6:10 a.m. I woke up in the spot I found on the esplanade. The cars kept me up a little bit, but besides that I got decent rest. I wake up to see runners, walkers, and bicyclists on the path passing by. The air is still not too cold. I pack my stuff up and get ready to head to St Francis house.
6:40 a.m. I locked my bike up outside at Francis House, and headed in. I have to scan my card and go through the metal detector like usual. LA was there before me, we sit down to breakfast, which is hard boiled eggs and applesauce. I work on my blog while I sit in the chow hall. I’m beginning to get to know all the faces that frequent the regular meals around the Commons.
8:30 a.m. LA and I bike over to the Boston Central Library. We hang out, charge our devices, and I pay to get LA’s phone service through Verizon turned back on. Kind supporters on the Homeless 366 Facebook group donated to help LA. I spend most of my time working on videos and blogging. I decided to get most of my work done the day before going forward.
11:10 a.m. LA and I head back to St. Francis House for lunch. LA has to make a pit stop to stash gear. I head right to lunch. On the way I come across some Emerson college students giving out donuts and hats promoting their networking app for college students, sounds kinda like how Facebook started. When I get to St Francis house I eat two trays before LA arrives. We hang out at the lunch for a while. At one point the fire alarm goes off. LA is pissed, he just started eating. It turns out to be a false alarm.
12:20 p.m. LA and I head over to the Commons. We have no plans. LA wants to ride his bike around. I decided to lay down on the grass and rest. I end up falling asleep. When I wake up, I see LA on his bike looking at me. I’m hungry again so I get a sausage from the sausage cart. We end up interviewing a couple college girls. I ask if they would date a homeless man. They said they would, but didn’t give me their number. I got a few other cool videos in the Commons too. One thing I have noticed is that there are way more men among the Boston Commons area homeless. There seems to be more women amongst the drug addicted living on Atkinson Street in South Boston. I wonder to myself, why the discrepancy. I wonder how fast this scourge of addiction burns out a life in the streets. Many of the Boston Commons Homeless are older and have been homeless for decades. What is the expected stay of homelessness in the impacted area of Atkinson Street? How often does this drug market get infused with new souls? How long do they last down there?
These are things I will have to dig deeper into.
3:00 p.m. LA and I part ways. The plan is that I sleep at the Boston night center, an overnight shelter where people can sleep on the floor. I stop to use the bathroom in the Commons and end up having a conversation with the bathroom attendant and another man with a bad eye. They refused to be on camera, the conversation got weird and excessive, so I said my goodbyes and headed out.
4:00 p.m. I get to the Boston night shelter and there’s a line all the way to the corner. I ask the man at the front of the line when they plan on letting people into the center. He says they give out numbers at 8pm, the shelter can only sleep 45 people. I say, 4 hours from now! I ask the man if I can put my bike in the building, the man tells me he will ride my bike around all night, I reply no to that. I go to the back of the line and talk to some of the other homeless men in the line. They confirm what the first man said. I decided not to sit and wait for 4 hours for a place to sleep. I can sleep outside. I ride my bike around looking for library’s to hang out at. One of the places I find is super cool. It’s called the Boston Athenaeum. It’s $480 a year for a membership. I would love to join this library, it’s right next to the Commons, and I could bring my camera man in there as a guest when I go.
5:30 p.m. I head over to the corner of Park St Place for dinner. My camera man is already waiting in line. They have Chicken Parm for dinner. Freytis and Midnight were sitting next to us. There’s another couple that hangs out with them, a man and a heavy set woman in a wheelchair. The woman is talking on the phone saying she is 3 weeks pregnant. I wonder if it’s a good idea to be homeless and pregnant.
7:30 I head over to the Church where I met LA on my first night homeless. I told LA that if Freddie comes I’m leaving. I have a new sleeping spot, and I’m not going to be kept up all night by belligerent drunken rantings. LA assured me that Freddie wouldn’t be back. While I’m setting up my bedding, I hear the suitcase wheels on the sidewalk. There’s Freddie heading our way. He comes over and begins setting up in his spot. I ask Freddie if he’s drunk. Freddie replies not tonight. This is a relief, and it isn’t long before Freddie is asleep. I fell asleep shortly after Freddy.
