Last Night

Last night was not a good night. I headed back to the park I spent the night at before. There were a lot of city park trucks trolling the area and police cars. I waited until nightfall to stake out a spot, but it was to no avail. The squad car drove into the park and found me sleeping on the bench. The officer told me the park was closed. She asked me if I had somewhere else to go. I said no. Personally, I do not feel that Safe Harbor is a viable alternative given the fact that my camera and usb sticks “mysteriously” disappeared there. I need a place that is secure for my possessions as well as me. Rather than dispute the matter, I left. As I have witnessed very serious disputes over property at Safe Bay, I do not feel that going there is necessarily a “safe” alternative.

Unfortunately, the police had also closed the next nearest park. I ended up going all the way to Calhoun Beach for a place to stay. There were a variety of revelers in the area who were living it up.

I watched the night descend and storm clouds slowly moved in. At first, there were merely flashes of lightening in the distance. Eventually, it became clear it would rain. I moved over to a playground where I found shelter. Unfortunately, the area was a bit sandy so I decided to move towards another park structure which was on cement. Unfortunately, this structure was exposed to the wind and to traffic lights. I decided to move. Eventually, I found an area under a bridge (cliche) which was shielded from wind and rain with little traffic and noise. It was relatively warm and very secure. I spent the night there. (If there was some way to secure my possessions, I would obviously opt for a more formal shelter setting. Nevertheless, my netbook is in good shape.) It was a long night and still raining when dawn broke. Overall, I would say it was a fairly poor night of sleep, but it offers a great chance to reflect.

Some of the things I reflected about how far off track things are. It feels impossibly and overwhelming at times.

At dawn, I walked through the rain from Uptown back to downtown in anticipation of today’s World Cup games. I am very hopeful that Team USA will have a great day.