Page 6
Vendors
S treet D ream s
by Almos Dunne
Old fables tell of no guts no glory
Characters change and so may the
story
Everyone remembers the name of
their first kiss
And how it feels to get dissed or
skipped.
At the end of the fast lane livin’
Most old doggs practice taken &
giving.
Reminisce on old cars owned &
Driven
Knowing the game is half the battle
Rules were simple we were young
And knew better than to tattle
Been shuffled through industries like
Cattle. If there’s no thug’s mansion
Should we believe in Marilyn Manson
Or please the 5th or grab the gas
Peddle and find the times.
Answers to puzzles on page 15
8 6 2
9 4 9
L P 8
V 9 L
z 8 le
6 9 8
8 8 6
Ir 3 9
9 L P
le 9 P 8 L 9
8 6 L P Z 8
9 8 Z I 9 6
Ì
V 8 6 8 Z
L 9 6 8 P 9
p Z 8 9 le L
Z L le 9 9 P
6 Ÿ 9 L 8 8
8 8 9 Z 6 le
VENDOR PROFILE
J J . Wright
BY SAVANNAH DIMARCO
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
TT.J. Wright is a reader of classical
I literature, a street musician - and an
I environmental advocate.
“I’m glad I have this,” he said, as he
raised his reusable mug.
“Your Starbucks plastic cup or little straw
- do you know it takes 100 years for one
little straw to biodegrade?” J.J. asked,
laughing in desperation. “Why do you need
a straw?”
As a University of New Mexico
graduate and former unit director at
Boys and Girls Club, at times J.J. has
struggled with his social identity.
“When you speak in an articulate
manner,” he explained, “people may
look at me and say, ‘he doesn’t
really need money.’
“I have to compete with all the
homeless people for all the
services. I need shoes right
now, and I have size-13 feet! I
can't wait for hours in line
just to be told: ‘We don’t
carry shoes that big.’” he
said.
“On top of that, I’m
competing with
mainstream status-quo
Street Roots • Aug. 26-Sept. 1, 2016
J.J.’s life had a rough beginning. At age 5,
he was adopted, and for 12 years he was
“bounced back and forth” between Las
Vegas, Nev. and Juneau, Ala.
He still remembers the day a social
worker came into his classroom at school to
talk to him: “Hey, I heard your parents
aren’t treating you well. Do they hit you?”
After examining his bruises, the social
worker asked, “Do you want
to stay in this home?”
Looking back, he
said the social worker
shouldn’t have put
a decision like
I that on him.
f
“You’re asking
an 8-year-
old, if I wanted to stay in that place, when
you all are the authority,” he said, adding
that it was the adults who should make a
decision like that — he was just a kid.
“That question itself scared me,” he
said.”
He said he’d like to work in the adoption
field and change the policies so other kids
don’t have to go through what he did.
“I ended up staying in that home, and
living with the abuse and growing up in it,
and becoming rebellious against the abuse,
and becoming an uncontrollable, depressed
teenager. I mean, I really don’t understand
what else you think is going to happen when
you abuse kids.”
At age 17, he remembers being kicked
o u t His adoptive parents told him, “Well,
we can’t really handle you anymore.”
“I’ve been on my own, really, my
ft
whole life,” J.J. laughed. “I have my
j|
brothers, and that’s the only family I’ve
f ever known.”
i
These days, JJ. said what he really
wants is to have his own place - one
that’s economical and ecological,
with a nice garden. But “not austere,
minimalist,” he said.
“I don’t want a tiny home, cause
'• I’m not a tiny person,” he chuckled.
“A one-bedroom place for me would
I I
be fine.”
J.J., who can be found periodically
selling Street Roots at Pine Street
Market on Southwest 2nd Avenue,
offered some parting words of
advice:
“If we start thinking/with our
hearts, using our hearts, the Earth will
become better. The time has come for us
to be one, and that’s it. If people can’t get
it, then they’re going to be lost in darkness
for a long, long time.”
people for jobs and
employment - and for
dignity and respect. I’m
still looking for those, so
I’m really stuck in the
middle.”
Holistic • Self-Empowerment
Physical & Emotional Well-Being
Curiosity • Engagement »Choice
o
C E N TR A L C IT Y
C O FFEE
Skink, well. £)& good.
Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to
benefit programs at Central City Concern.
IN STORES
New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front
Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's
Produce and Will Leather Goods.
"Nothing happens until
something moves. "
Intentergy
(888) 391-5059
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