Stealers of the Light—Edmund Dulac—Vintage Illustration | Flickr - Photo Sharing! on We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/27991140
Meet Daniel, Alyssa, and Chicken.
I met them today after they were harassed by cops. I called my mom to make it look like I wasn’t concerned with the Q&A going on near by, and when the police decided they weren’t a threat, my mom heard “Okay, have to go, love you” —Click.
I immediately asked if I could photograph Daniel for a project. He was more than willing to pose; he squinted his eyes and lifted his head as if he knew how to show his tattoos. He has a few lines, swirls, and circles on his cheeks; along with “Crunchy” above his right eyebrow. His hands, arms, and neck are covered in gray tattoos, covering and accenting years of highway scars.
They had been given a free Greyhound ticket by the state of Florida if they would just quietly leave. Apparently that’s Florida’s way of getting rid of homeless people. But you see, Daniel wasn’t homeless because our economy sucks, he wasn’t disowned at 16, or even raised into being this way; he chose this life style and loves it.
He’s 34 now, a college dropout with full support of his lifestyle from his parents, who he says are his best friends. Alyssa had scholarships and attended college for a year but didn’t like it. Chicken didn’t like college either.
“When I was like …four, I wanted to be this guy from my favorite show,” he recanted offering me a cigarette, “his name was Crunchy. So my mom dressed me up in an old sweater, ruffed up my hair, blacked out a tooth, and gave me a stick with a bandanna on the end.”
“See man, at the time, I had no idea Crunchy was homeless like me,” He stops for a second, “I’m the only one I know who grew up to be what I wanted as a kid. I’m living the American dream.”
remind me to stay away from air and fire signs.
It seems like lately those have been the friends that have been fucking me over. The only friends I have that create issues with me. Fuckin’ up my easy going current. It’s funny, last night we go camping and here is the group: two Scorpios, one Virgo, one Sagittarius, one Leo, and one Libra. The Sag and Leo smoke our pot and drink our beer and eat our food, then suddenly “they have things they need to do” and ditch out and would not help any of us out with a ride to the store or pitching this impossible tent or anything. The Libra gets way too drunk and ruins the night for the rest of us and finally leaves really early in the morning. All that is left is me, my Virgo lover, and our Scorpio friend: the two only people I was compatible with the entire night. Which is really how it should have just been to begin with. I just dumped my Aquarius friend not too long ago, too. I have a deep understanding for Aries, however, since my best friend and my brother are Aries, and we’re both ruled by Mars. So I try to stick with the “that’s just the way they are and it is nearly impossible to change that” mentality, and since I am so accepting of their strong-willed nature, it makes it much easier for us to get along. Other fire or air signs seem to clash with me or they’re always doing something that plucks a bad note for me. I really should try and stick to my water and earth signs, that way we all have a calm and compatible experience. Very nourishing and supportive friendships. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not trying to dog on all fire/air signs, just most that are friends with me.
