Thread: Can you believe this!!!

Originally Posted by jockeys

see? this is why I have Modestly Proposed that the homeless be liquified and put to work as biodeisel.

I am pretty sure you are joking when you make these sort of comments. However, I wonder if you are so out of touch with the reality of the social aspects of homelessness that you may be among the many who seem to believe that homeless people are just lazy and can get a job and a home if they want. Let me tell you all a little story here. I hope it doesn't bore you too much.

A few years ago I was married to my first wife and her two daughters from her first marriage. We were renting a second floor apartment in a three family home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. On Januray 3, 1986 at around 3:00 in the morning I was awakened by a total stranger in my apartment shouting to warn us the house was on fire. The house was destroyed by the fire which was set by the guy who was renting the third floor apartment. By noon we were carrying all our belongings, literally everything we owned out of the apartment into a rented truck on the street below. We had no place to go nor any sort of plan. We only knew the house in which we had been living now had no electricity, heat nor any back wall between the kitchen and the cold New England winter. The water main was shut off so the only water in the apartment was what was in puddles on the floor left by the fire hoses and the water in the toilet. All of it was frozen solid. We were getting down to the last few trips down the stairs with the last few items we could salvage. The fire went down the entire rear wall of the house. The girls' bedroom was in the back of the house so they pretty much lost all their clothes, their beds and their toys. The fire fighters had to break out the rear wall of our pantry so they tossed everything that was in the pantry down into the yard. I was out there yelling at three neighbors who were in our yard, picking through the pile of our canned food, furniture and kids toys. The man two houses away was coming home from work when he saw us putting the last into the U-Haul and padlocking the door. I thought he was being a smartass when he shouted, "Hey, do you need a place to live"? As it turned out, he had a two bedroom cape in the north end of Bridgeport that we could rent and move into immediatley. Talk about "manna from Heaven"! The guy put my wife and I into his pick up and took us to the house. It was perfect! The guy let us move in that day with no security deposit, no lease, nothin'!

We rented that little house with no trouble until October when the landlord told us he was selling the place. He said he had to sell it by the end of they year and although he didn't want to put us out, unless we bought the place, out we'd be. Well, long story short, we ended up buying the house.

In December of 1986 we bought that little cape with no money down (because we had no money) and an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). Happy New Year! In January of 1987 we learned why our landlord had to sell that house so fast. The tax laws had changed. Up until December 31, 1986, the interest on all mortgages was completely tax deductable. As of January 1, 1987 only the interest on the mortgage of a primary dwelling was tax deductable. So, in a city like Bridgeport where most folks are renting, suddenly all the homes that were owned by someone other than the resident were dropped on the market for sale, quick sale. When the market is flooded with inventory, the prices will likely drop. Well this was no exception. The prices did drop, precipitously. Typically, interest rates are inversely proportional to the housing costs. Again, this was no exception. The house prices plummeted and the interest rates shot up. My ARM increased the maximum it could. There I was with a crappy little house I never wanted in the first place that was in a matter of four months worth one third what I owed on it and I could no longer afford the mortgage payment. My wife and I fought constantly because of the stress. On Easter Sunday, while my parents were over having dinner with us, my wife slipped nine tranquilizer tablets into my glass of red wine. When my head hit my plate my parents assumed I was disgustingly drunk and angrily put me in my bed. When I awoke late the next morning, I found myself alone with our two dogs in an empty house. Empty except for the dresser that held my clothes, my stereo and record collection, a broken sofa and my Charles Daly 12 ga over and under. My wife had carefully planned the whole thing. She slipped me a mickey and stole everything we had, including what little money we had in the bank.

Women always win divorces in CT. I was raked over the coals. She got to keep everything but I was saddled with the credit card debts to pay for it all. She got the new Isuzu Trooper we had just bought. I had only a motorcycle for transportation. We had an IRS debt from the previous income tax return which became solely my responsibility. Although I was earning pretty good money as an engineer in the medical device industry, I couldn't do it. I was overwhelmed. The world had kicked my ass. I had to file bankruptcy. Once again, I had to move out of my home but I had no place to go.

This story goes on but I won't wear you out with it. I just wanted to illustrate how it can happen, to anyone. Maybe you all won't ever know hard times. I truly hope you don't. However, please don't be so smug, so arrogant to condescend to those less fortunate as if you are immune or worse, as if they are relegated with good purpose and cause to permanently inferior social strati.

Brad

Originally Posted by icedog

This story goes on but I won't wear you out with it. I just wanted to illustrate how it can happen, to anyone. Maybe you all won't ever know hard times. I truly hope you don't. However, please don't be so smug, so arrogant to condescend to those less fortunate as if you are immune or worse, as if they are relegated with good purpose and cause to permanently inferior social strati.

Brad

Originally Posted by jockeys

they are people. my post was satire. (notice that I Modestly Proposed it?)
A Modest Proposal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am really the only one who has ever read Swift? 'Cause a whole bunch of people seem to be up in arms about an entirely non-serious comment. Please read the wikipedia link if you are still offended.

Originally Posted by jockeys

I am really the only one who has ever read Swift? 'Cause a whole bunch of people seem to be up in arms about an entirely non-serious comment. Please read the wikipedia link if you are still offended.

I just want to point out that while I thanked Icedog for sharing his difficult and intensely personal story with us, I knew you were not serious, and where actually the opposite of insensitive to the plight of those who have found themselves in need of aid.

The topic is close to my heart, as I have friends that have ended up homeless. More than one due to drugs. One to mental illness with no family support. One due to the world seeming to conspire to make everything go wrong for him that could.

There are no easy answers, and all we can do is act honestly and with compassion, and try to help those who need it.