Being Homeless, It Changed My Attitude.

Now that I'm very close to being done being homeless, I can reflect on how it's changed me. I've finally found a way to make a good income that is far higher paying than any job I had in the past, and I'm completely self employed. Now all I need to do is go back to New York and find that dream house of mine on Long Island.

I'm finally escaping from Florida. I used to love Florida, I went on vacation all the time. Florida is far from paradise when you're not on vacation. Florida's motto is "Come on vacation, Leave on probation, Return in violation." It's true.

Being homeless gave me a new outlook on life, but maybe not in a good way.

Before I was homeless, my attitude about police was neutral. Now I absolutely HATE police.

Hey, anyone want to hear a joke? What kind of animal has an asshole on it's back?...A police horse!

Before I was homeless, I thought I was very tolerant. Before I got to Jacksonville, I never had a problem with gays. I do now. They don't give up until you break their face. I used to camp out in front of the day labor shop so I could be first in line to get out to work. The same people camped out there nightly until the pigs chased us away. One of my co-workers was gay and everyone knew it except me because I was new there.

One day after work, he invited me to his camp. He said nobody knew where it was, and he had a water hose for a shower. What I was thinking and what he was thinking were two different things. When he said "camp" I was thinking he meant a homeless camp in the woods with tents and a colony of other homeless people. What it was was a fenced in area behind a business that contained the buildings air conditioning unit and water meters.

He put his piece of cardboard on the ground and then he siad he wanted me to share the piece of cardboard with him and sleep next to him. I thought he was joking so I ignored him and went to the other side of the air conditioner to sleep. While I was lying there, he walked up to me , put his hands on my forehead, giggled, and said "You're all wet". That really pissed me off so I grabbed his neck and slammed his head into a metal pipe while screaming choice language at him.

He didn't bother me for two weeks, until we were sleeping at the day labor shop one night. I was sleeping around the corner, and he came back to apologize. I told him I could accept his apology, but then he wouldn't shut up. I told him I wasn't gay, but apparently he was too stupid to figure that out, and I told him he didn't have any friends because he was too pushy and came too close into people's personal space. At this point he started whining and talking to me like a desperate man pleading for his girlfriend not to dump him. That was deeply insulting and disrespectful to me, so I opened a can of whoop-ass on him right there. It wasn't pretty, and he stayed on the ground all night. I walked around the corner, and I said to everyone else "Sorry about that, but enough was enough!"

I've learned that I can be very violent. I didn't know I had it in me but it's there. During my time being homeless I beat the crap out of four people, and they were all very deserving of it. Before that would have been out of character for me because when I was growing up I was a total wimp. I was more like Forrest Gump, always running away from the bullies.

When I was homeless and broke, I learned another thing. When I had no money and it was looking hopeless that I would get money, morals went out the window because I started thinking in a whole new way. I walked by a car with the keys in the ignition and the door and trunk open while someone was carrying groceries into their house. Before, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. Then, I was thinking "Look at that, I sure wish I knew where the closest chop shop was."

I spent all day trying to figure out how to steal money and get away with it. I soon came to the conclusion that I don't have the expertise required to steal money and get away with it, so I figured something else out.

Out of that desperation came my new idea that generates my current income, and it's legal. I would love to tell everyone what I do, because I think it's brilliant. The problem is, if I told people what I did, that would ruin it for me and everybody else.

Here's something you can take to the bank, by the time you see a money making opportunity advertised on TV or radio, it doesn't work anymore! People only got rich in real estate when it was a well kept secret. I found that out the hard way. I quit my last job thinking that I was going to get rich doing those real estate courses that I saw advertised on TV.

They work in theory, but not in practice. The idea of those is to buy a house out of foreclosure and transfer the property to a rehabber. The problem was this: Everytime I got to a distressed property owner, I heard "You're the fourth or fifth person to come by today", or something like that. On a couple of occasions, I was walking away from talking to the distressed homeowner and another wannabe investor would be walking up the street looking for the same house.

For me being homeless was a money problem. I didn't make enough of it. After six months I finally figured out a way to make income that very few people have seriously thought of, and I'm going to be embarking on another idea that isn't advertised so only a few people know about it.

The only advice I can give to getting away from being homeless is this: start thinking about new ways to make money. It may take a long time, but it can be done.

I wish you every success in your new venture Johnny and I hope it works out for you. Your input to these forums have been of tremendous value to the understandings of homelessness.
Contrary to common belief many homeless people do, and are, making determined efforts to get off of the streets and your postings have highlighted that in a very clear way. Also identifying the many obstacles that get in the way.

As for your experiences as a homeless person, your honesty and ability to portray what you have witnessed and felt about certain situations is also a credit to you.
Being homeless does bring out the inner depths of someones inner self. It is a daily battle of survival and wellbeing. Only those who are, or have been homeless can understand what that lifestyle is all about.

I too was non violent prior to being Street homeless, within a few weeks I found myself fighting to save my personal belongings from being stolen. I hasten to add that violence is a last resort for me, and even then only in self defence. but street survival dictates the circumstances and if we are to survive then we must act accordingly.

I have also had an encounter with an homosexual that thought he had a chance with me .. He soon discovered that I am a strictly ' red blooded ' male and he got the message before violence was necessary. I got a fair bitching during the verbal exchange ...:rolleyes:... but I also have a tolerent sense of humour.

Log in when opportunity allows and tell us how you're fairing ..

Regards,

I always remember when I would come home after a long day of busting suds,and say "Man,that was a lot of work!" My Dad,a World War 2 Veteran and former POW,would snort and say"Boy,you don't know what work is!"
You see,when he was a guest of the Japanese,the folks back home thought he was dead,listed as MIA. So when he finally made it home to West Virginia,they were shocked.He got no ticker tape parade,and all his posessions had been sold or given away....and so this man,who had just survived an ordeal that many did not,went to work in the coal mines of West Virginia..
I see a lot of good,hard working folks at the Labor Hall every day,and I see just as many loud talking blowhards bragging about how much work they did the day before,even when I had to sweep around them....I am not impressed by today's generation,which thinks that violence is a quick fix for any problem,then wonder why no one will hire them with a laundry list of Assault/Domestic Violence charges when the background check is done. What are we to do with young people who seem to care only about themselves and espouse the right to do nothing and get paid for it. Where I come from,if you don't work,you don't eat. The only thing these self proclaimed Messiahs suffer from is a distinct case of abject laziness,and the cure is a swift boot to the rear! (Hmmm...There's that violence thing again....)
The Bottom Line on violence is this; It's a hoot until someone (and they will) mops up the floor with you. Somehow,the romance is lost when you're the one spitting out teeth. Ye be warned,The Coyote said so....

I am not impressed by today's generation,which thinks that violence is a quick fix for any problem,

The Bottom Line on violence is this; It's a hoot until someone (and they will) mops up the floor with you. Somehow,the romance is lost when you're the one spitting out teeth. Ye be warned,The Coyote said so....

I think it's very noble of you that you think so lowly of violence.

I think it's great that you throw your wallet with the money that you just made at the labor hall to the punk with the knife, and then run away.

When you look up and see some geeking redneck in the park yelling at you "Is there a problem!? What are you looking at!?, It's great that you try to diplomatically resolve the conflict while he's throwing punches at you.

Best of all, you are to be admired for not punching out some queer who just put his hands on you! It's great that you just let him do whatever he pleases!

it's too bad Tom couldn't be like you either. It's a shame that he didn't just let someone walk off with his possessions.

Hey Johnny,

I just wanted to say good luck with finding your dream home and that i hope it is a home to you.

You have obviously had some tough times in the past and i hope ur future goes to plan for you and that you accomplish all that you want to.

U sound like an intelligent man so use that to achieve your dreams.

once again good luck and take care

oh n i have never been homeless and i am not one to judge - i believe we all do wat we have to do to survive!!!!!

xx pp xx

I think there's a difference between letting yourself be screwed over or assaulted and standing up without using violence, but I RESPECT the opionion of everybody who has and will post on this page. One of my mates is a young fella, he works really hard at his job so he can get the things he wants, one of my best mates and somebody I have alot of respect for. But when he drinks he gets so drunk and punches on, and so ended up with alot of assault charges to his name, mostly very warranted. But then, he got bashed, got his jaw broken and dislocated because he'd punched a fella a few hours before and karma caught up. So my mate learned, if you go around using violence on people enough then people will use violence on you. I never ever hit people, and I never get hit. Not because I'm not in those situations, but I use violence as a last result. Even on the streets, if you put peace out there then it comes back.

Good words pp, "do we can to survive".

Hi Johnny,

If you're back in New York, I would love to speak with you, please PM me. I'm a psychologist from Morris County, NJ. (Don't worry, I won't charge you anything to PM me:D )

I've read your post and my two friends, who are from New York and New Jersey, told me they had much the same experiences in Jacksonville as you did.

It's called culture shock. Apparently, they both got hit on by the same gay guy who was just as aggressive as the one you talked about, and, they reacted in the same way as you did. I absolutely disapprove of kicking someone's ass unless it's self defense, but they both kicked his ass.

Here's what I get from this: In the south there are different standards for determining a person's sexual orientation in the Southeast than there are in the Northeast. Both of my friends are married, and they have never been hit on in the Northeast by male homosexuals. Both of my friends were in Jacksonville at around the same time, and Jacksonville is definitely southern culture. People from the northeast don't understand them, and they don't understand people from the northeast.

In the northeast, it's common for people to have same sex roommates when they can't afford the rent. They're completely straight and they go out with women on the weekends. In the south, having a same sex roommate will make most people believe you're gay, regardless of whether you are or aren't.

Also, people in the Northeast get married later than people in the South.
In New York, if you're still looking for that special someone when you're 30, that's perfectly normal. (Notice 'Sex and the City' takes place in New York and not a southern city.) In the South, people generally get married in their early twenties so when the gay guy in Jacksonville sees a 30 year old guy without a woman, he thinks that's his man.

Most male homosexuals want a man who is gay, but straight looking. Since they can't tell the difference between a straight looking straight guy and a straight looking gay guy, they do something called "feeling the person out". This is involves asking different questions to determine if the person they are interested in might be gay.

If you're a straight guy from a different part of the country who has never been around gay people, you probably have no clue what he is up to. This will lead to misunderstanding, and ultimately "opening a can of whoop ass" as you describe it.


You also used the term "white trash" in your post. keep in mind, people from Jacksonville and the rest of the south are perfectly normal to themselves. People from New York and New Jersey are perfectly normal to themselves also, it's everyone else that are weird.

So, why do driver's from northern Florida honk and scream out the window at people walking on the sidewalk? I just don't know! That's just what Southerners do. If you did that in the Northeast, it would earn you the title "white trash" or "dumb redneck", but it's acceptable behavior in the South.