092203

 

Arcata, CA

Monday September 22, 2003

     8:06am  I woke up around 7:30am. I heard somebody coughing. Flip   

came and crashed with Arrow, Hannah's dog. He's taking care of Arrow because Hannah crashed at her friends house. I just woke up, gave Flip an apple and some smokage and he gave me a muffin. A really good muffin. I'm having a good morning. Today I want to take a shower somewhere. I want to do my laundry, too. Maybe I'll go to The Raven House and do that stuff. I wanted to go to Eureka and see if I could get the ball rolling on my glasses. I'm going to sign up for MediCAL. I'll get some food stamps, too. Argh, I never wanted to get government help, but if that's how I can get glasses, so be it. I'm going to have a good day.

                   Here's a beautiful picture of the barn in the morning.  

                   Another good picture of the barn.  

     8:30am  Hannah just showed up, out of the blue. She's supposed to come get Arrow from Flip. Oh wait, let me get a picture of Hannah.  

     9:28am  I stopped at the Cash Oil and took a shit. I already brushed my teeth at the barn, now I'm ready to go to The Endeavor. I much rather take a shower at The Raven House.

     9:49am  I just got to The Endeavor. It turns out they don't have any showers today anymore. Everybody started at nine. I can't do laundry either. Damnit. The Raven opens at 5pm, so I guess I have to wait until then. I'm going to go to the public library here and see if I have email. I hope from that girl I met in the marsh. I should really go to the school and type my stuff up.

     9:50am  I just ran into some guy who saw me in Berkeley. Oh yeah, this morning I was talking to Hannah. She told me that where she crashed last night, she was all telling them about me. Ian was there and she said he thinks I'm cool. Hannah told all those kids what I was doing, so they all know. Kickass.

                   Damnit, the public library is closed on Mondays. That means I'm going to trek all the way to HSU.

     10:48am  I just talked to Rosendo 

here at The Endeavor. He told me he could get me some glasses and gave me some Angel Fund paper to fill out. Now, I have to fill out this stuff and be here tomorrow at 9am and he'll get me some glasses. Okay, things are getting better. Things are getting much better.

     11:57am  I'm walking to HSU. I got nothing better to do. I'm going to go fuck the system.

     12:15pm  I'm at the library.  

     3:17pm  Roy gave me a cigarette in front of the library.

     3:55pm  I walked over to the Southbound 101 exit and I wasn't out here long before Dave picked me up. He's taking me to Eureka. I appreciate it, brother.

     4:05pm  I'm already in Eureka, over here by the Raven House. Okay, that's better.

     9:18pm  I had a pretty non-eventful night at The Raven House. They fed some mediocre stuff. They made it smell real good, but in the end it was pure vegetables. It looked like it was going to be noodles, but it was just vegetables. It was alright, I guess. They wouldn't serve seconds, though. They had enough food for seconds. So, I'm going to go back to Arcata. I'm at the hitch spot. Actually, I'm in the little bus shelter they have here. Dave and Jerome are going to Ashland. Dave 

 is the guy I crashed out next to over by the railroad tracks a while ago. He's got that puppy Kerouac. Him and Jerome are going to hitchhike to Ashland. Dave just gave me two hits of weed, so I'm happy. My boots are feeling better, too. And, I am so glad I have my tape recorder back. I felt naked without it. Now, I'm back on track. I'm going to keep doing it like I was doing it before this whole Datura shit happened. I'm going to keep believing in love not god.

                   Now, I'm all stoned and happy because I'm going to get my glasses tomorrow and I got my tape recorder right now. It's better. I kind of felt like I was letting everybody down, but screw it. I gotta tell the same story over and over. I gotta believe the way I believed because all the right things are happening. The whole Datura experience was just a big jolt in my reality and I gotta get back from that. I believe what I believe. Even if I'm not sure if I believe it, I have to keep saying it the same way I was saying it. The way I view God gives everybody the freedom to think what they want. It reinforces the fact that everybody is different. I believe in Love. It's one common thing ever human has, no matter what religion or what god they believe in. It's all love. That's all it is, so that's what I'm going to stick to. I'm not depressed anymore. I'm going to know about my glasses tomorrow, then I can work on replacing my boots and getting out of here. Even if I have to spange up the money. I'm going to get new boots. That's a goal I've set. The same kind of boots, too.

                   I told Dave and Jerome that I would wait to hitchhike until after they got a ride, thinking it would be more difficult with three people out there. Then I realized something and walked up to Dave and told him, "Hey man, there's people who will stop for two hitch hikers and there's people who will only stop for one. So, I might as well be out there, too. I won't be decreasing your chances of getting a ride. So, I'm going to come out here and stick my thumb out as well." It's kind of late.

                   Man, I'm scared my vision is getting worse because I don't have my glasses. Like, it's even more blurred since I lost my glasses. I can't focus my vision as sharp as before, even when I make a little circle with my finger and put it in front of my eye. It sucks.

     9:35pm  Man, I thought it was going to be a while before I got a ride, but I got a ride real quick. Nice Kestrel picked me up. Thanks a lot, brother. He even asked me if I was hungry. That's very generous of you, brother.

     9:48pm  Kestrel just dropped me off. Oh yeah, we munched on some yummy salmon on the way back to Arcata. Good things are happening to me again. Maybe that's my cue from the powers that be, since earlier I said I was going to keep doing it my way, that that's the right way to go. So now, I'm going to go spange up a donut and go crash out. I'm going to get my glasses tomorrow. I'm going to go home to the barn. Oh yeah, and Kestrel had given me some salmon, but I still want a donut.

     9:56pm  I just ran into Alisha, who I really wanted to see again because she had eaten some Datura that same night I had. We both looked at each other and said, "What happened to you?!" at the same time. She told me about her crazy Datura trip and how she thought she might still be crazy, just like I wondered the same exact thing. Wow, exactly what happened to me, happened to her. That makes me feel sooo much better.

                   Shit, I forgot to get Kestrel's email.

     10:09pm  Badass, this one guy came outside and asked me how it was going. I asked him if he could spare some change for a donut and he asked me where I was from. I told him from San Antonio and that I was on a mission. He told me, "Well, let me hear your mission, then I'll give you some change." I got deep into my platform and he finally held up his half of his donut to shut me up. Then right when he gave me his donut, this other street kid who was inside eating came out and said, "Here, you can have the rest of this muffin." Badass.

Next day..