021308

                                                                                                               Biloxi, MS

 

Wednesday February 13, 2008

     5:53am  I woke up around five. I got six hours of sleep.

     6:15am  I am all packed up and ready to go. I chilled out for a long time. I stayed in my sleeping bag and smoked, waked and baked. I'm going to walk out the front door of this place.

                   I crashed in 273 of whatever street this is.

                   The street that house is on is Sayard close to Division Street. Right now I'm cold as hell. It's freezing.

     6:40am  I just finished up in the bathroom. I tagged the handrail.  I took a long time taking a shit. I got distracted looking at all my pictures. The bathroom at the Food Basket grocery store.

     6:58am  I just bought me some breakfast. First I got two bananas and two apples and some Poptarts, but I didn't have enough so I took off one banana and one apple off. I came outside of the Food Basket grocery store. Actually, it says make checks payable out to Lee's Supermarket. I'm going to stand outside and eat and smoke.

     7:08pm  Loco y Ruben me dieron tres dolares. Se los agradezco, señores. Todo el mundo recibe credito, gracias.

     7:10pm  Sweet, these two Mexicans guys volunteered me three dollars! They even told me about a place that gives away free food. They gave me some dollars, so I have laundry money.

                   I look all bummed out. I should take a picture of myself.

     8:22am  I came to the Beck's Bay Mission an hour early. An employee already arrived and let me and this other dude inside, because it's cold. There's these cool little woods in the back.

     8:43am  This morning at the Food Basket I met this other homeless dude. He asked me if I was doing anything and I told him not really. So we walked over under the highway to meet a friend of his. This guy was drinking whiskey and stuff, so I didn't even try to tell him my story. We're under this bridge and his friend eventually showed up. They told me about this mission I came to. That's how I ended up here.

     9:20am  The mission finally opened up and told me they didn't have funds for bus tickets, but they gave me some badass gloves. They told me about some other church to get food called Lady Fatima. I'm going to go check out this town.

     11:56am  I am leaving the food place, Fishes and Loaves.

     12:13pm  I am walking up Main Street coming up on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. I see a big Masonic temple. I took a picture of it.

     12:22pm  I am on the bus headed to Lady Fatima.

     12:29pm  I just got to Lady Fatima Church. The Saint Vincent du Paul Society. They hooked me up with some food.

     1:59pm  Cyndy and Paul here at Lady Fatima in Biloxi are helping me out. I appreciate it, guys. Everybody gets credit, thanks.
                  
      2:10pm  I'm going to walk to a laundromat and wash my uniform. Then I'm going to leave Biloxi. I haven't seen any kids at all. Oh, I never mentioned. I accidentally packed these blue Patagonia thermal bottoms at that house on Duels Street in New Orleans. They are too short, but they are really warm.

     2:33pm  Walking to Buauboir Road. Where's the laundromat?

                   Crossing Popps Ferry.

     3:01pm  I didn't tell you. I had already found the laundromat and my shit is drying already. I've got like fifty minutes left on the washer. I forgot to tell you.

     4:11pm  I just left the laundromat. All my clothes are clean. I'm going to get out of here.

     4:37pm  About fifteen minutes ago I stopped at this bus stop right in front of El Rancho Bar and Grill Mexican Restaurant. I'm not going to hit them up. I've got plenty of food from the churches I went to. There's a street down there that has a sign that says To I10. Maybe I'll just end up walking it. I might as well use this free bus pass I got.

     4:47pm  The bus finally came.

     5:13pm  I just got off close to the highway, I10 by this greedy ass bus driver. When I got on I had a free pass and I asked him if they had any transfers in this town. He was all snotty and said, "For another dollar." So I told him forget it. He said, "So do you have another dollar?" I told him no, that I planned to ask for a courtesy ride and he told me, "Then you have to walk." Fuck this town. Fuck Biloxi.

     5:32pm  Man, Biloxi sucks. No pedestrians anywhere. Everybody is in their car. No one is out. Ignorant. Everybody is cowering afraid inside their separation-units. Be afraid, be afraid.

                   Now I am back on Division. I'm getting pointed around in all these different directions. This one black guy was all looking me up and down he told me the highway was that way, that I couldn't miss it. Then I asked this other guy and he told me the opposite direction, going towards that mission I went to this morning.

     6:16pm  I'm on the onramp and nobody's picking me up yet. I'm thinking about walking. There's a pedestrians and bicycles prohibited sign. I'm going to walk straight on Division. I think it ends up on I10 eventually. I'm on the 110 access ramp and I see a sign that says To I10. I don't know how far it is. I'm not going to walk the shoulder and risk it though.

                   Being in a city like Biloxi reminds me of how hard a challenge I have before me. Nobody talks to anybody in this town. They're scared. This town is all pregidous and shit. Earlier this morning that alcoholic homebum I met was all warning me. "Watch out for the red zone." I asked him if that's where the cops were and he told me no, the black neighborhood. He said, "That's where all the niggers are..err..I mean African Americans." Fuck this town.

     6:42pm  I got tired of thumbing on the onramp. I was walking down Division and I saw some guy in his front yard. I asked him if I10 was this way eventually. He gave me the right directions and I am telling him my story. Mike.

     7:04pm  Ignorant motherfuckers here. I have my work cut out for me in this town. Anyway, Mike was pretty cool. I got smoked out! I walked by and he was out in front redoing this house. He was drinking a beer and wouldn't listen to me at all. Anyway, there was this pretty forty six year old girl, friend of his. She was ignorant as hell. She wouldn't listen to me and started accusing me of blaming her for shit. Oh yeah, I really pissed her off with the Note From the Rich. She got all butt-hurt and shit. She thought I was talking about her. Mike was laughing at it and everything. Hehe, nobody wants to hear the truth, but I'm going to scream it at the top of my lungs! Damn the ignorance in this world.

     7:22pm  I walked and I'm in front of the IP Resort and Spa on Bayview Avenue and Caillevette Street.

     7:26pm  You can get on the highway at this intersection. Mike told me about a bridge I had to walk over, but I didn't see any. I didn't see any pedestrians prohibited sign so I said screw it and started walking the shoulder. Soon afterwards I saw the footbridge on the other side of the wall, so I hopped the wall and started walking it along the highway on the pedestrian side.

                   Somebody told me that they're planning an Angels and Demons movie. I'm thinking that's the Illuminati's unveiling right there. Dude, they're real. Once they release the movie everybody's going to look it up on the internet. Hmm, that's why I have been allowed to get this far. I just might be part of the plan. Crazy.

     7:42pm  I just now got done walking over that bridge, over this bigass lake here. Close to the Mississippi, I think. Like two miles, I think. I see a McDonalds closeby and gas stations.

     7:53pm  I ended up on Boney Avenue? I'm across the street from 6001 Boney Avenue. I'm going to go over to the Chevron over by a motel. I'm going to rest and eat. I don't think it's that much further to I10.

     8:01pm  Kristin just volunteered me some money. Whoa, a ten dollar bill!

                   Hell yeah, that was awesome. I just came to the gas station to rest and eat. I just got hooked up with a ten dollar bill. I'm going to stay here some more.

                   Hehe, do you see how ignorant this town is? Everybody is so damn quick to judge. That Kristin girl was all surprised when I told her I was a journalist. Taken aback she said, "Oh, you're really not homeless??" It's an illusion, Kristin.

Another mess-up on my tape.

Next day..