Saul was over the moon with the results. They’d upped the estimated box office to $500 million when all was said and done. He said he was getting calls about my availability and wanted me to go full time. I handed the phone to my mom, which ended that conversation.
We’d also started to get strangers hanging out in front of the house. Some were fans who wanted to get a picture taken with me or an autograph. Then there were the ones who wanted something from me. There were a couple of fun ones. One guy wanted me to show up at his wedding as his best man. He said his fiancée was a big fan. The one I did do was for a girl who asked me to do her voicemail message as Stryker. That one turned out to be fun.
Then there were the awkward ones who wanted money for various purposes. Those we called the police on and let Billy figure out if they were legit or not. If they were, they had to fill out a request and send it to Caryn. When the people wanting money figured out that they would have to talk to the police, it seemed to clear most of them out.
◊◊◊
As I walked into school, Tracy approached me with a grin and handed me a good-sized, beautifully wrapped package.
“Megan asked me to give this to you. It’s Jim’s surprise.”
All I could do was look back at her with an evil grin. Jim was so busted, but he would love this!
◊◊◊
Brit talked me into leaving campus at lunch to visit the local Homeless Coalition. Their director was a Mr. Orange. He looked and acted exactly like I would have cast the role for that position: he was in his early thirties, looked overworked, but still eager to help the needy. If he had to work in the real world, they would eat him alive. The good news was he’d found his calling.
“Mr. Orange wanted a chance to meet you,” Brit explained for the fifth time.
I just nodded.
“I take it you’re David A. Dawson,” he said, using my movie name.
“Just call me David. What can we help you with?” I asked, wanting to get this over with.
“Thank you for coming in. I wanted a chance to share with you some of the projects we’re working on. Hopefully, it will help you better understand the homeless crisis that we’re experiencing in the area,” he explained.
I caught myself being cautious but decided to give the guy a break and hear him out.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I said.
“We classify homelessness into three categories: transitional, episodic, and chronic.
“The transitional homeless used to have a job, car, house, and still have debt. The main provider lost their job or suffered some other misfortune, and they’re suddenly living out of their car, or in a tent. Many are women with children, unfortunately.
“Episodically homeless refers to individuals, often with disabling conditions, who are currently homeless and have experienced three or more episodes of homelessness in the past year.
“The final category is the chronically homeless, which refers to individuals who are currently homeless and have been homeless for six months or more in the past year. Three groups fit into this category. The first we call the adventurers. They’re young and looking for life experiences. Usually, they’re homeless from 6 weeks to 2 years. They’ll hop trains, hitchhike, and do nearly anything except take a shower. They tend to bring dogs with them and smoke weed. These people have chosen this condition, and we don’t try to force them to accept help. We get them sometimes when they’re hungry or need to get out of the elements.
“The next group is our biggest concern. They often suffer from some form of mental illness and are in need of structure and perhaps psychiatric evaluation. There is a large population of military veterans in this group. Giving them a place to sleep, a warm meal, and shelter from the elements isn’t enough. We collaborate with many other organizations that specialize in their support. With most of these, it’s a long-term project to get them back to where they’re useful members of society. In most cases, we fail, because they stop taking their meds or decide they don’t want to move on from their current condition.
“The final group is criminals on the run. We tend to call the police if we find any of these,” Mr. Orange said with a smile.
“So, what can we do to help?” I asked.
“We’re always in need of household items. I think your plan to have a drive to collect those is fantastic. If that’s all you do, I will be eternally grateful, and I’ll work with you to make that happen. I was hoping you might help me out with two other projects as well.
