Interview with a Homeless Person
Society
I presently live in Milwaukee Wis. And Milwaukee, parts of it anyway is a poor city with a lot of homeless people. So today, I got this hot little dinger in my mind, to interview one. So, I grabbed my old tape recorder, took the bus to the far south side, the poorest area in Milwaukee and found a woman, huddled up from the cold With a tin can full of change. She looked ragged and poorly kept up Hygine wise. She asked me if I could spare some change. I told her "If I can interview you, I’ll give you twenty- dollars." She blissfully agreed. I’ll call her Estella, since whenI interview people, I never use their real names. I have a scoop! I turned on my tape recorder and started interviewing.
“Estella, what made you homeless?” I ask.
Estella looked down on the ground and said, “Well, I lost my job, and I couldn’t find another one, and soon having no money, I got kicked out of my apartment and soon, I got homeless.”
“Estella, sweetie will you please speak into the microphone?” I ask her gently.
“Oh Sure.” She said, looking on the ground sheepishly.
“Estella, how do you feel about being homeless?” I aske her gently.
“Well, I feel pretty OK. I don’t have to worry about Being King Of The Mountain, I don’t have to worry about getting ahead, or what other people think of me. I have been beat up, spat on, kicked and hit, but for the most part, I feel OK.” She said as she looked at the ground smiling.
“Estella,” I ask her, “Do you stay out in the cold all the time?” She looked at my face and said, “Oh no, dear, I go to a homeless shelter at night. It’s plenty warm and the staff people are nice and supportive.” She looked at the ground again and smiled.
“I have one more question to ask you.” I said. “What is that?” She asked me out of sheer curiosity. “Are you going to try to start over you know, get a job, a place to stay?” “I should be able to in time, but for the here and now, I will just take things one thing at a time.”
She gave me a sweet smile. I handed her the twenty bucks thanked her for the interview and headed for home.
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Post CommentBruce Officer
On January 6, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Still, even with somewhere to go at night, it must be pretty miserable in January, especially if it rains or snows.
albert1jemi
On January 6, 2011 at 3:06 pm
well written
deliah jones
On January 9, 2011 at 3:17 am
interesting
Payge
On January 9, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Went and visited Milwaukee a few years ago but never saw this side of town you speak of.Here in my small town I see them as you wrote about ..sometimes sleeping in corners or the sidewalks.A shelter may help but its only a temperary short term solution.The weather doesnt help especially if it rains or snows.Your city being much bigger then mine Im sure the shelters and agencies that help people like this are pushed to the limits at times.Well written and a sad look at life as some know it.