Vendors
P ag e 6
VENDOR PROFILE
longing
Adam Ruark
by Avendor
In my solitary hour
I dreamed of love
sitting in a room
with my waxy crown
BY LEONORA KO
STAFF W RITER
N
ot long ago, Adam Ruark was on a
ship and sleeping in a room not
much bigger than a commercial crab
In my chair
I remembered her hair
till my thoughts shot roots
into the ground
So come now girl
down the desolate streets
and I shall kiss
your delicate feet
Come to me
lest I wait in vain
light your candle
and board my train
Answers to puzzles on page 15
pot
“I got back from Alaska,” Adam said.
“Fishing. I didn’t get a chance to shave my
beard and mustache off.”
He didn’t work on a small ship with a
crusty skipper as seen on television’s
reality series “Deadliest Catch.” Instead,
Adam was on a huge vessel with hundreds
of shipmates.
“Some ships can only
....
hold 500. The bigger
ships hold more.
There’s a bunch of
j
companies up
i
there,” he said.
Hui
When asked if
he knew the
skipper, Adam
■
laughed, “No,
you never
1
meet him, naw.
“You wake up
at probably 6
o’clock in the
morning; you
go to work'at
7. T hen you
don’t gettoff
S tre e t R oots • July 8-14, 2016
They feed you steak and eggs and pork
chops. It’s a big, old cafeteria, but they feed
you good.
“(The fishing season) goes from
December until about now. That’s why
everybody’s coming back now. They’re all
up in Seattle right now, spending their
money.
“It’s hard work, but it’s worth i t ”
Adam said he gives his money to his
relatives in Salem for safekeeping.
He sold the street paper
Real Change in Seattle, but
he said the city was too
expensive and he couldn’t I
earn enough to rent a
room. Adam decided to
try his luck with Portland
and Street Roots.
For now, Adam
|
sleeps at Teen
’
<i!ll
i l ■
■
W
I
'
Challenge, a Christian faith-based nonprofit.
“It’s just a mat on the floor, but it’s real
nice and clean. Real nice people.”
Adam sells Street Roots from 6 a.m. to 2
p.m. in front of Starbucks at Northwest
11th Avenue and Lovejoy S treet There, he
has sold more than 60 papers since he
started in late June.
He attributes his sales success to his
experience as a former Real Change vendor
and his polite manner.
“Say, ‘Good morning, how are you
doing?’ The whole thing about being
a vendor is to not be rude. To not
fe panhandle (or) smoke cigarettes
■k or drink while they’re selling.”
■ ill
When asked if anything has
H r changed for him in the short
week he’s sold Street Roots,
HE Adam said, “Not yet, but it will.
HH I can see already that I’m
HHF going to be getting into a motel
F* room here. I’ll get a good
E running day next week and get
■
k into a motel room. I don’t mess
around.”
I
c r
I
li
.
until about 9 I
o’clock at
night. You
just sleep,
and then you work.
They give you lunch
breaks and dinner breaks.
Holistic • Self-Empowerment
Physical & Emotional Well-Being
Curiosity • Engagement »Choice
9 L 6
8 S k
P 8 Z
2 8 8
S 9 L
k 6 P
8 k S
L Z 8
6 P 9
S 8
P 9
L 8
6 9
k P
8 Z
Z 6
9 k
8 L
k P
Z 8
6 k
9 L
8 6
L 9
P 8
8 S
S Z
Z 8
L 6
S 9
P k
8 Z
8 S
9 L
6 P
k 8
"Nothing happens until
something moves/'^E^ a™
Intentergy
(888) 391-5059
S£ Portland Office
conscSous-intent@outiooic.com
Veterans/Military/EMS personnel
Sliding scate (first session, free)
THE MAGIC IS IN THE HOLE!
2 2 SW 3RD :
& BURNSIDE j
OPE
1501 NE DAVIS <
SUPPORTING STREET
ROOTS SINCE 2 0 0 3