HOMELESS – DAY 001

Jacksonville Beach, FL

READ WHAT THIS WEBSITE IS ABOUT:

http://craigmaxim.wordpress.com/what-is-homelessdj-com/

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WELL, I AM OFFICIALLY “HOMELESS” :-(

And I decided that if I was going to have to sleep in a VEHICLE, I may as well do it in my favorite place: THE BEACH! :-)

And… It is a beautiful night out here! No doubt about that. I have to go to sleep after I post these next pics though! My homeless buddies (yes, I have homeless buddies already!) kept me busy for a few hours. LOL

Craig Maxim - Jax Beach, FL

Moon behind me, from the Beach. Dark out, so… with flash you wouldn’t see the moon. LOL

: My Home for Now!

I don’t know for how long, but… THIS IS MY HOME for a while! I made the Title 3 digits just in case!

e.g. Homeless Day 001

I’m hoping it won’t go past 999 Days!! Wow! (fingers crossed)

Power Inverter

I stopped by Walmart before looking for a Parking lot to sleep in, to see if I could find an adapter so I could charge (or at least use) my computer or charge my phone, etc… This one was reasonable, and has two outlets and seems to be working good! YAY!! I can use the computer even though I am homeless!

Craig Maxim

No mean comments! I’m actually losing weight right now, thank you! Ha ha! — Oh… the Hat? Well my friends, the last time I wore this hat, was my VERY LAST LIVE GIG with my old band! The one I formed myself, hired everyone in it, and we were BLOWING UP!! Record company came out to scout us… We were playing HUGE Biker rallies… Sturgis had just tried to book us for 8 nights straight… We were half-way through our FIRST ALBUM, and… MY BAND mutinied… They tried to FORCE me to sign a contract, giving them half-ownership of ANY SONG OF MINE that they “PLAYED” on in gigs! Most of these songs were written 12 Years BEFORE I MET THESE PEOPLE… and TWO OTHER of my bands had played them BEFORE this one… Yet I was supposed to give them OWNERSHIP OF MY SONGS???

I told them… “I didn’t give my other bands ownership of THE SONGS I WROTE BY MYSELF… So… why do you think I would GIVE THEM AWAY TO YOU??? We could break up tomorrow… And for the REST OF MY LIFE… YOU GUYS would own my songs too? I would need YOUR permission to sell them, record them, etc… MY OWN SONGS??? I don’t think so! — We broke up, and they have since struggled to keep players in their band. I didn’t challenge them for the band name… that “I” made up… I left it to them. I figured it wouldn’t mean much without my music and me playing and singing that music… and it seems I was right. They have gone through several lead drummers, singers and guitarists since then.

SOME OF MY ORIGINAL SONGS: http://www.reverbnation.com/craigmaxim

Clothes Rack

I found an old broomstick, and tied it between the coat hanger drop-downs. Now I have a makeshift closet, to find my stuff easier! LOL

James - Homeless Person

Well… My first night HOMELESS became quite a night (still is… finishing these pic comments to tell this story, but then sleep!) And it’s funny, that my PERSONAL music career, sort of BEGAN with homeless people, when I was only 12 years old!!

My mother was a professional singer, and she took me out of school to be a roadie in her band… later, when they learned I could sing… they put me in her shows too. We travelled up and down the East Coast for 6 years (they did it longer) but I left when I was 18, because I had a “step-father” … my mother’s boyfriend actually… who BEAT ME on a pretty regular basis… drawing blood and breaking things occassionally… like my BRACES once, because he hit me in my mouth at 12, so hard, that it broke my braces in several places, and there was WIRES sticking through my cheeks. The wire was thick though, and they couldn’t get it out of my cheeks, so they took me to the Dentist to have my braces removed to fix it. They didn’t get me braces again though, and I had f*cked up teeth for the rest of my life afterwards as a result. Anyway…

When I traveled the road with my mom’s band… I would go out to our trailer, where there was an Upright Piano… and I would play with it, sounding out chords and melodies, etc… I started writing songs almost right away! So here I am… 12 years old… maybe 13 by then… and I am playing the Piano in the back of the trailer! I barely had room to scooch the stool under the piano, and I could play it, and not fall off the back of the enclosed trailer as long as I didn’t lean backwards! Ha ha!

One day I was playing… writing songs and communing with God (music was kind of how I talked to God when I was a kid!) and… when I finished the song I was playing… suddenly…

I HEARD CLAPPING… A LOT of CLAPPING!!! WTH???

I hadn’t seen anyone when I went out to the trailer to play piano that day… where was this… Then I saw them! I could see “EYES” and some “SMILES” through a FENCE that separated us… There were VINES all over the fence, so I didn’t see them at first!

“THEM” was… a group of homeless people, who were sitting in the back of a convenience store building, cause they would go through the trash to find food. So, I was only 12 or 13, but… My heart went out to them, and I went over to talk with them!

Why are you eating out of the garbage? “We don’t have anywhere to live right now.” And I asked one of them: “Don’t you have any family?” He said that he had a daughter, and I encouraged him to go up north and find her… That she probably missed him, and maybe he wouldn’t have to be homeless, if he did. He said he would, but… you know how that goes. I doubt that he did.

BUT… I’m writing a book here, LOL … LET ME EXPLAIN THIS PIC!!

MEETING JAMES:

THIS IS “JAMES” (In fact, he just drove by on his bike again, and said THANK YOU! AGAIN! lol) why? I bought him a Chicken Sandwich! It wasn’t much money. Only $1.07 but… This guy is homeless and he was clearly strung out. He was trying to get people to give him BILLS for his QUARTERS. He had a lot of quarters but the stores didn’t want to take that many quarters. So he was looking to exchange them, but… He was hitting up people in the McDnald’s DRIVE THRU to do this!! And they were people leaving the clubs, so they were intoxicated too, most of them! All I heard was him screaming “F*ck you!! F*ck you too!!!” and he did this to SEVERAL CARS when, I suppose they had choice words for him. Finally he rode his bike by me… I was in my van, but in a parking space!

So when he saw me, and made eye-contact… I asked him: “What’s wrong bro? Why are you being mean to people?”

He drove the bike over, and went right up to my window… almost putting his head inside it… that close… and I’m thinking… Just Great, try and calm people down, and I’m gonna have to get in a fight for doing it! But he explained what he was doing, and that he had only wanted to buy a chicken sandwich with the money, but they get mad at him when he gives them CHANGE instead of BILLS!

I told him I would BUY him a chicken sandwich. He started to give me his money and I said… “No no… This is on me… Hold onto your own money.” I told him… “What I WOULD like you to do though… Is drive your bike, ride back around that drive thru, and APOLOGIZE to the people you yelled at!” His face dropped a little, and I added: “Don’t you think you should? They didn’t ask for you to come up to their vehicles late at night, only to get into a yelling match with you!” He said: “You’re right. I’ll do it… but can you ask them to add some pickles to that chicken sandwich?” I laughed, and said: “No problem brother!”

True to his word… He went back around the drive-thru and apologized to EVERY SINGLE CAR! He told them he was wrong, and he was sorry for what he had said.

Yay!! Peace was made, and at the bargain price of $1.07 WooHoo!!

But… not so fast! Just when I thought the good deed was done, and everything was groovy…

Party Kids at McDonalds

So… I’m talking to these dudes, cause they had seen the whole thing… with the screaming and the drive-thru! They were like: “Do you know that guy?” I was like: “Nope.. Well… I do now. His name is James!” And they were like: “You just bought him a sandwich after all that?” I said: “It was a small price to keep the peace!” I laughed, and they said that was pretty cool.

Meanwhile JAMES… has changed his tune 180 degrees! He is now telling people… Including this group of dudes above, that… “Love… It’s all about love people!” and he keeps telling people to have a good night, and that LOVE is the most important thing! LOL

From “F*ck you!!” to “It’s all about LOVE people!” Wow! ha ha!

Maybe I rubbed off on him a little I thought!

Then I realized…

SPOKE TOO SOON! This night is NOT gonna end smoothly right now it seems. Not yet anyway!

I looked up and saw: A NEW DUDE come on the scene! I looked up just in time to see JAMES and his bike, hit the ground! The other dude… the New Dude had just PUSHED HIM DOWN, and his bike with him! Oh boy! Dammit! Here we go again! LOL

I get out of the Van to break them up, before it gets worse!

Trouble? Or a Blessing in Disguise?

SO: I look up again, and… Some dude… SOME NEW DUDE… has just PUSHED JAMES DOWN to the ground and his bike with him! The dude was drunk, and James was tweaking a little, clearly, so… I guess James was too much in this other dude’s grill, when he told him it was all about LOVE, and asked him if he had a few singles for 8 quarters!

So… I see James go down, and get out of my van to intercede, and separate these guys. I get the separated and tell James to drive on away, but… this new dude is yelling at him still. So I tell him: “That dude is just high right now bro… let it go. He doesn’t mean any harm… he only wanted some change… let it go!”

The new dude is like: “why do you care?” and I’m like… “Cause that dude doesn’t even know what he’s doing right now completely I bet! But some redneck is gonna come by and James is gonna say the wrong thing, and that is the LAST TIME that James will say the wrong thing! Someone could pop his ass with a handgun, and he’d never see it coming! I don’t want him to get hurt… or YOU to get hurt… or anyone else, to go to PRISON! you know?”

So he is like: “What if a redneck came and put a cap in YOUR ass, for helping that dude? what If I did that myself? You don’t even know me, I could be a…”

I cut him off, and said: “I believe in God brother. I don’t want to see ANYONE get hurt, but… I’m ready to go whenever! This life hasn’t been my friend at all.”

BY THEN: This Dude’s FRIENDS had pulled up in their truck! Guess I got James to leave in good time! LOL

So now, they are talking to me, and… They basically are cool about everything, and in fact… Wow!!

In fact… The first dude (blue shirt) said: “Look man… you had to give that guy James YOUR SANDWICH! Here… take out food!”

I’m like: “No man, I bought him that to shut him up and… maybe save his life! ha ha! Don’t worry bro, I’m not really hungry!”

His friends were like: “Hey bro… what about a beer? Would you take one of those? They’re ice cold!”

I laughed and said: “THAT, I will take! I appreciate it very much guys!”

But dammit, if my new buddy (blue shirt) didn’t INSIST even still, that I take their bag of food too! So, I took it and thanked him for everything! They gave me a beer to take back with me… and they slipped ANOTHER beer, in the bag of food from McDonalds! LOL

So… I did a $1.07 good deed for someone….

AND WHAT DID GOD GIVE ME IN RETURN???

BEER and MCDONALDS! Ha ha!

WTH???? OHHHH MYYYY GAAAAAWD!! LOL

Let’s count… 5 Sandwiches! FIVE OF THEM!! and… let’s not forget the TWO BEERS! (still haven’t drunk one yet though! lol) Been typing all this out instead! Ha ha!

But… IS GOD GOOD OR WHAT???

Pretty much a 7-Times Return on ONE GOOD DEED! God rules!

But… I REALLY was not very hungry! I hated to waste that many sandwiches!!!

WELL, GOD HAD OTHER PLANS!!!

Turns out I could put them to good use RIGHT AWAY!!

HOW?

WELL….

Tony - Homeless Person

THIS IS TONY!!!

So… Tony walks over to my van, after everyone else has left, and as he walks over, I suspect he is going to ask me for one of the sandwiches. LOL

So, before he even gets all the way over, I offer him a few sandwiches, and he is grateful and accepts. Before leaving though…

He turns around and says: “I saw what you did for everyone… And I was wondering… I know it is unlikely.. but… Does a man like you (with your heart) smoke cigarettes? I’ve been wanting one all night, and… I’m just sorry to even ask…”

I told him: “Sorry Tony! God told me to QUIT SMOKING just YESTERDAY, and… what can you do? When GOD tells you to do something… You should do it, you know?”

He smiled and said “Yep! That’s what you SHOULD do, but… Well… God has been working on me… I know He has… I’ve been homeless most of my life, but… I do belong to a church, and God has been trying to move me in a better direction, and I’m inching my way there, but… it’s hard! I got addicted to drugs when I was in foster care. And I have struggled with it ever since. I don’t do it like I did though… It used to be ALL DAY EVERY DAY! But… now, I have gone as long as two weeks without it!”

I asked him if he wanted to pray with me about it. And he said he did. So… I took his hand, and… we prayed for a bit together, and when we were done… he thanked me, and said “God bless you sir. Thank you so much!” and he took his sandwiches and went to sit and eat them.

MEANWHILE: As I am HOPING that this is the LAST EPISODE for the night, and HOPING that I can settle into the driver’s sleep and get a few hours sleep… NO SUCH LUCK!!

A Chick now walks by, and is getting into it with the manager!! Screaming at each other back and forth! WTH??? REALLY??? What is it with everyone tonight? It’s not even the weekend yet! LOL

So I go over and help separate them too! TONY comes over and helps too, and knows the crazed lady and says: “Lisa… this is no good. Come on now… walk away and let these people alone!”

She kept on though. And the store called the cops on her!

Meanwhile, I was talking to the manager, and she was telling me that she goes to church. And I’m like: “As loud as you were screaming at that lady… I bet you’re in the choir, huh?”

She smiled ans said she was! – I told her… I used to be in a choir… In fact… One church asked me to be their music director when they had an opening, and I agreed to help them out for awhile, so… I was music director of the church for awhile. refused to take a salary though! LOL

So, I say goodnight to the Manager of McDonalds, and …

BOY AM I READY FOR BED!!! But…

YOU GUESSED IT!! The Night was NOT OVER YET!!

Chris - Homeless Person

MEET CHRIS! LOL

Chris heard me talking to the manager, and he walks over to my van and says: “I heard you say that you were a music director at church at one time.”

I said: “Yes, that’s true. Quite a while ago though!” lol

He says: “Still… would you pray with me… I could use it.”

I asked what his needs were, and he said “Work! A job or… if not that, then a way to get home to Dublin, GA.”

So we prayed together. It’s like HOMELESS PEOPLE CHURCH suddenly, in the McDonalds parking lot! LOL

After we prayed, I offered him a sandwich too (I had 3 more still! LOL) but he said he had eaten earlier, but… If I had a cigarette… He would love to have one. I told him that I was fresh out, since YESTERDAY! God had made me quit, so… told him I didn’t have anymore since then. He thanked me and started to leave… but…

I wanted to do SOMETHING for him! I asked him how far Dublin, GA was. He wasn’t sure, but… he showed me his driver’s license and sure enough… He was from Dublin! LOL

I put the address in the GPS to see how far it was… Over 200 miles! Wow! If I drove there tonight… That would be over 3 hours probably. 6 hour round trip. GEEZ!! Hmm…

I figured I had enough money for GAS there and back, so… I offered to drive him there, but it would have to be NOW!

He said his stuff was in Jax! It would take a few hours before his friend woke up and he could get it. I was suspicious!

I asked him whether he used drugs. He denied it, but teared up some. I told him that I was not using the drug use as a litmus test, in other words… I told him that I would DO THE SAME FOR HIM… whether he was ON DRUGS or NOT ON DRUGS! It wouldn’t change my heart to help him.

He finally admitted that he WAS on drugs. So I asked him… “You don’t really want to go back to Dublin right now then, do you?”

He said: “Well, I was hoping for some cigarette money. I just needed a cigarette, to smoke and help keep me awake. We can’t sleep on the beach at night… It’s illegal. We have to sleep during the DAY and stay UP at night, or they will arrest us.”

Wow. Hmm….

I told him: “I am NOT going to give you money. because you and I both know, you will use it for drugs. But I WILL get you some smokes. Tony over there needs one too. I’ll get you a pack to split together. He teared up a little, and said: “God bless you… thank you!”

So, I went off to get them smokes. Tony had wanted Menthol though, and Chris didn’t smoke Menthol. Tony said not to worry about him. He said “You’ve been so generous… I’ll be happy to smoke ANY KIND! Just get regular for him, and I can smoke some of those too!”

So, I went off but… I had to get them their own packs! Menthol would make Tony’s night, a good night. LOL

Chris and Tony

So, they each had their own brands! LOL

Kind of funny though!

Here God makes “ME” quit yesterday, and now… I buy two OTHER GUYS cigarettes that… I CAN’T SMOKE!! LMAO!!

God is funny! LOL

So… as you can see… TONY and CHRIS are talking in the Pic above!! I realized that Tony didn’t know Chris! But he SHOULD have, because Tony is at that McDees ALL THE TIME (I found out from our conversation) and he has been living that way, for MANY YEARS now! SAME PLACE! And Tony knows… EVERYBODY!! Some of the businesses even give him odd jobs once in a while… Passing flyers out when bands come through, etc…

When I realized that Tony didn’t know Chris… I figured Chris had not been in Jax very long yet! I asked him, and he affirmed that. He had been in Jax for only a couple days.

I asked Tony if he would tell Chris about the Free Breakfasts he had told me about… sponsored by a local church on Sunday Mornings. It was only ONE DAY A WEEK but… At least Chris would know where to eat on Sunday Mornings!

That is what they are discussing in this pic!

So… when I said goodnight to them, Tony says…

I have to stay up ALL NIGHT, until tomorrow morning, when I can sleep in the park without trouble. If you want… You can park in that parking space over there… and… you have Tinted windows so… The cops won’t bother you. And I stay right here at McDonalds ALL NIGHT… I’ll keep watch for you, if you want. I promise that I will keep watch ALL NIGHT for you, if you need me to. You have been very nice.!”

I told Tony: “Well, let me say goodnight to my friends online and post my news about this interesting night tonight, and… I may just take you up on that Tony!”

So… Here we are… MY FIRST HOMELESS NIGHT!! (morning now) and I am gonna let Tony guard me tonight, lol, and see if I can’t get a few hours sleep in this van!

I love you all, and remember… GOD IS GOOD! And… HE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE… Look how He was working… just in the lives of a few homeless people tonight? Well… and the others who crossed our paths tonight!

Well, let me sleep a bit… TONY!!! Where’s Tony? Oh…

THERE HE IS!! Goodnight beautiful people!

OVER AND OUT!! (God is good! Remember that!)

BEING HOMELESS IS A LOT OF WORK THOUGH! Ha ha!

Love you guys!

Jacksonville Beach, FL - Sunrise

Started to sleep but… I realized the sun was coming up, and… It was soooo pretty… just had to take a pic or two!

Jacksonville Beach, FL - Sunrise

Beautiful Morning!

Jacksonville Beach

Well, it SEEMED a beautiful morning, but… As I got closer to the Water…

Homeless on Beach

The smaller object next to the Beach Stroller is a Homeless woman. She is about to go to sleep. The police arrest them if they sleep at night, so… they have to wait until morning to go to sleep… on the sand, in their clothes. They wear ALL their clothes, so… no one steals them! The woman walking her dog, is a home owner on the Beach… She probably passes a few homeless people every morning. Thankfully, at least… she lets them be. Sad though. And a striking picture of disparity.