Street roots., July 06, 2012, Page 6, Image 6

6
Street roots
July 6 2 0 1 2
1
1 SWi««' ■ “«»¡KM
-JSÎÎïK
K ■ ■
î'!' ■ ■
A Starr
shines at
Fifth and
Main
BY COLE MERKEL
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
Nathan Roper
tr e e t R oots is sad to r e p o r t th a t one
of o u r v en d o rs, N a th an R oper, p a sse d
aw ay T hursday, Ju n e 29. N a th an died
a t a P o rtlan d h o sp ital a fte r su ffering a
h e a r t attac k . H e w as 52 y e a rs old.
N a th an w as a long-tim e a rtis t an d p o e t
w ho lived on th e s tre e ts and h ad a h a rd
life. H e sold th e n e w sp a p e r for th e p a st
tw o y e a rs a t sev eral locations, b u t m ostly a t
N o rth w e st 2 1 st A venue an d Lovejoy S tre et.
In a r e c e n t S tre e t R oots v e n d o r profile,
R o p e r said, “I alw ays h ad an a r tis t’s so u l.”
S everal of h is w orks w e re p u b lish ed in
S tre e t R oots.
“N a th a n w as a g ifted a rtist, a ta le n te d
w rite r a n d a frien d to m any,” says V endor
C o o rd in ato r C ole M erk el. “A kind and
g e n tle soul, N a th a n ’s ability to overcom e
a d v ersity in life w hile k eep in g a positive
a ttitu d e w as in sp irin g , an d c e rta in ly will be
re m e m b e re d by m e for y e a rs to com e. H e
w as an incred ib le m e m b e r of th e S tre e t
R oots fam ily an d h e will b e so rely m isse d
by all of u s.”
S
h e S o u th w e st F ifth A venue b u s m all
p u lsa te s w ith u rb an life: MAX tra in s
h e ad so u th tow ard th e ir tu rn -aro u n d
a t P o rtlan d S ta te , police and fire sire n s
b lare as e m e rg en c y calls a re an sw e red in
th e dow ntow n core, b u se s b u rn bio d iesel
an d p ro fessio n als in tie s file in and o u t of
th e local and fed eral office buildings. H ere,
a t th e in te rse c tio n of F ifth and M ain,
o u tsid e S e a ttle ’s B e st Coffee, W illiam
T
VENDOR PB o r i t i
William Starr
S ta r r ’s face h a s b e co m e alm o st as fam iliar
to p a sse rsb y as th e co m p a ssio n a te gaze
from th e s ta tu e of P o rtlan d ia, w ho w a tch e s
o ver h is turf.
W illiam h a s b e e n a S tre e t R oots v e n d o r
sin ce 2007, an d w hile h e h a s w o rk ed a t
sev era l d ifferen t tu r f lo catio n s o v er th e p a s t
few y e ars, including a few S ta rb u ck s
locations, th is sp o t h a s alw ays b e e n h is
favorite. “T h is is m y b u sin e ss an d self-
e m p lo y m en t,” h e says. “I sm ile o n and k e ep
smiling. I keep happy because I know it’s
T L e T a ft H o m e
Where senior and disabled adults
receive the care and respect they deserve.
Call us f o r m o re in fo r m a tio n
e sse n tia l to k e e p m y b u sin e ss ru n n in g .”
An e n tr e p r e n e u r a t h e a rt, W illiam g ets
c a u g h t in a c o n u n d ru m a few m in u te s into
o u r interview . “W ant to m ak e a few b u ck s?”
a local b u sin e ssm a n W illiam know s asks.
W illiam looks a t m e, I tell h im it’s fine to
leave, an d h e follows th e m an dow n th e
s tre e t. Five m in u te s later, h e e m e rg e s from
a p ark in g g arag e p u sh in g a food c a r t and
h e lp s th e m an s e t it up.
“D am m it, Jim ,” W illiam says w h e n h e g e ts
back b re a th le s s from th e w orkout. H e u se s
P H O T O B Y C O LE M E R K E L
th e S ta r T re k line a s h is p e rs o n a l m an tra.
“S ta r T re k b ro k e th e ice fo r e v e ry th in g ,”
W illiam says. “F la t sc re e n TV s, flip p h o n e s,
B lu eto o th co m m u n ica tio n .” H e a d m its h e ’s
a big fan of th e show b u t h e w o n ’t go so far
as to call h im self a T rekkie.
A fter sev eral stin ts of h o m e le ssn e ss,
William is now in stable, long-term housing
dow ntow n. H e is now se ek in g a lon g -term
su b s ta n c e tr e a tm e n t p ro g ram . In th e p a s t
18 m o n th s, sin ce h e m o st re c e n tly g o t
in sid e, h e h a s really b e g u n to tu rn h is life
aro u n d . “I c o n trib u te th a t to m y self and
k e ep in g m yself h ealth y ,” W illiam says.
O u tsid e of th is dow ntow n location,
W illiam also sells a t th e S atu rd ay M a rk e t on
w e ek e n d s, w h e re m o st of h is c u sto m e rs a re
m a rk e t v e n d o rs. H e h a s b u ilt a stro n g
e n o u g h re la tio n sh ip w ith o th e r v e n d o rs th a t
sev eral tr u s t him to w a tch th e ir b o o th s
w hile th e y ta k e a b re a k o r go to th e b an k to
ex ch an g e m oney.
“I talk to p e o p le an d th e y talk to m e. I
sm ile a lo t an d th e y s ta r t to g e t to know m e
really well. S o m eo n e even re c e n tly gave m e
a coffee card fo r a fre e cu p o f coffee over
h e re .” H e h a s d e v elo p ed a larg e g ro u p of
re g u la r c u stso m e rs, m o stly from th e
c o u rth o u s e an d City Hall.
W illiam, like th e v e n d o r p ro g ram
a lto g eth er, e m b o d ies th e “h an d up, n o t a
h a n d o u t” p h ilo so p h y b e h in d S tre e t R o o ts -
and P o rtla n d in g en eral. B u t th a t ideal
seld o m c o m e s in to v isio n m o re clearly th a n
a t th e c o rn e r of F ifth a n d M ain, w h en
W illiam s is selling th e p a p er, and P ortlandia,
a n c h o re d by h e r to w erin g trid e n t, re a c h e s
o u t to offer a hand to all w ho care to accept it.
(503)223-2144
1337 S.W. Washington, Portland, OR 97205
www.tafthome.org
VENDOR WORK ADS
CENTRAL CITY
<•
:•
• •
••
’ ’• • .? 8:
SO:
Dependable, mature person interested in
assisting ethical and safe person(s) with
house sitting, pet care, plant care, yard
work, laundry, organizational projects, etc.
Please call 503-228-5657 and leave your
contact information, preferably a name and
email address. References available upon
request.
Answers to puzzles on page 15
d
1
3
S
d
V
3
N
1
s
3
d
S
IAI
1
V
S
À
0
“1
d
O
a
i
n
0
6
L
8
9
8
L
3
8
1
3 s
d
3 o
O i 1
i s
V d 3
d V
>1 0 1
O
d
s V
a n X
3 IAI O
1 V
V H
H S
V
9
t?
Z
L
8
8
6
8
8
8
Z
6
8
P
9
L
L
a
3
«
V
0
d
s
o
□
0
0
1
a
N
V
3
O
0
3
O
a
i
d
N
V
d
1 1
9
1 AA 3
s à 3 O r
a N V d 3
i V 9
0
1 3
S S V 7
FÑ O 1 1 V
0 7 9 1
d V 3 d
i H V S
8
t7
L
8
k
8
6
Z
9
O
1
1
d
s
d
0
N
V
IAI
V
3
a
3
IAI
d
3
a
a
n
3
A
3
1
S
d
IAI IAI
V 3
H 1
9
17 1
o S
d V
a 7
n
V
s
3
±
H
V
a
1
7
9
17
s
V
V
a
1
Z
6
8
8
9
L
tz
8
k
9
8
k
tz
Z
6
L
8
8
P
Z
8
8
8
9
I
Z
6
L
8
6
k
P
Z
8
9
8
8
k
9
Z
6
8
8
P
Z
Celebrating the
40th Anniversary of
Hooper Detox & Sobering
Monday, Sept 10th
4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Left Bank Annex
101 N. Weidler
Commemorative coins to
the first 400 people!
w w w . centrcrlcity concer n . or g
503-294-1681
CORRECTIONS
Street Roots strives for accuracy, but
we're human. So we also strive to correct
errors in our paper whenever possible.
Please report any errors to our managing
editor, Joanne Zuhl, at 503-228-5657, or
write to joanne@streetroots.org
■
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
■ TriMet bus
tickets/passes
■ Printer paper
■ Shaving razors