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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2015)
Street Roots • January 23-29, 2015 Vendors Page 6 The Betrayal of the Womb by Simran Sahota If it was not for her, I would have never seen this world. But, the scary part was, She betrayed the womb and left me. My tiny feet dangling, my little smile, my little innocent eyes, Did not impact her in any way. She erased my smile, my ieet grew and my eyes were left for only tears, And she did not even care. A mother you call yourself, But your real name is a careless selfish woman. You were worried about yourself this whole time, Which is why you gambled me to gain the jackpot you desired. Death would have been more appreciated, If you were planning to kill .me alive. The thought disgusts me that you are my mother, Because you betrayed the womb. Answers to puzzles on page 15 Robert Egan BY SAM BOUMAN C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R Tk T o w that Robert Egan has a full-time J^kl job, the only time he and I see each J l ^1 other these days are very early on Saturday mornings. Hence, our interview occurs at the Street Roots front desk during the excitement and hubbub of an early morning Saturday of a now weekly Street Roots. .“I’m a dollar short of 40 papers,” says Robert. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the air, the laughter of other vendors fills the office. I tell him that we could give him a loan of $1 when fellow vendor Willie Bradford drops a dollar on the counter to help him out. “Thank you, Willie,” says Robert. “I can’t tell you thé number of times I’ve done the same thing for people.” And it’s true. Robert is often generous with this earnings, dropping a dollar on the desk, giving a newer vendor some of his papers, paying it forward in any way he can. Since the last time we interviewed him, Robert has gone from a part-time position through Labor Ready to full-time employment at Arctic Glacier Ice, the company Labor Ready had connected him with. He started working with Arctic Glacier — <bwwwi m .i l mí Q010 t hrough Labor Street Roots. Now, with the winter, his hours have scaled back a bit. “I’m working 40 hours a week right now Monday through Friday, having fun, enjoying myself,” says Robert with a laugh. I ask him about how it feels to have a permanent job after a few years of working as a temp. “My self-esteem has skyrocketed,” Robert says without missing a beat. “I’m one of those people who can’t not work. I’ve always got to be doing something.” I find it amazing that even after a full workweek, Robert takes the time to sell Street Roots. He’s made himself a regular fixture at Grand Central Bakery on Hawthorne Boulevard. Some nights, he even goes out after work to sell the paper. “The Way I look at it is Street Roots is my relaxation and socialization time. I’ve developed a lot of friendships through Street Roots that are likely to last a lifetime, both within the organization and with my customer base.” I ask him about weekly (publishing) and how his customers have responded. “So far weekly seems to have a good response, everybody congratulates me and us. A lot of people are really happy.” But, there’s also some education involved with his customers. “I had a customer last Thursday,” Robert says. “I told her the new one came out Friday and she said, ‘Wait a minute, this one’s only been out a week!’ There’s some education that goes al ong with it, everyone seems happy that re coming out weekly now. I people are really embracing idea.” “I want my customers to know I really appreciate them and the good response that they’ve had,” Robert says. “I’m really happy that m able to do this for them.” Ready. The supervisor said they wanted to see him the following season. He went back last April* worked seven days a week throughout the summer, then, at the end of the season, got hired permanently. During the summer we didn’t see much of him at 'Winterfotk XXVII CENTRAL CITY 8 9 P 6 8 L 9 L P L 6 8 L 9 9 Z 8 9 8 k Z L 9 P 6 8 8 Ir 8 9 Z P 6 .Z 9 L 9 8 z P 6 8 9 9 L P P 8 L 9 6 Z 8 9 6 9 9 L 8 t P Z L 9 8 \ Z 8 8 6 6 Z i 9 8 L 9 P 8 Saturday, January 31,2015 Ending homelessness and achieving self-sufficiency. Now roasting & distributing craft coffee. a benefit for Sisters Of The Road Available fo r purchase at: Chuck's Produce Food Front Cooperative Grocery Green Zebra Grocery New Seasons Market Whole Foods Market Soon avctilalbe for on-line purchase!. For office coffee service, call our friends at Percasso Coffee, 503-460-3861 Featuring: Bryan Bowers, Master Autofiarpist Avery Hill Kate.Power and Steve Einhorn Kathryn Claire Don Lange Tom May with Donny Wright and The Artichoke All-Stars (Richard Columho,Cale Carr, Margaret Branch and Paul KwitekJ www.centralcityconcern.org : facebook. corti/CentralCityCof fee at the .ACaddin Theater 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., Portland, Oregon Doors at 6:00, Concert at 7:00 Tickets: $30 in advance, $32 day of show General Seating Tickets available through the Aladdin Box Office or Music Millenium! Quit or 'Raffle Win a Woodland Pro Folk Sunburst guitar donated by Artichoke Music, and 1 day of recording time at Billy Oskay's Big Red Studio. See our website for more details! stSTERS x fflk http://sistersoftheroad.org OF THE fi&S ROAB
