I woke up at my girlfriend’s apartment around 7:30 a.m. and I left for work around 8:30.
I’ve been thinking in the morning about the mechanisms of our mind, about our evolution, and how the same inclinations that made us hunters, killers, builders, foragers and ultimately the most resourceful and dangerous species on earth are the same mechanisms used to hunt people down, help them, and heal them.
We were fruit eaters, vegetarians, before we became omnivores. We are programmed just as much to run away as we are to hunt. I remember being afraid when I quit my jobs and went into homelessness. And I found that a new world opened up in front of me and I’ve operated the same as I always have, doing what comes naturally, influenced by my education, understanding, and learning that goes into treating addiction and mental illness. With people that have behavioral issues I’ve learned that it takes a little bit of tactfulness as well as persistence to teach them how to effectively help themselves and find healthier, more sustainable ways to live.
I mostly just walked around the city of Lawrence today. I didn’t document anything for this day for work.
I ran into Rod who was moving erratically and twitching. I asked him If he was ready to give up his lifestyle. He said not yet, and I exclaimed that he did not seem well.
I ran into Cheryl, another homeless woman, she struggles with a fentanyl addiction as well as other drugs. She was disoriented and she seemed very sick. I asked her if she was all right and she said she had cotton fever. This is a suspected illness that people contract from the bacteria on the cotton when they inject intravenously into their veins. I asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital and she said no. I left her there in a bad state with not many options to help.
After walking the city for the day, I came back and I left work a little early around 4:30 p.m.
I drove to my friend Chris’s house and then I drove to his mother’s house and I fixed my muffler in his father’s garage. I was really close with Chris’s father since I became friends with Chris around the age of 15. Chris’s father Mike had recently died and it was a huge loss for us all. While I was in his garage using his tools and working on my truck It felt like I was almost connected to Mike, and I wouldn’t have wanted to fix the muffler on my truck anywhere else.
When I was done fixing my muffler I drove to my girlfriend’s apartment and I spent the night.