Street roots., September 30, 2011, Page 6, Image 6

6
street roots
i .iXaWw
S ep t 30, 2011
A world traveler
lands in the
Northwest
So you Know
By Ian Rocker
Get a job they’d say,
With scorn in their eyes,
Sorry I have no change,
But this was just a lie.
BY COLE MERKEL
STAFF W R ITER
Said to the man on the corner,
Who lived in rain and cold,
Who was destined on the streets,
To whither and grow old'.
On Grubb commands few pretensions.
His quiet, friendly smile and shaved head
don’t easily lead on to the fact that, in a
few short years, he has seen more places outside
the United States than most people see in a
lifetime.
“I try to live life peaceful and do the right
thing,” says Grubb, whose year and a half in the
Navy took him tb Italy, Spain, France, Greece,
Portugal, Turkey, Sicily and the United Arab
Emirates. Of them Italy was his favorite country.
Beyond his time in the military, Don has lived
in a half-dozen cities across the United States.
He was bom in Baltimore, Md., but grew up in
Wilkes-Barre, Penn. He lived in Lansing, Mich,
for a while and also Great Lakes, 111. He has seen
the East Coast, the West Coast and a smattering
of states m between.
Don has now lived
in Portland for two
VENDOR PROFILE
months, though he
previously lived herb
for six years. He
moved back after
spending four years in
Las Vegas. “I'got tired of Vegas and just wanted
to come back, get a fresh start, possibly get afr
apartment again and a full-time job,” says Grubb.
In Vegas, he says, “It’s just a lot of
oppression, a lot of rich oppressing the poor, it
shouldn’t be that way. A lot of gambling, Not a
lot of jobs. It’s pretty much like that
economically everywhere.”
The football teams Grubb follows reflect the
states he has lived in. He has been ,a fan of the
0
But did you ever wonder,
How this came to be,
A dismal fate for anyone,
That few can foresee.
Like so many others, .
A diploma filled his hand,
And. the army took him,
To a foreign land.
Witness to the horror,
Of inhuman blood and death,
His future died in the jungle,
Though he still drew breath.
Donald Grubb
The war followed him home,
And Hie terror would not end,
Nightmares came to him,
Which he could not defend.
So. he hit the bottle,
To gain a little peace,
But after the liquor faded,
He could not get release.
Unable to hold a job,
To keep a roof above his head,
He fell upon the streets,
With sidewalks for a bed.
B a lt im o r e R a v e n s s in c e b e f o r e h e c a n
TememEeiTan^
Eagles and remains a huge fan of the Chicago
Bears.
If he could have any job in the world, Grubb
would own a landscaping business - an industry
in which he has seven years experience — or his
own restaurant. He says he would enjoy, ,
“cooking delicious food for people at an
affordable, reasonable price to the point where I
can make a profit, and they can still enjoy
themselves.” His signature dish would be a
“quadruple, three-cheese, bacon, avocado burger
with a side of fries and onion rings.” That means
So when you see him begging,
For change on the streets,
Question that your judgments,
Are false or incomplete.
Casualties of war,
Abuse and addiction,
Let their stories guide,
Your actual conviction.
Answers to puzzles on page 15
Vendor Wish List
Donations keep Street Roots and our vendors
working by keeping our operating costs low.
■ Paper cups
■ Hygiene items
■ Towels
■ First-aid supplies
■ TriM et bus
tickets/passes
■ Printer paper
■ Toilet paper
« B u g Spray
■ Sunblock
C O LE M ER K EL
four ground beef patties glued together with
three different types of cheese topped with
bacon and avocado. Homer Simpson would be
proud.
When selling papers at the Starbucks on NW
23rd Avenue and Overton Street, Don is
pragmatic. “I just pretty much plead my cause,”
he says. “I don’t Kke to approach them (his
customers) in a begging style or anything like
th a t I just pretty much kindly ask them if they
can help out a homeless veteran by buying a
copy of Street Roots. I joke with them
sometimes and make them laugh.”
If he could go anywhere in the world, Don
would love to return to Italy. Although he
doe^n’trknwtheiaiiguagelluently, he ca n spe ak"-.. .
enough Italian to get by. He would also enjoy
returning to Ontario, where his family spent a
few months during his childhood while his '
stepfather went bear hunting. For now though,
he’s content in Portland. “I’m trying to be in a
position where I can help other people and also
make myself more improved by stepping up,
getting off the streets and getting an apartment,”
Grubb says. “That’s basically what I look
forward to, being in a position where I can reach
out and help other people after I get myself
established.”
““
VENDOR WORK ADS
Crystal: Kaplan, Pierson, McGrawHill, Murdock
online "learning"? Multi-billion-dollar
industry. Sliding-scale, after-school tutoring
from an unemployed public school teacher?
Priceless. Call Crystal at 503-821-7473.
Cassidy Morse: Looking for work. Will do most
anything, light and heavy. $10 an hour, four-
hour minimum. References supplied. Please
call 503-224-5398 or Street Roots at 503-228-
5657.
Laura Owens: Available for domestic-type ,
work, cleaning, dog walking, etc. Please call
Steet Roots, 503-228-5657 and leave a
message for Laura regarding work ad.
good, local, food
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ALBERTA
COOPERATIVE
GROCERY
1500 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
503.287.4333
www.albertagrocery.coop
open to everyone 9-10 daily
J