Wednesday morning I chatted with a Downtown businessman, someone I respect a lot, about my current situation. “I don’t think you’re far down the hole of homelessness,” he told me. “I think you have the potential to dig yourself out fairly quickly.” But,, he advised, I need to be aware of the following , any of which could cause people to label me and judge me without ever taking the time to get to know me.
– Appearance: Do I look homeless? Am I ignoring my grooming?
– Odor: He wasn’t saying I stank at the moment, but rather he was advising me to watch out as the weather starts to get warm. Obviously a major turn-off.
– Vibe, facial expressions, and body language: Do I look like I’ve given up on the world?
The next morning – Thursday morning, yesterday morning- – I left the Union Mission on Poplar where I’ve been staying at night and headed to the Downtown core. As I got to Main Street my phone buzzed in my pocket, indicating it had joined a known wireless network. I pulled out the phone to see what I had missed in the 17 or so hours since I’d gone into the shelter.
Someone had generously wired – or, should I say, “wirelessed” – $40 to my Apple Pay account. That’s cool because I have access to the money immediately. I don’t have to wait for a debit card to arrive in the mail as is the case with my new Venmo account.
I thought about what my businessman friend had said about appearance.
Then I thought, “Isn’t a haircut about $40?” I hadn’t had a haircut since February 16, 2022. My hair in the back was starting to knot up all over the place. And it was down to the middle of my back.
When Bardog opened at 8, I went over for breakfast. Then I walked down Main to Gould’s.
“Two questions,” I asked the receptionist. “Do you take Apple Pay? And can you handle a walk-in right now?”
Yes to both.
I was told the wait could be up to an hour, but 5 minutes later my name was called. 15 minutes after that we had a result::
Yeah I left it somewhat long. When you reach my age without a hint of male-pattern baldness, you get that option.
And yeah, I know I need to get rid of the stubble on my face, especially because it’s white. That’ll happen by this weekend.
One more thing about the Mission… Faith Baptist Church of Bartlett brought us some delicious BBQ for dinner yesterday.
After dinner their pastor Lee delivered an excellent sermon on the prodigal son. I have been to church more this week than I have the past 40 years of Sundays.
On to the news….
Pat Hallotan, who transformed the Orpheum into the Broadway venue it is today, has died.
Yesterday I noticed a Steak Escape food truck parked on Beale between Main and Second. I know a lot of food trucks that operate illegally park in that block, but Steak Escape has to be legit, right? I mean, nearly every mall food court has a Steak Escape.
David Roddy is no longer a Memphis Grizzly. He was traded yesterday for a 2026 first-round pick swap.
Also in Grizzlies news, GG Jackson has been moved up to a main roster spot.
Penny’s Tigers improved to 17-6 after nearby giving away last night’s game to Temple.
Southwest has added nonstop flights from Memphis International to Phoenix and Las Vegas
These posts will get better/longer next week once I have the new computer.
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Apologies for typos, doing this on my phone.