The park was small, about 100 by 300 feet. It was triangular. A man and a woman in love were there. There was jazz playing in the background.
The park was surrounded by trees and park benches. Elven benches. Each bench was occupied by a homeless denizen, with their bags of belongings stacked under each bench. It seemed to be very comfortable: Staid, solid and velvety.
The man, Wings, was medium height and weighed about 175 pounds. He was black. He wore his hair in dreadlocks. He used to work at the steel mill. Now he works at a convenience store. Odd Ostrich, his girlfriend, was about 6 feet tall and was also black. She has never held a job, but had often dreamed of one.
Often in homeless relationships, one partner cannot make it. By that, I mean work. So what’s a girl to do? Or a man?
It is hard to be the sole breadwinner in a relationship. Wings would need to make $75,000 a year in order for both of them to leave homelessness behind. So during the day, he works at a convenience store making $9 or $10 an hour. He works there for 8 hours each day.
One night they go for a drink. It was Wings, Odd Ostrich, and Brian the Hobo. They decided to rob seven old people for money to buy drugs. The leader was Wings. He hit an old man over the head. Soon the police were called, but Wings says the incident was nothing but horseplay. They were lucky no one had died.
They finally made it to a bar. When the three called it a night, they went home to their separate abodes: Wings and Odd Ostrich at the park and Brian the Hobo at the railroad tracks several miles away.
All three have different plans for their share of the drugs. Brian the Hobo will smoke half and sell half. Odd Ostrich will give hers to some teenagers that she knows and Wings will take all of his.
The next day, Wings had a mishap at work. He was setting up and cleaning the coffee stand. On his way to the back room he slips on water and breaks his right ankle.
Odd Ostrich finds out that she is pregnant, by someone other than Wings or Brian the Hobo. Brian ends up in jail for a few days after he stole some potpourri from “a few boys.” Synthetic drugs such as K2 or Spice are often marketed as “potpourri.”
Odd Ostrich breaks off a branch from the “family tree” behind their bench and beats Wings with it three times. She lets out a yell and then proceeds to terminate the relationship.
Wings quits the convenience store. Thrown out of the park, he takes up with Brian the Hobo and several other people sleeping by the railroad tracks.
Wings is sorry that he lived the homeless lifestyle.
