There he was! Standing outside his rig! I saw the dog poking his big shaggy head out the window!
For over a year, a man and his dog had lived in a newer, mid-size SUV that was always parked under a towering, century-old cedar across the street from a city park distinguished by the confluence of two salmon-bearing streams. I frequently visited the park and sat on a picnic table near a stream to retain my sanity.
I'd never seen the man and dog outside the vehicle. I'd never got a good look at them inside. I came this way at least three times a week, at various times of the day, and sometimes the vehicle was there and other times it wasn't.
It was 37 degrees and ten in the morning. The temperature had dipped below freezing the night before.
I wanted to meet the man and hear his story of living out of his vehicle with a dog under a cedar tree in a leafy neighborhood parked next to a $750,000 home. I wanted to open new doors to perception but I didn't know what to say.
It took me ten seconds to walk over to him and when he saw me I said, “Are you working somewhere because I notice your gone sometimes?”
Why did I open with that question? I have no idea. I have no idea what I am doing when I encounter and interact with homeless people. I just make it up on the spot and improvise.
“I've been looking for work,” he said.
“In what field?”
“Anything. It's hard. I don't have an address and I can't leave the dog alone for long.”
I felt myself ready to start crying.
He was tall, in his 40s, fit, groomed, of Indian descent I thought. His English was perfect without a trace of accent.
“I live in the neighborhood,” I said. “Do you know your neighbors?
“Yeah, they've been great,” he said.
I wondered how they helped him live, because surely they did. There is a lot of that going around the city and elsewhere these days. And I would know because I'm part of it.
“I'm Milton,” he said.
“I'm Matt.”
Milton. What an old English name. I'd never met a Milton. He stuck out his hand. I shook it. It's such a rare thing to do these days but it felt good.
I said, “I notice you've been living here for about a year. I appreciate you keeping it clean.”
“Of course,” he said.
There's always someone new coming around.
I hesitated to use the word homeless to his face. Why?
“You got this great park for the dog,” I said.
“Yes. He loves it.”
And a real beautiful cedar tree.
Yeah I know, it's wonderful.”
He was so calm, so composed. We need more of that in this chaotic world
“I'll see you later, “ I said.
“Nice to meet you Matt,” he said.
“Take care.”
“Yes.”
“Oh what's the dog's name?”
“Scooter.”
I laughed. It was a perfect name.
He opened the door and sat down. He petted Scooter. What would they do the rest of the day in 37-degree weather?
I walked away and 20 yards later my mind exploded with ideas how I could help. There were plenty of jobs around the neighborhood: convenience stores, senior living centers, grocery stores, restaurants. Help Wanted signs on windows and doors were everywhere. I could walk his dog a day or two a week when he was at work, or pay for doggie day care (two joints nearby). I'd pay for a day, a week. My family would pitch in. I could stash Scooter in a neighbor's back yard one day a week and her dog and he could roughhouse together.
All I had to do was follow through and make an offer. Was it an improbable, even a preposterous idea?
Yes. But sometimes those are the only ones that work.
Good. That's the way to do it. Talk to people. I remember in a previous life when I was in what they then called J School, each student had to contact & set up an interview -- and actually interview -- a mayor, the governor, or at the very least a member of a board of trustees. No prob for me, but other students were hesitant. "I can't do that," one said. "Well," the prof replied, "maybe you shouldn't be in journalism, then." (Today one couldn't get away with such a response, but he was right.) Anyway, the same goes for talking to folks on the street. Some writers (different from journalists) got it, others don't. You got it. Go for it. Think Studs Terkel.