Recap (Day 3)

I woke up at dawn and began to walk north. A couple of hours later I was taking a break in front of a storage business.

The office was not open yet so i knew nobody would be telling me to move.

Cars would go in and out, mostly ignoring me. Then a guy in a truck asked me if I was looking for work.

I jumped at the chance and said yes.

He told me to wait for him, when he came out he said that he'd be back.

He came back and apologized, he wouldn't need me and gave me two bucks for waiting. I thanked him and moved down the road.

At the corner i was holding my Canada sign, hoping I'd get a ride. I had no luck.

Then the same guy from before flags me down and calls me over across the street.

He says "there is a reason you're here man. I need you".

His name was Allen, a carpenter. He was going to build a shelf in his storage room and needed someone to help him.

Allen was a nice guy, with his own troubles. Married for seven years with kids, recovering drug addict and alcoholic he was trying to get his life together.

I told him I was going to Canada and why I was trying to get there. He sympathized with my situation.

It felt good to work again.

I think we were done at 1-2PM, he gave me enough cash to cover my food expenses a few days. Allen also gave me a cart that usually attaches to the back of a bike. I loaded my heavy backpack and I was in heaven. No more shoulder pain.

He also told me about an abandoned tent in a field near a large tower.

I thanked him for his help and walked my cart hoping that perhaps I'd have a tent to sleep in that night.

Because I didn't know the area well I asked for directions a few times nicely and ended up finding out that indeeed there was an abandoned tent.

It looked as if it had been abandoned for weeks, water inside and collapsed. I took it apart and spread it on the grass to let the sun dry it out.

Didn't take me long to find out I was in Boca Raton.

I must have walked about 20 miles in a couple of days, not fast enough. I needed to think of other options. My feet, legs and shoulders were still sore so I couldn't think of much.

That night I tried to sleep on a few large cardboard boxes i had found at the back of a Dunkin Donuts.

I tried to create a large enclosure with some space for fresh air to come in. It worked, until i realized that it cause me to sweat which combined with the cold it made me shiver.

It was late at night and it was too cold to stay asleep.

I thought of making a fire, but i didn't want to be noticed in the middle of the night on a field which i was probably tresspassing.

Before I go on, I must say I've gone through an awakening of faith, in god.

On my second night I was attacked by some kids, throwing eggs from a car, some hit me. They threatened to shoot me.

After they moved on I walked to Mc Donalds hoping to get a napkin to clean up, but it was really late at night.

Now a beautiful blonde in an expensive car comes out of the drive-through and offers me a bag of cookies, which i gratefully accepted.

On the third day a laid off wielder gave me a bag of mini-bagels.

God has been looking out for me.

This has lead me to talk to him more often, and to try and turn a new leaf.

Ok, back to the third night.

As as I was walking toward Glades Road, hoping to warm up by walking, I saw something unbelievable. A fire!!

The employees at "New York Comedy Club" had made a fire by using a large ceramic pot with wood and newspaper.

They were kind enough to share their fire. We talked a bit and they convinced me to stay in florida before going to Canada.

They mentioned a homeless camp which was close by, near the field I was sleeping at.

It was about 4:30AM when i found the camp, at first it looked abandoned, until the dog barked.

I froze, not knowing what the dog was going to do besides barking. I then slowly moved back trying to leave.

Soon after someone came out. I introduced myself to someone who was also homeless like me.

His name was Dwayne, we ended up talking for over 4 hours.