In the early 200s, I worked enough overtime as a security guard to afford a weekend in Cancun. I was in my forties and it would be my second trip alone. One of the things I wanted to do was go to “COCO BONGOS” I saw a segment on the Travel Channel and I had to check it out for myself.
After a day of drinking on the beach, I went to my hotel room and got cleaned up. COCO BONGOS was a short walk from my hotel. I walked there to see when it opened.
Long Island Iced Teas are awesome
The place didn’t open until 9:00 P.M. An American Doorman was working outside of the club. He talked me into buying an all-I-could-drink pass. I bought the pass and killed time at the hotel bar and The Hard Rock Cafe.
I arrived back at COCO BONGOS early. There was a line that stretched for quite a distance. Inside the club patrons filled all the best seats. I walked up the stairs to the last remaining nosebleed seat.
My waiter was at my side right away. “ What are you having tonight sir?” He asked. I told him I had been drinking all day and I wasn’t sure what I wanted. He suggested a Long Island Iced Tea.
I had no idea how much I paid for the All I Could Drink Pass
I had an unlimited drink pass. I was half-lit before the show started. I have no idea when I left the club, or how I made it back to my hotel room alive. I’m still amazed that I woke up the next morning early with hardly any hangover.
I thought about that night when I watched the News footage of Riley Strain stumbling down the street. The National News reported that the bar is under investigation for overserving him.
They should have called the cops, Riley would have woke up sick, but alive
I don’t understand why the staff kicked him out of the bar. If he was causing a problem, why didn’t they call the cops and have him spend the night in the drunk tank?
Throwing Riley out alone when he had trouble standing up because he was trashed, is irresponsible. I know that Riley should have been careful, but I was a kid once, so I can’t judge him too hard.
Spring Break is motivated by greed and should be outlawed
The Bouncers should have sat Riley down somewhere and called the cops or Paramedics. The whole thing upsets me. I can’t wrap my head around how it must hurt to bury a son so young.
What purpose does Spring Break serve anyway? It’s time that cities stop rolling out the Red Carpet every Spring. I know Spring Break is fun, if I was young and had the money, I would have partied with the best of them.
They’re in college, but they’re still kids
Kids will be kids. As Adults, we must do what we can to help them survive college. A mistake cost Riley Strain his life. Let us do what we can to stop more tragedies from occurring.
After months of no privacy, trying to sleep in a cavernous room with bunks inches from mine. After having to find a place to go before sun-up when the security goons threw us out into the street.
It was an upgrade
I thought I was in paradise four months later. The caseworkers found me a room at a transitional housing apartment. It was a small room with no running water, and having food or cooking in the room was not allowed.
The bed was a thin rubber mattress. It was on a wooden box. There was a small desk with the most uncomfortable plastic chair created. I was in paradise.
The neighbors were a trip
It was often hard to sleep at night. The guy living above me would wake up around the time I went to bed. He would turn on his TV as loud as possible.
I was the only man in the building who could close a door without slamming it. The restroom and showers were down the hall. The guy two-doors down from me had Parkinson’s Disease. His tremors and shakes were so bad. You couldn’t walk too close to him because he might hit you.
He had a reason for peeing all over the restroom floor, but the other guys were drunk or stoned.
Maybe it was a good thing the volume was too high
The guy right next door on one side loved to watch porn with the volume at full blast. One guy that lived down the hall would have heated arguments.
He would yell in his room for hours
I at first thought he had Internet access, and he was arguing with someone online. He was arguing with himself. There was no smoking allowed in the building. The smokers would be up and down all night. Slamming their doors as they headed downstairs to go outside to smoke.
Minneapolis is a neat city to walk around and explore
I would spend my days napping or writing in my room. If I was going stir-crazy, I would walk the skyways, or head to the library, or take the light rail to The Mall of America.
The shelter had a park for the residents. I spent the summer days in the park. I would drink with my neighbors and watch the pretty office workers as they walked by.
I would watch and listen to my neighbors. I discovered that no matter how bad my situation was, I was in a lot better shape than a lot of other people.
We talked for two years before we met in person
I had met a woman online. We had a plan to get me out of Minnesota and to get me to South Carolina to be with her. We talked all the time on the phone and online.
I had State Medical Insurance, Which was a good thing because I had some physical and mental health issues. The Hospital and Allergy Clinic was a short walk away.
I was coming back to myself
I had lost all my confidence and self-worth. The two years I spent at transitional housing did a lot to get me back to the man I was before I became homeless.
That time in my life will stick with me forever. I have regained the confidence I lost, but I still live in fear of becoming homeless again. I’m glad that God brought a good woman into my life.
I learned the hard way that I can’t do it alone. I’m so happy I have a wife with a good head for managing money. I listen to her because I never want to be homeless again.
Final Thought:
When things seem bad, hang in there and keep going forward. If you keep the faith and hope alive you will get through the dark times. Having someone who cares helps a lot as well.
On my last day at the shelter, I went downstairs and ate breakfast, then I went upstairs and packed. I sat and waited for the caseworker to come upstairs and take me to transitional housing.
It was an ugly building, but I didn’t care
My new home was an ugly eight-story building in downtown Minneapolis. I got my stuff out of the back of the caseworker’s car, I needed to get a cart to haul all my crap. I entered the building, there was a window just inside the entrance where a black woman sat at a desk. She introduced herself and led me to a table, we sat down and she pulled papers from a folder. I spent several minutes signing papers and listening as she laid down the rules.
There are always rules
With that done, I was given a tour of the building, then another resident lead me to the laundry area on my floor, all my clothes had to run through the dryer in a futile effort to kill the bedbugs.
It was the first time that I was alone in months
I spent the rest of the day in my room napping. There was no WIFI or running water and having food and cooking in the rooms was against the rules. I slept until near lunchtime, then I headed downstairs to the dining room. “The food is better here.” I thought as I ate my lunch. I finished eating and went back to my room. That first night alone in my room, I couldn’t sleep. The sores from the bedbug bites I sustained at the other shelter were itching and driving me nuts.
Too excited to sleep, or it was probably the long nap
The bedbugs and excitement about being in a new place kept me awake most of the night. “The food is better.” I thought as I ate lunch. During the week, there was a cold breakfast, a choice of cereal or toast, and bagels. Lunch and dinner were hot meals, but there was a hot breakfast on weekends.
I spent a lot of time in the computer room
I ate breakfast, then I decided to check out the computer room. I had to sign in and give the employee at the desk my driver’s license, then she led me to the computer room and logged me into a computer.
Several computers were in use, folks streaming videos, or on Facebook. I checked my email, then I logged on to Facebook and talked to Olivia for an hour or so. I was still beat down from the shelter, but I needed to get out and explore the area and get things done.
I got out and explored Minneapolis
The third day, I felt a lot better, I found out where the transit office was, I bought a bus pass, I then headed back to the post office to check my mail. Olivia sent me a DVD. I watched the movie and went to bed early. My room was small, with no running water and an awful bed, but it did have a small desk and the most uncomfortable chair on earth, made from plastic. I didn’t care, I wrote almost every day.
I worked on the novel I will never finish
The next day, I met with a caseworker and a nurse to discuss my medications and my health. I spent the rest of the day on Facebook and in my room writing. After about five days, people started to introduce themselves and the seeds of friendships were planted.
The Staff took care of me
My caseworker arranged for the shelter to buy me some much-needed glasses. I started to get out and explore the area. I quickly fell in love with downtown Minneapolis. The shelter was close to the library, and a Barnes and Noble’s was closer still. My book collection grew. Everything was great, but not having a phone was a pain in the ass.
We had never met in person, but she sent me a phone
“How would you like me to send you a phone?” Olivia asked me one day. I wasn’t surprised, she had been sending me money for months. I told her having a phone would be awesome. I walked across town to the post office by the other shelter to get it. I walked back to the shelter and spent the rest of the day syncing music, I loved that phone. I spent the next few days going from WIFI hotspot to WIFI hotspot downloading free music and posting on social media.
My first case manager was useless
I was assigned a case manager, I was supposed to see him forty-eight hours after I moved into the shelter. I think I met him a month later. I discovered quickly how big a piece of shit he was, but he was worse than I knew. My case manager did the little things to pad his reports, He first took me to get a replacement for my worn and tattered Social Security card, the next day he took me to the DMV to get my State Identification card. The people at the DMV wanted to see my Birth Certificate, but I didn’t have it with me. Kenny took me back a week later after I found the Birth Certificate in my overnight bag.
The Skyways fascinated me
When the Caseworker left me alone, I spent my days either in my room or exploring the Skyways. I would also take a short walk to the library. The library was fun to go to. It was a better experience being there and not having to worry about dozing off. We received our General Assistance money on the first. Most of my neighbors spent their money on booze and drugs. The Park next to the shelter would be a party zone for a few days, then it would die down as the money ran out.
I would get necessities, snacks, laundry detergent, and clothing. I always had money left over. I also spent a lot of time at the Book store. I always managed to stop by the coffee shop and buy a Mocha or Latte.
Two years after we starting talking, we finally met
Time went by, Olivia and I had been talking for two years. One day Olivia called me, “Hey babe, how would you like for me to come to Minneapolis for a few days?” The smile I had when I heard those words damned near split my skull in half. We talked some more, then we both got busy. I couldn’t just leave the shelter for the weekend. I had to get a pass from my case manager, while Olivia booked a hotel room. I was so excited; I was ready to explode. The funny thing was, I wasn’t nervous at all. I packed my overnight bag the night before I left. The next morning, I walked the few blocks to the light-rail station heading to the Airport.
The Next Chapter:
We finally meet in person.
Life after Minneapolis
Lawson lives in South Carolina with his wife Olivia. It has been four years since he left Minneapolis. His life is a lot better now.
That morning I was lying on my sofa, I was scheduled to work that night. There was a knock at my door.
I accepted the eviction notice and called off for the night.
I stayed with a woman I met online for a month until she decided to go back to her husband. I tried to sleep in my truck during the day, where I worked as a security guard.
It lasted two nights, and then I had enough.
After two nights of trying to sleep in my truck in early September Florida, I snapped. With no sleep and barely enough money for gas, I left the State.
I arrived in South Carolina early the next morning, but that didn’t work out. Two days later, I was on the road again, this time to Minneapolis Minnesota.
What makes this story interesting is, that I have no sense of direction at all. I started working as a security guard before GPS and smartphones.
I get lost too easily.
I was notorious for getting lost and being late for duty. I even had trouble with GPS. I’m dyslexic, so I read things wrong if I’m not careful.
“ I wonder what Mom and Dad would think of this?” I asked myself while I tried to stay awake on the road. The first year in Florida, I bought a 1985 Volkswagon Golf from a “ We finance” car lot.
My Supervisor wanted me to drive to Clearwater to work at the company headquarters for a day.
I was fine after the first time.
Mom and Dad were not pleased. They knew I was going to get lost, and they were sure that I would get lost and act like a blubbering fool.
I drove across the Courtney Campbell Causeway and promptly got lost. I didn’t panic, I didn’t cry like a baby, and I didn’t ask for directions, because I’m a guy.
I was proud of myself.
On my cross-country trip, I had the help of an iPhone and GPS. I bet I could do the trip without it, by using an old-school paper map.
The point is, that you don’t know what you’re capable of unless you’re challenged.
I could have listened to my mom, not driven across the causeway, and stayed in my comfort zone. I would have never driven to the beach by myself, or gone to concerts in St. Petersburg or anything else.
Challenge yourself, don’t live with regret.
I would have been miserable. Don’t be miserable, get out of that comfort zone. That comfortable will stunt your growth.
Lawson's Lair 