re: #132 wrenchwench

I just had a guy in here crying his eyes out, trying to sell me a pair of earrings for a buck so he can get out of this town. I talked to him long enough that he stopped crying for a bit and was telling me he slept in his car by the hospital last night. I asked him if he’d been to the Mission, he said, “they’ll just give me more clothes”. I couldn’t disagree. I asked if he’d been to the local mental health place, he said, “I don’t want to go there”, and I couldn’t blame him because I’ve heard plenty of bad stories about it. He started crying again about this evil world and he doesn’t even want to be alive, then about a group of people who have been taking advantage of him. At least he has some place he wants to go, although I asked if there was somebody there to help him, and he said no, his father was killed and the funeral home kept the money his father always had on him. But he does have a place to stay when he gets there, where ever it was. He showed me tickets the cops had written in the next town when he was trying to sleep at the truck stop. I gave him $10. I never do that because I think I endanger myself if I’m seen as a mark when I work here alone all day every day, but this time I did. I didn’t take any earrings, either.

Could have all been an elaborate act, but he had tears and snot running down his face. He needs a lot more help than $10 is going to give him.

Do you have 211 phone service? If so, try to plug him in.