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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2012)
Street roots Dec. 7, 2012 This holiday season, Street Roots vendors offer up some o f their favorite memories with their customers. What follows is a sampling o f the many experiences that happen daily between vendors and readers.-Emm a ll o f the vendors, thank you for your support and have a happy holiday! ne of my customers she goes out there hen I was selling a while back, I found sat in my car listening to the radio. I opened and help others to help bolster their a wallet and inside it was the business the cards I’d received that day. Three cards spirits. She’s so amazing. She has so many card of one of my regular customers. The wished me a Merry Christmas, one had a things happening with her and yet she’s address was close by, so I called her and gift card from New Seasons, and another making it her personal mission to help told her I’d take it to her address because held a $5 gift card. The final card I opened others. This is one person that makes me sometimes if you throw it in the mailbox it astonished me most. There was a $100 bill glad to be spiritual. will take three weeks to get there. So I just inside. To this day, I am most grateful to the person who gave me this gift. I was totally — Saul Cortes took it down there and the doorman came astonished. out and took the wallet. About three hours later this guy showed up and gave me $100, — Duane Rick Wagner told me it was from Tara and she hen I was working at Rite Aid I met a appreciated me bringing her wallet back. Christian lady who really liked Street Roots. We were talking about God and we all - Bill Yates hey’re really nice to me over at New prayed-it was me, Don and her-and Seasons—some of the nicest people I’ve afterwards she gave us a $20, and she also ever met. Not a lot of people appreciate bought a paper from me and we exchanged e’d like to give a special thanks to our vendors, but those folks are nice to me. I’ve numbers; now she’s my roommate! There regular customers Anne and Bill. got a good place to sell. They give me was another time where I was on the bus — Paula and John gingerbread, burritos. They really look out mall over on sixth and this beautiful lady for me. came by and I explained Street Roots to her — John Munro and she handed me a 20 dollar bill. I thanked her, and she just looked at me and was selling papers smiled and went on. last Christmas Day s I departed from the steps of the — Cynthia Foix on North Mississippi Greyhound Bus, on Aug. 4, 2011,1 and Shaver and it totally didn’t know what to expect. Coming had been a bad day. from a climate consisting of my work as a Fresh Pot, the coffee hen I get a poem published in the journalist, literary artist, activist, poet and a shop, was closed, so paper I take it, sell one to my manager Revolutionary Legal Scholar (a title given to mainly people were in my apartment building and I also sell one me by Tiny Lisa Gray-Garcia, co-founder of walking their dogs. to my friend Dave, then I take one to Jessie, POOR Magazine), it all became chaotic for There were many Valerie, Laurie and Kat, and I sell one to me. I was crushed inside, by wicked covert people just coming Nick. They like my poetry. Duane Rick and overt circumstances that surrounded — Dennis Rollins by and wishing me Wagner me, a honey hive hounded by killer bees Merry Christmas. I triggering my PTSD. was quite depressed, For the sake of my sanity and soul, I sadly but when a regular customer came by with y interactions departed from the community of San his chocolate lab, Patches (I always have been very Francisco I built a seven-year relationship remember the dogs’ names), we had a long positive, especially with. chat. As the conversation ended, the with my regular Looking back, it was a true act of fate for customer placed an envelope in my pocket. customers. They’re me to venture forward. I was thinking it was a Christmas card glad to see that I’m A good friend of mine, Bob Offer- and nothing else, as I had received about inside, they’re glad to Westort, civil rights organizer for the San four cards the day before. It really was a sad see that I’m staying Francisco Coalition on Homelessness put day thinking I would make it back to sober. It’s been really me in touch with Street Roots. Four months Troutdale and sleep at the transit center in beneficial. of homelessness later, my inner darkness of my car. despair began to disperse daily as each new — Jim Dienes Jim Dienes When I got back to the transit center, I friendly, (and even a frowning) face O W W T W I W M A embraced me into their lives as one of their own. One such person is Mary Anne Joyce, a nurse case manager at the Standard Insurance Building, located at Southwest Fourth adn Taylor Street. Very warm and friendly exchanges between us with every single encounter. Bearing beneath her is an exterior of an inner no nonsense attitude, and wearing a full zest for life aura. Upon our very first meeting, we Marlon Crump were equally surprised that Cleveland, Ohio, was our hometown. She, alongside many Street Roots supporters, constantly compliments me on my positive attitude and appearance. Mary Anne Joyce, the community, loving supporters, and Street Roots renew my faith in humanity; and helps sustain my sanity towards success from duress. — Marlon Crump ne of my most memorable moments was when a guy came, grabbed a chair and sat down next to me. We started talking. He saw my key tags from recovery and he said he was just returning to Portland. We hit it off. We exchanged numbers and keep in contact. It seems Street Roots is helping me meet a lot of good people. — Jacob Anderson One of my regulars came up to me ar said, Hi, how are you? I haven’t seen yc I was in a bad mood and I said, It doesn matter any more. She asked, “Why? We started talking, she bought a paper frorr See VENDORS page 9
