Spitball Army

This morning, as I was taking the first sip of freshly-brewed coffee from a clean ceramic mug in the warmth of my roof-covered, fortified home, the following e-mail rang into my freshly-charged BlackBerry:

Over the last 6-8 months, the Homewood community has had a vagrant. This is a rarity in our community so my curiosity has been jousted by this woman that I’ve seen on our streets. I’ve driven by her several times but have not stopped. She has become a near mythical figure to my son and his buddies that like to hang out at Homewood Park. They have referred to her as the hobo lady, the park witch etc…With my life as busy as it stays, I’ve never taken the opportunity to stop and talk to her to assess the situation. This is something I’ve done in the past. Yes, I’ve made it a point to stop and befriend bums.

Tonight I had to draw the line! On my way home from Homewood High School, I looked over in the park and there she was, sitting on a park bench, huddled under her pile of ragged blankets. I live close to the park so I drove Bailey on home, went in the house and piled a few more layers on myself and proceeded to go join the woman down in the park. The first thing I usually do with vagrants is just assess their mental state. Are they coherent? Do they know their name? Well, her name is Kathy. She was a very articulate woman. She is about 65-70 years old.

Anyone who lives in or around Homewood knows that this city has seen a lot of apartments torn down to build condos. Well she was displaced by this so called progress. The apartments across from Boutwell Studios is where she called home. They told her she had to leave. She had the opportunity to buy one of the condos but she was in no financial position to do so. As a consequence, she is now homeless.

I considerately queried her about her past. She said she used to work at UAB doing office work. Her demeanor changed when she talked about this. She sat a little more erect and confident as if just the act of reflecting on her accomplishments, even if they were long ago, were enough to spark something within her.

She claims she has no family to call on but I sensed that there may have been a little more to the estrangement so I did not press the issue. I really wanted to take her somewhere, somewhere warm and comforting and I did not have this to offer. I can’t bring her into my home as it is tiny and cramped.

So I told Kathy that I would be back with a care package and a weather report.

When I left, I first stopped by the police station. The officer I spoke with was very familiar with her. He said that he checks in on her from time to time. She knows she is welcome to take shelter in the police station lobby if the weather gets too tough. It still enrages me to know that she has been on the streets this long and noone has rallied any support for her.

I ran back by my apartment and picked up a pair of snow boots that I have not worn in over a year, a scarf and some gloves. I then went to the gas station and bought her some cigarettes and hot chocolate. When I got back to where she was, she just lit up. I could tell she was holding back some tears. I remained there with her for about 30 minutes. I made small talk with her about the changes in Homewood, especially how the park has changed. I left her there in the cold.

My instinct was to bundle up and stay by her side through the night. Being sick myself, I could not do this. I almost have a sense of guilt as I lay here in my warm bed in certain creature comforts that this woman has not known for nearly a year.

Gulp.

This message was totally in character for my friend, Kim, who sent it.  She has devoted a weekly night for the last few months to rally people to battle it out with their knowledge of music trivia, all to benefit a local music education charity.  Here was a plea from her to get others aware of their surroundings.

Kathy’s story is riveting, but not unique.  There are people like her in every city and town, not just in Homewood and Birmingham.  Think about the smallest thing you could do.  Perhaps that person that you pass by on the street doesn’t know where the neighboring shelter is, where they could get a hot meal and a bed for the night.  Certainly, the root causes of these situations need to be addressed by the community-at-large (and with the current economic meltdown, we’re likely to see more Kathys in the future), but even a small gesture – a kind word, a warm cup – can go a long way, year ’round.

Updates on Kathy’s situation will be forthcoming as I get them.

If you would like to contact Kim with regard to Kathy’s specific situation, please e-mail me at spitballarmy(at)aol(dot)com.  I will forward your note to her.

Fred O.