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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2016)
Vendors Page 6 Better days for come what may VENDOR PROFILE Peter Polzer by Kenneth T. Nickell The bitter cold is wasting no time in separating comfortable from crucial. I’ve walked these rainy roads. Struggled these streets wading along winter’s strong with you before. No more. I have given all that strength to those to follow and need to seek out hearts less hollow. Smile when thinking on our past. As I recall we had a blast. Sadly dear the good won’t last. I’ve removed myself, resumed myself, renewed myself. Preserving only a fraction of what you kind ones see. My hopes for us may never be. I’ll the need to save the one-tenth four me. Peace and bliss have arms and lips. I’ll allow that they may hold or kiss. Doubt and fear and cast aside. Faith and hopes with children’s eyes. Widened and peering tearful, waiting for the next surprise. s 1 V a 1 3 s 1 3 1 s V T o i AA 1 a S a V S N a 3 i H i o □ a 3 i a 1 i 3 >i n O a 3 V 3 A n N 3 * 0 N 3 H V A V i 1 3 o 6 9 8 L P Z 1 8 Z 8 Z 8 8 6 Ir 9 8 1 n i 3 i s V s n a 0 a □ V N 1 N 3 N a 3 i a 3 3 a a N 3 a a 0 s o 8 Z 9 I- 6 Z 1 3 T T 3 AA s V A 1 j Sj V i S d 0 a 0 3 s N 3 0 0 1 0 3 a a n H 0 0 9 Z L Z 8 P 8 9 9 8 6 a a V a V a s 1 1 A a 0 H 1 0 i d 3 0 0 1 H 0 ¡3 s 1 a a IAI 0 d n a 3 N i Ÿ L Z 8 9 8 Z 6 9 3 8 V 6 8 9 8 Z I Z 0 a o i 1 0 1 a 1 d 1 i 3 IAI Ì V d i S V 0 s 1 IAI I 8 Ÿ 9 Z 9 6 Z 8 Z 9 8 P Z 6 9 8 Í was very fortunate. My dad was from Austria and my mom was from Germany, and they came here in the ’50s. They were really hard-working, decent people, you know? Brought me up to be a please-and- thank-you type of person. My dad was a project manager for a shopping center developer, and my mom was a housewife for the most part, but she was a seamstress by trade.” Things went downhill when Peter started drinking. When he hit rock bottom a year ago, a friend helped him to detox. Since then, Peter has been clean and sober through his determination and a supportive community. The . results have been a world of change. “I started going to (Alcoholics IE ! Anonymous) from . the get-go. Got a a sponsor, worked J | the steps,” he Jgf said. Peter qualified for a I N g l “dry” shelter W , : eter Polzer is a people person with a sure sense of salesmanship that is helping him toward a better future. His years as a furniture salesman make selling Street Roots a natural fit “The main tool to sell Street Roots, in my opinion, is to be genuinely enthusiastic,” Peter said. “I look at my job as spreading good cheer, as corny as that may sound. “The other thing I do is: I ask for the sale all the time. But it has to be super concise. You only have a few seconds, and there’s a lot you can talk about.” Peter described his process of selling the paper to people walking by on the street. “My first month and a half, I was trying to figure out what to say - and I don’t think there’s any right or wrong answer; it’s just something that evolves. I’ll say, ‘Good morning, sir, do you feel like helping the at Bud homeless today and getting yourself a great Clark paper at the same time? Got a brand new Street Roots, only a dollar.” Peter said strangers have literally stopped in their tracks when they realized what he j was saying. “I think a lot of vendors, who are starting IJ like me, have this assumption that everybody knows what Street Roots is, w right? But they don’t. There a lot of people that have no idea what you’re doing. You’re standing there tidth a pile of papers.” Peter adds, “When I ask for the MS sale, I’m not this jerk bothering ™ people. I don’t think I’ve ever come across that way to people. I’m very « 3 careful not to.” He said his manners come from his parents. “I was brought up with good parents. I P ■ .^«s****^ 9 6 Z 8 8 I 9 Z Ï ■ ■ ■ B I o C EN TR A L C IT Y COFFEE SMnlbuieli.3)^finuL 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. AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Central City Coffee at your office? Get in touch with us and we can help you make that happen. 503.226.7387 ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have it shipped directly to you or a friend. AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE Get your espresso favorites at Old Town's newest spot (201 NW Davis Street), featuring Central City Coffee! Follow our Facebook page for updates and specials. centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcern.org Dec. 16-22, 2016 Commons, a building run by the housing agency Home Forward. “It’s a clean and sober environment that provides men with the opportunity to get their lives together,” Peter said. Through his stay at the men’s shelter, he connected with Central City Concern, a nonprofit serving the homeless. “I got hooked up with a Shelter Plus Care voucher through CCC, which put me into an apartment program,” he said. “I’m responsible for a third (of the rent) based on how much I make. It’s really cool. I’ve got my own place right now.” Peter has been selling Street Roots for four months. “I feel my job is not only to sell the |L paper, but also to give good energy,” Peter said. “Life’s hard. Let’s face it - t it’s not a great economy and not everyone is walking around clicking a their heels. So just saying good morning to everybody and being genuine, it’s pretty cool. I make ■ money by being friendly and helping people feel better about themselves. That’s how I look at i t ” Peter added: “And after the holidays, I’m going to try to transition to a full-time job very soon.” f Answers to Page 15 Puzzles >1 3 BY LEONORA KO STAFF W R ITER Street Roots •
