6
Street roots
Sept. 13, 2013
Art with Heart Walk!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Please join us and other
nearby agencies that serve
the community's most at-risk
men, women and children in a
celebration of
artistic expression!
Finding
strength
— inside
and out
BY ANN -D ERRICK GAILLOT
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
Stop by our gallery space at
33 NW Broadway and we'll,
provide a map of all 7+
locations.
t was easy to pick out Lorry Clark when
I went to meet him at his old selling
spot at Northwest 11th Avenue and
Lovejoy Street. A tall man with an easy
posture and a big smile, Lorry could look
down on the tops of the heads of most of
the people who wordlessly passed him by
as he greeted them that day. “I’m all smiles
and I try to be genuine,” he says.
As we sit and talk I ask Lorry the usual
questions as he answers in his thick, New
York accent. He was born and raised in
Syracuse, and has been selling Street Roots
in Portland for three months, he says.
But soon our conversation turns to
Lorry’s real passion: keeping healthy and
I
Lorry Clark
and Jefferson Street, Lorry also has a new
his calves, large and chiseled. I can see he
was not exaggerating.
spot the People’s Co-Op at Southeast 21st
Avenue and Tibbetts where he has become
Despite the great care and pride Lorry
popular with the regulars.
takes in his body, he must still struggle
Perception versus reality is something
with the effects of sleeping only a couple of
hours at a time each night when he must
that is at the forefront of Lorry’s mind
be vigilant against violence on the streets.
when he’s selling. There are good days
Lorry has seen much violence over his
when Lorry gets the same smiles he gives
lifetime, he says, and has had to adapt to
in return, when he makes enough money to
survive.
buy healthful foods, when he meets a new
“I’m a boy named Lorry. I learned to
friend or has a good conversation with a
fight at a young age,” he tells me with a
kind stranger. However, there are bad days
laugh. As he sees it, MMA is a positive
too, he says, when he spends all day
outlet in which he can be successful
receiving the glares and sneers from
physically, spiritually, and financially. When
passersby, when he does not make any
his savings permit, he hopes to join a local
money at all. Through it all he remains
gym and train with a professional coach.
upbeat, focused and kind. “My biggest
Part of Lorry’s plan for success includes
concern is that people know I’m not doing
getting back into the service industry,
this for fun, I’m not doing this because I’m
where his people skills and natural charm
unemployable, I’m doing this so I can get a
are a valuable asset.
> job,” he says. “I don’t enjoy waking up
“I waited tables 11 years, from coast to
every morning putting blisters on my feet
coast,” he tells me with one of his
so I can try to make a dollar. I’m trying to
trademark smiles. But before he can be
get back to the real world. And the thing is
considered for such a job, Lorry must first
you can help people. You can go out and
save up enough money for his food
help your fellow man. Isn’t that what
handlers permit, a bus pass and work
America’s about?”
clothes. “People don’t understand. I’m not
Before we shake hands and depart,
selling for drug money. I’m not an alcoholic, Lorry leaves me with one of his trademark
but people look at you like you are ... I do
adages, “There’s an old saying out East,
this so I can accomplish something.”
respect all and fear none. I’ll give people
In addition to splitting his time between
respect, but I’m not scared of anybody,” he
his spots at Northwest 11th Avenue and
tells me, and then laughs. “Except my
Lovejoy Street and Northwest 10th Avenue
mom!”
♦
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Vendors are regular contributors
to Street Roots content, as
columnists, poets and artists.
Look for your favorite vendor's
writings in each edition o f the
paper.
Answers to puzzles on page 15
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fit, and training for Mixed Martial Arts, or
MMA, a full-contact fighting sport. For the
past four months he has committed himself
to eating clean, no sugar, no white bread
when he can, and drinking a lot of water, so
that his body can be in top condition when
he is finally able to train and compete.
After he pays for his prepaid phone, the
rest of the money Lorry earns from Street
Roots goes to buying fresh, nutrient-rich
foods that often are not available at feeds
around town. “You need lean protein,” he
says. “You need complex carbs to take care
of yourself while you’re out here.”
Lorry gets creative, too, when it comes
to his physicaltraining. Carrying his
75-poUnd backpack around town helps him
strengthen his core, he says. The six-plus
miles he walks every day with the pack
helps him with his endurance and stamina.
After our interview he shows me his one of
VENDOR WORK ADS
A helping hand, inside or out, reasonable
rates. Larry Montgomery. 503-875-6487
Dog walker; House cleaner; Care giver.
Dog lover who is honest, sober and
reliable. Rate: Private treaty. Eileen V.
(message) 503-228-5657
Need a worker? Can do almost anything,
light or heavy. References supplied. $10
an hour, four-hour min. Ask for Cassidy
Morse, 503-228-5657 (SR office), or 503-
875-6504 (cell).