street roots
6
Dec. 7, 2012
Untitled
Making a
pitch for new
beginnings
By RyEyes
Love goes beyond physical,
it’s born in the deepest fathom,
our Spiritual Being.
When forged in Spiritual perfection
Love will endure our worldly
imperfections.
BY ERIN FENNER
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
arryl Goeas, 48, is homeless for the
first time in his life.
D
“It’s been kind of scary,” he said.
In August, he moved from Reno, his
home for 13 years, looking for work. When a
job fell through, he was left in Portland’s
city center, not knowing where to sleep or
how to stay safe. He was alone for two days
before he met “Raider” Dave. Goeas told
him that he didn’t have a place to sleep, and
Dave took him back to his own spot next to
the Wonder Ballroom. He met people there
who he become friends with, and now
considers family.
Staff from nearby restaurants and people
from nearby churches share food. The
Amber Leaf
by Alice Kline
On the winter maple a single amber
Leaf clings.
If it can make it until spring,
It will be like me,
Dead and tattered,
Out of place among the others.
Darryl Goeas
security guards from the Wonder Ballroom
keep an eye out for Goeas, Raider Dave and
their friends. It’s been a challenge to sleep
on the streets, but manageable because of
the supportive community.
“There was a shooting a couple nights
ago outside the Wonder Ballroom, and if I
had been there by myself I probably
wouldn’t have had the gonads to stay there,”
Goeas said.
It’s been tough in Portland, because of
the rain, and the newness of being
homeless. But it has been good too.
They had only been friends briefly before
Dave suggested Goeas start with Street
Roots.
“Raider Dave took me under his wing,”
Goeas said. “While I was canning, and doing
little side jobs, Dave took me aside and said,
‘You got to try Street Roots.’”
Goeas said Dave noticed he was a good
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Answers to puzzles on page 15
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 WORK ADS
Available for light work, cleaning, and
shopping. Assignments will get done!
Contact Essie at 503-810-0452
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P H O T O B Y IS R A E L B A Y E R
talker and good with people.
And now Goeas chats with new people
every day.
He said he likes to see people light up
when he speaks to them.
Goeas has come to love Portland so much
that he turned down opportunities to move
back to Reno. He appreciates the weirdness
■af11 tire''Ct iy;' everrthnugh he says he tends to
look pretty normal in comparison.
“I just seem to click with other people
here. They don’t care where I’m from, or
what I look like,” he said. I’ve traveled all
over the world and never people like here.
Nowhere else in the world do you have
people who treat you like that when you’re
hard-timing.”
Goeas spends about four hours a day
selling papers for Street Roots. That gives
him income and time to devote to looking
for jobs.
“I’d really like to get off the streets, clean
up and get into sales,” he said.
But for now, he enjoys volunteering with
churches and people who spend their time
and energy helping the homeless.
“There’s something about doing
something for others when you’re hard-
timing it,” Goeas said. “You’ve got to give
back. That’s what Portland is all about, isn’t
it? Just because you’re homeless doesn’t
mean you can’t help out.