woke up again at daylight and figured the best thing to do would be pick up all the cardboard and place it back in the recycle bin before things got busy. After that I walked over to the mini-mart for a cup of hot coffee, taking as long as possible to warm up as much as I could.

If you've ever been in a similar situation, leave a comment. We'd love to hear your story.

Until Next Time,

Kirk Toncray

WEBSITE

Beyond the Signs | Part II

Chapter 6: Frustrations (Second Half)

Paying for the Trespassing III citation brought up an interesting scenario. My parents approached me about this citation and the upcoming court appearance, subsequently offering to pay for the ridiculous four-hundred and something dollar ticket. Not having a dime to my name, literally, I was somewhat forced into this generous offering, knowing at the same time that it was only going to toss more and more eggshells in my path. It did.

On the day of the hearing, I dressed up in clothing that mom and dad had purchased for me and prepared for the worst. Entering any courtroom is always a pleasant experience so I was already sweating like a whore in church by the time the judge walked into the courtroom and the famous words were spoken: All Rise.

As the proceedings began, alphabetically of course, I could feel my heart pounding. I just knew I was just about due for another hammering over the damn child support thing and the way the system is all linked together, I figured I was headed from the courthouse to the jail – I have been there and done that.

Surprisingly, when my turn came up, my so-called attorney, whom I had never met, told me to not say a thing until spoken to by the judge. When it came down to the nuts and bolts of the case, the judge asked if I was working. My attorney said, “Mr. Toncray is not working due to a disability and awaiting results from an appeal from Social Security.”

The judge looked at the District Attorney, who in turn was looking at me, and then he spun his head and focused on my posture and eye contact. He then asked me, “Do you have an attorney for your Social Security Appeal?”

“No, your honor, I do not.” The wavering words slipped from my trembling lips.

“To be successful with an appeal with Social Security, you will need an attorney. Nine out of ten cases will be turned down without an attorney,” the judge informed me.

My eyes must have been as big as golf balls. I was absolutely astonished at the sincerity of the judge and his advice. He was actually helping me with a totally unrelated issue instead of hammering me with the citation. Feeling uncomfortable is an understatement. Judges are supposed to mean, uncaring assholes who only want to screw up your life even more, not help you, I thought.

I left the courthouse unscathed and more educated on methods to win a case with The Social Security Administration. Accepted my parents’ check, paid my trespassing fine in full, and went online to find a suitable attorney. Upon a diligent search, I found a firm based in Utah ant responded to my email in a timely fashion with utmost professionalism so I chose them for my case.

Attempting to complete Behind the Signs was challenging and I was becoming more and more frustrated with my living circumstances. I needed to speak with Beth about the final chapters and what actually happened. At the same time, assist my attorneys any way I could. Ultimately, this gave me an open door to hop on the bus and head for the employment office where there are computers with high-speed internet. My dad was saving a few bucks by retaining his old dial-up internet service and nobody could persuade him otherwise. When there are important issues on the line, waiting for dial-up internet service is not the way to go. It’s like trying to sink a boat using pea gravel. You will eventually get it done, but plan on spending some time doing it. I utilized this time to contact Beth and make notes on the final chapters and send and receive documents from my attorneys.

Until Next Time,
Kirk Toncray
WEBSITE

Wingin' It

Outline

When I began writing Beyond the Signs, I had no outline whatsoever. In fact, I’m one of those writers who don’t use any kind of outline. I shoot from the hip and hope the bullet goes somewhere in the general direction of the target. Writing this book is a little different, there is no target.

All my other books (Behind the Signs, Total Discharge, Spokes) all had a foreseeable ending that I would aim at, filling in the blanks as I wrote. Beyond the Signs has nothing to shoot at. I haven’t lived that long. This book could go on and on without a conclusion.

This in itself creates more than one dilemma. The first is how to arrange the chapters in a sequence that won’t disrupt the flow. The second will come along when the publishing process begins. What genre will it be? I won’t know until it is finished but then I will probably need to go back and re-write much of the book in order for it to be categorized into a specific genre.

If and when you decide to write a book, remember this: It isn't just firing up the computer, word processor, or typewriter, and popping out a bunch of words. There is even more to it than I just mentioned here.

Until Next Time,

Kirk Toncray

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