One Day, on the X2 Bus

[dcseain]

When i lived in DC on Capitol Hill, i used the X2 bus a lot. The X2 travels from Minnesota Ave Metrorail Station East along Benning Rd to H St NE/NW to a terminus at Lafayette Park, in front of the White House. Here be a map of the route.

One typically hot and humid Summer's day, i was sitting across from a woman, each facing the aisle, in the forward part of the back section of the bus. At 13th St NW, a man got on the bus. People in the front grimaced as he passed, and opened windows. He went all the way to the back of the bus. More windows were opened, and all but the woman and i moved to the front. My eyes burned from the stench the man put off, and i was sitting 6 people-widths in front of him, as was she. She and i grimaced at each other, stealing occasional glances at the man, whose hair, despite the unclean clothes and the odor, was neatly dreaded, if not particularly clean. I was mostly holding my breath, breathing only when i had to; i think the same was true of the woman. He got off the bus at 16th St, much to all our relief. We kept the windows open to air out the bus.

Several people came back and asked the woman and i why we stayed back there with the man. We both replied because he was a human, and deserved a degree of dignity. They argued that he stunk, which we had to agree with. We did not know whether he knew it or not, but he is a human, who through whatever circumstance, was homeless. He was not threatening, only smelly, and with an odd, melancholy, yet distant, look in his eyes. So, we endured the stench because he deserved some dignity.

Faced with that again, i'd do it again, despite the burning in the eyes and lungs, and the stink in the nose.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

He may have known full well that he smelled bad, but not been able to do anything about it. One of the worst problems homeless people face is the lack of bathing facilities. They can, if they have enough change, take their clothes to the laundromat - but one can't even manage a quick "whore's bath" in a public restroom, and taking a shower, of course, is completely out of the question. I daresay most homeless people aren't smelly because they don't care enough to bathe; they just don't have any way to do so. (I have a very dear friend who lived homeless by choice for several years - he's the one I posted about whose girlfriend needed an ambulance, but they don't have a phone to call for one. When he was on the street, occasionally someone would offer him the use of their shower... but not nearly often enough.)

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

That is true, but it confused us a bit, as there were, at the time, 15 free shelters for the homeless, with free food, bathing, and laundry, in the downtown area. There are those who opt out of that system though, and that is their right.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

many people report that life in the homeless shelters is worse than life on the streets. if they provide bathing facilities, either they serve as convenient locations for rape (hey, the potential victim is already naked...), or the plumbing is broken - the toilets are usually clogged and/or broken as well. ditto for laundry equipment. stronger individuals terrorize the weak, the ill, the mentally deficient, and families with children. the close quarters serve as breeding grounds for every imaginable contagious disease, up to and including TB. the free food may run out long before everyone is served. small wonder that many homeless people choose to take their chances on the street.

[ftemery.livejournal.com]

It is confusing. We have one man living in the grass across the street from us. He uses a portapotty that the Catholic church leaves in their back driveway. The best I can come with right now is "live and let live" - but I don't understand it. And I'm grateful I'm not doing it.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

the person i know who was homeless chose it as a lifestyle on purpose. he is a disabled veteran, but he's been married several times, and a good chunk of his pension is already spoken for by ex-wives and children. however, he had had a decent job as a programmer for a while, and was living with his then-current wife and their child in a modest home in southern California. he lost his job in the dot-com collapse, and after a while, his wife threw him out. he looked at the amount of money he could reasonably expect to have per month, and decided that he could survive a lot longer if he only spent it on food and necessities, not rent and utilities. he was in a mild climate, after all. he lived that way for nearly two years, using public libraries or college-campus WiFi for internet access, scavenging food when it was possible to do so without risking illness, buying simple meals otherwise, finding or improvising shelter when necessary. he carted all his worldly possessions around in a set of plastic storage boxes on a cargo dolly. he never accepted money from anyone, although he wouldn't refuse if someone offered to buy him a meal. he often shared his food with people worse off than himself. he tutored recently arrive Laotian immigrants in English, helped the college kids with their math and science homework, and occasionally did volunteer construction work for Habitat for Humanity. eventually he moved to Phoenix, Arizona - by riding a bicycle, towing his cargo dolly, over the mountains from California into Arizona, at the age of 60!

not everyone who's homeless is an addict/wino, a former mental patient, or a lazy bum who just doesn't want to get a job and pay rent.

(p.s. - fancy meeting you here!)

[ftemery.livejournal.com]

There's one out here who is a retired professor who lives in his van and has an extensive, political website about safety issues. Very well spoken.

LJ - an inbred, dysfunctional family of choice!

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[ftemery.livejournal.com]

Yup, I think you're right on the money. I should do a post about him sometime.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[demigoth.livejournal.com]

Awwww, I hope I would have done the same as you. I've survived some pretty stinky things/people and I'm still here.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

You're good people.

[dhs.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad you had that woman to share the experience with. In addition, the man had, not one lone holdout, but a couple of non-connected people to not run away from him.