Good intentions and laziness
In my role as a special ed professor, I am often visiting classrooms where student teachers work under a “master” teacher in order to learn how to be a teacher through direct practice. Typically these classrooms are a mixed bag. There are some teachers who truly are masters at what they do. I look forward to visiting those classrooms because …
Read MoreRich
I met Rich in Boulder, Colorado. He’s a widower who, three years after his wife died, gave their home away to a single mother. That was when he set out on his journey of homelessness. He hoped to live 6 years after the death of his wife; that was 15 years ago. Since then, he’s lived in various situations–a school …
Read MoreJose
I met Jose in Salt Lake City while I was handing out socks. He’s homeless because he can’t find any work lately, and he wasn’t able to pay rent at his apartment. He sleeps by the river, and when we talked, he was excited to have just received a sleeping bag from the shelter and some socks from me. It’s …
Read MoreBernice and Thomas
Bernice and Thomas are alone and jobless in Salt Lake City. They’re traveling from Seattle to Arizona, but due to sickness, money ran out in Utah. Now, they don’t know where any shelters are and don’t have any friends or family here. When the rain and snow came, they had to cover themselves under a cardboard box beneath a tree …
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When the Night Comes
Something happened to me when I got home from Africa. Like many young westerners, I had packed up my belongings and headed east to spend 3 weeks in a third world country. Mostly, I suppose, because I thought they needed me. And like many young westerners who travel east, I wasn’t prepared for the reality of a place where everything …
Read MorePopcorn
I met Popcorn on the streets of San Francisco. He came to San Francisco from Michigan, and he found himself unemployed after losing his job as a hotel worker and security guard. Popcorn has an interesting optimism and upbeat tone as he talks, even though life on the streets is hard. When I asked him how life was, he responded, …
Read MoreThe good Samaritan
Tonight I was speaking to my class about the family life cycle as it relates to people with disabilities and their families. The research literature at times mentions “chronic sorrow” in regard to the life cycle in that at every stage of life, people with disabilities and their families are often confronted with the impact of disability on their lives. …
Read MoreLuke
Luke is homeless and panhandling in Anchorage, Alaska. In Alaska, he is often referred to as a “chronic inebriate”–an individual who drinks too much, too often. Last night, Luke slept at the “sleep-off,” a center in Alaska for chronic inebriates to safely sleep and recover from drunkenness. It’s one of the few warm places to sleep in the Alaskan winter. …
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