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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2009)
12 C a W B W M Ç lD B C a D B « t W l » U i t Edict's Almanac Education ^Dialogue ^Independence Tye Doudylives and works in Portland. Addicts Almanac is a reprise of his popular series from 2008. He can be reached at - wurmstar@gm.ail. com know how big of a habit he had but I didn’t hen Darby and I met CJ, he was stomach acid, and for him to re s t I was sitting on the sidewalk in front of seriously wondering if he was going to make want to risk it. the convenience store by the Max The dope we were getting was pretty, it or die right there on the sidewalk. When tracks on 10th and Morrison in downtown good, so I pinched off half a balloon, cooked he would puke he would grimace in pain, Portlaiid. It was 10 a.m. on a Tuesday in it up for him and drew itu p in a clean rig clutch at his ribs, and groan loudly. July. The kid looked hQrrible and smelled from the needle exchange. If he wanted, I The people on the street were stopping worse. He was rocking and talking to would! give him the other half later. I handed to stare at this bloody spectacle and I knew himself, with long strings of greenish snot him the loaded syrihge and without tying off it was just a matter of time until someone hanging from his nose and upper lip. He had called a cop. I hated making a scene or he found a vein in the back Qf his hand, two black eyes, his teeth were full of blood, drew back on the plunger until he saw blood drawing attention to myself in any way. I and there was a large bloody gash on the then slowly pushed the plunger down had lots of dope on me and I knew I had back of his head. I didn’teven want to look sending the herein flooding through his warrants, so I was getting very nervous! at him, but Darby, being the sweetheart that The last thing I needed was to end up bloodstream. He pulled the rig out of his she is,, immediately went right over to him hand, handed it back to me, lied down with locked up over trying to help some kid I to see if he was okay. didn’t even know. I was a little mad at Darby a great sigh, and closed his eyes. He slept It turns o u tth at the night before he had for 16 hours, woke up long enough to do the for putting us *at risk, but more just for met some skinheads from Hie suburbs and had drunk whiskey with them until he?' blacked o u t He woke up the next morning in a ditch by the railroad tracks rolled up Darby and I looked at each other for a second before we both leaned over and like a burrito in an old cat-piss;smelling . hugged him. He smelled terrible, but X could tell from the hng he gave ns that carpet. Apparently the fuckers had beaten he had a lot of heart and it was worth it. After a long moment he realeased ns, him severely and left him for dead. All of_ that was shitty, but the issue that was asked onr names, told ns his name was CI and then asked ns if we had troubling him the most was that he was anymore dope. strung out, and now he was too dopesick and in too bad of shape to make any money for his fix, Darby wanted him to go to the hospital, but he wouldn’t have any of i t He just kept saying that he needed a hit of offering to share our drugs with a fucking other half of the balloon of dope, and then dope, and he would be fine. stranger. slept for 12 hours. The night before, Darby and I had made a We reached the hole in the fence above ? Darby kept checking him with a flashlight good score by stealing a couple of bicycles the freeway and held it open for CJ to crawl to make sure he was still breathing by off the front porch ofa house in Southeâst through, then followed him in with his pack; holding a little make-up mirror under his Portland. The guy at the pawnshop had Darby found a dry place and kicked the nose. During the time he was sleeping, we givenus 50 bucks .each for them and we had trash out of the way so she could spread out kept a nervous watch. If we had to go get ju st spent 80 of it on heroin, so relatively some , cardboard, and lay out the sleeping bag food or smokes then the other would stay speaking, we were loaded. Darby told CJ strapped to his pack. and keep an eye on him. When he finally that if be wanted to come with us to the When the bag was unrolled and ready for woke up late that night, the first thing he Jackson Street squat that we would get him him he kind of fell to his knees and asked was “where the fuck am I?” followed collapsed onto his side on the bedroll well. I could have killed her! There we are quickly by “who the fuck are you?” We told hustling our asses off, and she goes and clutching his ribs with a moan. He closed him of where we had found him and what ? offers to give this fucked up kid some of our his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then had taken place over the last 32 hours or so. drugs! asked us if we were really goingto get him His eyes filled with tears of gratitude and ‘ T he look on his face Was like he had worn,. well. I was already breaking out, my works .to. wordlessly he apehed his atlhs foc-uig 'to giv»« cook ¡up a hit, so byway.of answering him I the lottery, sitting there grinning at us With him a hug. Again'.Darby and I -looked'abeaeh all that blood in his teeth. But goddamn it, I just asked him if he wanted me to cook it u p . other for a second before we both leaned wasn’t happy about having to share with for him or if he wanted to do it himself. H e - overand hugged him. He smelled terrible, some strange kid. I didn’t want to be the big told me to “go ahead and do it” and “just but I could tell from the hug he gave us that throw the whole balloon in.” heartless asshole, though, so I just kept my he had a lot of heart and it was worth it. mouth shut and went along. Darby and I looked at each other and she After a long moment he released us, asked We helped him up the street, with me very subtly shook her head. She didn’t have | our names, tofd us his name was CJ and supporting him on my shoulder and Darby to. I was thinking thesam e thing. We didn’t then asked us if we had any more-dope. The carrying his pack, We had to stop repeatedly want thé kid to OD in our squat and have to three of us were inseperable ever since. along the way for him to throw up blood and deal with the police and all that. 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