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
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