Worth a book a day

Yesterday was worth a whole book,
Every day is full of things to tell. Yesterday particularly. And I cannot say enough, I need a camera.

I would like to share it with everything, but there is never enough time to write down what is happening.
So many people we met and so many experiences we had. I cannot even begin to recount.

Each episode rife with perfection and delight. We get everything we need. always.

We were trying yesterday to get a Motel room. We wanted to sleep indoors, but we ended up out by the highway. It was ok.
I don't think sleeping outside is really that bad at all.

We can stay in the library working up to midnight perhaps. It's cool in here. As I type this, Ashton sleeps, his head and shoulders on my lap.
We are obviously street persons. I don't care. Just don't give a damn, but I do ask him to behave.

What did we do here in this city today? I woke first and went to get my morning rituals done. There was a tub of water. I feel like things are prepared just for me. It was clean and warm, like rain water. But I think it was perhaps meant for repairing automobile tires. It seemed quite ok. so, I got in it. It was big like a jacuzzi. I took my bath and washed my clothes. I then put them on wet.

It's not cold here. and in the morning it feels good to have clean clothing. so, I just washed everything. It dries quite readily. Then I tried to wake up Ashton, but he wanted to sleep.

We had been awake quite late. AT some point around 1 a.m. I had said to Ashton, Please stop. Stop running up and down, please don't leave. I am tired. I just want it to stop. It is so amazing, so engrossing. But I cannot take any more. I need rest.

Then we slept for perhaps a few minutes. Then another man came. On the street you have no door that you can close. You just are there and people come up and start to talk to you, even though you may be asleep or not feel like it.

This man came up to us and he had his story. This man's name was Ryan. but he was not the most amazing. He was not the highlight of the day.

Damn, I wish I had a few days in an apartment with a computer just to write this story. I learned so much, felt so much, experienced so much.

Ashton just started telling jokes after he woke up, singing crazy lyrics and entertaining me.

Then we entertained a woman who gave us a ride uptown. Eva from the Austinian something something newspaper. She does the music column. I cannot remember the name of that paper. It just would not stick in my mind.

She didn't want to give her by-line or her email. It was again, "Show me yours, but I won't show you mine." Everyone has stress jobs.

We walked down the street. I was not really relaxed. Ashton led. I tried to just follow. We ended up sitting on a corner where he used to play with his brother, getting a bit of cash from passers-by. Ashton is a great performer. He really is just doing it because he loves the music. I accompany him with tambourine. It helps a little.

We sat there and talked and made jokes with each other and behaved like lovers, without any shame for about an hour. Neither of us felt really hungry. I think we didn't eat until after lunch.

Then the day went on. We met more drunks. These guys said, "We are not alcoholics, we don't go to AA. We are just drunks." They were from Arkansas.

We found that food was being served at the local Caritas house at noon. There we had lunch.

Well, so much also happened today. I did not write it all down. I didn't even start to try.

I only know one thing. If we have made some person happy with the music and if we have told someone the truth, the day's purpose has been served.

We met Maxine and Lauren, mother and daughter, who have lost their house, and are on the street. Perfectly normal people. I told them, you are blessed. Be happy that the system has spit you out like poison. When it falls you will be protected. You will not go down with it, you will survive.

Then after this the security guard came and chased us away. I had no idea we are not allow also to sit on the sidewalk in front of the homeless shelter.

No where in the town are you allowed to sit out on the street and talk to one another. Life outside is against the rules. Ha! It's all against natural law. That's what I said to Ashton. All their laws go against nature. They try to keep people separated from each other. The ones who are going to survive the coming troubles are the ones who know how to stick together and help each other.

After this we wanted to go to the library. We wandered up town. I was feeling very tired.

Actually, I met a bi-polar woman today. She told me all kinds of crazy shit. But I felt she is sincere. She lied and lied, I suppose. I told her, you know, I don't know if what you say is true, but you are certainly very intelligent. But she talked very much and only wanted to drink alcohol. I was struck because she could speak German she said, and apparently she did speak a little. She sang a little German song. But I think maybe she was making it all up. She was really kind of magnetic, but she was proclaiming the whole time how important she is. After she and I went off to find some bathroom and I never found any, I came back and told Ash, we have to go

there was a man there playing Ashton's guitar. I yelled at him. I just blasted him and told him to shit or get off the pot. He kept talking and talking, holding the guitar but not playing and completely monopolizing the corner where we were supposed to be playing. It was just like a bunch of drunks were crowded around us. We were in the midst of this, and I felt, this is not what we need. I just felt like this drunk scene is not the thing I want around me all the time. I was not repulsive. But I simply felt, this is not real.

Then we walked away and I said, "I want to leave this place, let's just get out of Austin." And we headed out to the highway. We wanted to just jump and go to Colorado. But I have a terrible sunburn and Ashton made me sit in the shade. Then a man came and took us to the homeless shelter, ostensibly to get some food, but that food was finished.

But after that we met the homeless people and started to talk to them and found that we had something helpful to say. They seemed also receptive of the message. But then they also had to leave.

After this we were wandering again up town and we were hungry. We wanted this library. But then came a man we had met downtown, a very aimiable drunken Chinese, with few teeth and as many English words, it seemed. He wanted to tell us, "Go Chinese restaurant, they feed you..." And he was directing us across town, not uptown. I started to kind of follow him. Then we can to Quiznos and went in to get a small sandwich and some bread.

Then, I had gone to the bathroom and Ashton came back from ordering the food. He brought my sandwich, b ut I did not want to eat without him. I waited, though I was hungry. Just then a man behind us spoke up, "You guys want a coupla subs? What can I get for you, ask for anything." And Ashton did not understand, that the man wanted to just buy us some food.

He got us 2 foot-long subs. I felt again, universe is helping us. We simply have to do our jobs. WE have to sing to people and tell the truth.

After this we met some people in the park and they took a video of us singing and playing. This may be uploaded to youtube. Perhaps, we will see.

finally, we started out again for the library. I had to pull A. away from these people. He just wanted to talk more and more to them. I felt that they wanted to leave however and I said, "Hey, let's go, we need to get out of here." He would have talked their ears off I suppose.

AFter this again I felt awful and had to stop on the road. Then A. came to sit with me on the sidewalk. I was really hot, exhausted, frustrated and didn't know where to go next. Being out is not easy. I was cursing that I carried all this stuff with me. I felt hot and tired and something amiss. We sat but I didn't feel comfortable, thinking any moment cops will stop and harass us.

I will try to write these things as they happen, but really we need digital help. It's too much. And it would be much better as a documentary in video format. It just would be way more interesting and fun.

So many people we see. So many people speak to us and are real. So many are sincere. Others are not genuine, distant, so called "a-holes". But I see they are simply trapped. They are children, scared. I don't have anything to be afraid of any more and often they are afraid of me.

There was a black guy a few days ago. I don't know why I just went up to him. It was night and we were trying to get cigarettes I think. I just said to him, "Man, you are really big!" because he was. He was packing a piece I think. there was this bulge under his t-shirt and he was like trying to be very gruff and frightening, but I just said, "Man, are you some kind of bouncer?" He was saying like, "Just go, this place is closed." It was like I walked into the middle of a drug deal going down. But I was not afraid. Nothing was going to happen to me. That guy was really disturbed. I didn't have any problem.

Ashton like to see problems now and again. Then it's my turn to see them. I yell at him when he starts to want to fill my head with some fucked up negative image. He then gets pissed off, but I don't care. I don't want to hear that shit.

There was another woman we met today, a very humble soul. Debbie. She told Ashton that his music is good and he needs to record.

A couple in the park made a video of us, did I already say that? They showed me also playing and hopefully they will upload it so that you can now see what we are doing.