My Street Sense customers mean a lot to me. What really motivate me, inspire me, and make me real active, is when I get a respond from my customers.
When I was in the street, people wouldn’t hear me out the way they hear me out now. That would make me really feel like nobody wanna hear me, no reason to do right.
I came to DC and after bein’ homeless and on drugs and in prison, I started selling Street Sense. Now I grew a whole family who be listenin’ to me, admire me, help me with everything, even though I have been wrong in my life.
That’s how much my customers motivate me. I can talk to my customers about anything. When I see them come back to the Metro at 9th and G after work, I smile because that mean we all made it today.
We all go through things. Sometimes I feel like giving up, but as I grow my family, I feel strong.
When I’m not at work, I’m doin’ other things, but not the wrong things. I go to see my parole officer and my case manager. If my customers don’t see me for two or three days, they call Street Sense or my cell phone. A lot of my customers have my phone number.
Y’know, this job, it’s not a big, big job. But it’s my job. One lady told me, “Without you bein’ at the Metro, sayin’, ‘Good morning, good morning,’ I don’t even feel like goin’ to work.”
Another lady say, “I don’t even feel like goin’ to work at all.”
I respond back, “Give me your shoes. Let me work for the government. You do that, and the clock be tired of seeing me, ’cause I don’t really give up. I never give up.”
When I was in my criminal mind, I had to go out every day to find a way to feed my addiction. I didn’t care what it took to get it. Nothin’ coulda stopped me but me.
On Labor Day, September 7, I had my 47th birthday. I had birthday parties when I was comin’ up, nothing major. My mama had eight kids and not much money for parties. At my clubhouse we might go out and steal somethin’ to get our party goin’.
My birthday now means a lot. Ten years ago I never thought I’d have so many friends, like my customers who hear me out. I know this much: I thought I’d be in prison or dead.
My nephew text me on my birthday and say, “Man I never thought you’d make 47.” He say, “Man, you are so blessed.” That’s how I feel every day when I see the family of customers I grew. I don’t gotta hide myself no more. That’s how y’all help me a lot. Like my nephew said, I’m blessed.
On September, 10th more than 60 people, mostly my customers, came to hear me talk about my new book at the Martin Luther King Library, right across from where I sell my papers. I thank everyone for coming and I thank so many of my customers for buying my book, Still Standing: How an Ex-Con Found Salvation in the Floodwaters of New Orleans.
