14 Hours In Chicago, Chapter One: From Iowa To Florida

In September of 2006 I had been in Decorah Iowa for about 10 months. I was living with my then girlfriend Lisa in Calmar, Iowa. Which is about 20 minutes south of Decorah, Iowa, which is the areas biggest town. My brothers Imir, Paul, and I had pretty much did everything in Iowa that a young 20 years old could do. We partied, we drank, and we lived life day to day. We were young men that were exposed to a whole new environment. I’d moved from New York to Iowa in December of 2005 from the Promesa Shelter in the Bronx, NY.

My girlfriend at the time Jessica thought it would be a great idea for me to move to Iowa and experience new things. After talking to her for about six months I decided that it was a good idea. I gathered my things, said my goodbyes to my friends and family, and moved on. I kept in contact with my brothers Paul and Imir. I told them that Decorah was very different from New York, but it was worth the trip. Jessica and I did not work out, so she introduced me to her friend Lisa. Lisa was a tall, older, caucasian woman. She was about 31 at the time and she had two children

We went out on a couple of dates, hit it off, and eventually started dating. Jessica moved out of the apartment we live shortly after and I couldn't really afford the rent alone. Jessica suggested that I move in with Lisa. We'd just started dating and I didn't want to ruin it by asking to move in with her. I stayed with Jessica at her new apartment until I finally just said "forget this" and decided to ask Lisa if I could move in with her. To my surprise she said yes. I packed my things, Lisa came to get me, and I moved in.

A couple of months later Imir surprised me at Lisa’s house in Calmar. I was so excited to see him because it had been almost 5 to 6 months since I had seen him. About a month later my other brother Paul came out to Iowa as well, and from that point on it was on. We had just as much fun that year as we did in Promesa in 2005. The memories of old times came back, the love came back, and the camaraderie that we’ve always had for each other came back. It was like we lived our lives in a cloud of smoke from one day to the next, but once that smoke cleared I started to miss my mom.

That year I’d seen her because we had a family reunion at my Uncle’s house in Tampa. At that point she’d been living in Florida for about six months. It was the same length of time that I had gone without seeing my brothers. While at the family reunion I’d also seen a lot of my aunts and cousins that I had not seen in a while. It really made me miss my family. Although my brothers didn’t come until after I came back I still kept that image of my family in the back of my mind. Now here I was September of 2006 making another decision to leave and go somewhere different.

Deciding to leave Lisa was very hard. We had gotten so close after Jessica and I didn’t work out. She was there for me through a lot of the hard times and helped me out a great deal. We’d shared a lot of memories together and I’d really gotten close two her two children. Seeing her around her children just made me miss my family that much more. Rather than get mad at her and take certain things out on her I’d rather just leave.

“Hey Lisa can I talk to you for a second?” I asked nervously one evening while were driving home from dropping her children off at their aunts house.

“Yeah babe. Is everything ok?” She asked as she adjusted the sun visor to the beaming evening sun, so she could see clearly see the road.

“I know I’ve been a little bit of a idiot lately and I apologize, but I think it’s because I miss my family.” I said as I rubbed my sweaty palms together.

“Wow I guess you're not charging me a penny for your thoughts anymore huh?” Lisa responded with a slight smirk as she glanced at me momentarily.”

“No I’m not. I got a lot of love for you and I don’t want you or me to be unhappy.” I said nervously.

“Ok so what is it that you want to do baby? I can’t force you to be here if that’s not what you really want.” Lisa said objectively.

“I like being here but I haven’t seen my mom in a while. I see you and your children and it just makes me miss being around my mother, and talking to her like I see your children talk you.” I said more calmer and nonchalantly.

“I see love well I love you and always will. I want to see you happy even if its not here. Lisa replied.

"You are young and have your whole life ahead of you, and you have to do what is best for you. Always remember that.” Lisa said as she rubbed my chin and continued to drive.

That meant a lot to me that Lisa was supportive of my decision. It was also hard to say goodbye to my brothers again, it was like a second coming from the previous year. We partied, ran the streets, and had a great time doing it, but I knew that it was time to make a change and go live with my mom. The great thing about them is that they always understood my reasoning for doing certain things and never questioned my decisions. They only questioned my reasoning if they truly felt it wouldn’t be beneficial to my growth. It was truly a blessing to have those guys apart of my life.

So in September of 2006 I packed up my things, said goodbye to Lisa and I left to Orlando, Florida. When I arrived in Florida it felt very different. It wasn’t like being at home or in Iowa. Florida was very different. It drew a lot of similarities to Iowa because there was land everywhere for miles. The first stop in Florida was Ocala, Florida. From first glance the population looked a lot bigger than Decorah and Cresco, but it was still dominated by trees, land, and water.

I arrived in Orlando about 2 hours after we left Ocala, and I met my mom at the greyhound bus station and she was ecstatic to see me. I walked through the Greyhound doors that lead in the station and spotted my mom as soon as I walked in.

“What’s up son!” She said in excitement as she gave me a hug. "

Nothing too much! What’s going on with you!” I replied as I put my book bag while we headed toward the door.

“Nothing son just taking my day off at work to come out here to meet you. How was your trip?” My mom replied.

“It was very long, but Greyhound is so cheap so I don’t care. I replied with a laugh

“Yeah son I have a place in the Trailer Park off of South Orange Blossom Trail. It’s a little far from here so we’ll take a cab from here because the bus that stops over here doesn’t go straight to my place.” My mom said as a cab stopped in front of the station.

We got in the cab, as we drove off, my mom and I started catching up and she’s explained Orlando to me as were passing certain buildings and landmarks. About 20 minutes later we pulled up into the Trailer Park complex. This was definitely different from where I was, but similar to the Project experience in NY. I grabbed my things and I walked in to the white trailer where my mom lived. It was literally a trailer park. There were at least two to three rows of trailers that stretched a little far back. All different colors and sizes.

“Wow son this joint is different. This is my first time even seeing a trailer ever. I don’t even remember seeing one in Iowa.” I said as I looked around in curiosity.

“Oh really? They pretty much have them all over Orlando. It’s pretty ghetto out here, but it’s like any other place. Mind your business, do your thing, and you’ll be ok.” My mom said as she sat my things on the couch.

A Trailer in my opinion is just a tiny version of a house. There were two steps that led into the trailer. When we walked in, that was the living room connected to a small kitchen. When you walked to the back there was two bedrooms and a bathroom. My bedroom was the first room on the left next to the bathroom. It was small but decent size for me. The bathroom was very small it reminded me of a Porta-Potty in a construction site.The Irony of that description is that trailer is actually the size of a Construction foreman or mangers office.

My mom’s room was at the very end of the hallway. It was a decent size trailer for where it was. My mom paid about 200-300 a week for us to live there. The location was very helpful too because we didn’t walk far to do laundry or to go grocery shopping. So that saved on carfare and allowed us to have extra money.

Fast forward to February and I eventually moved out. My mom told me to leave because she felt that I wasn’t doing my part and that I needed to live on my own, and she was right. If I had to describe my first experience in Florida from 2006-2007 it would the theme would be “Back To Reality.” It would have been equivalent to suddenly getting hit by a car, and then learning how to walk again. I’d forgotten about the struggle and became too comfortable.

Having Lisa help me and have my back, I didn’t need to worry about bills or rent. I didn’t have to worry about transportation because she took me everywhere that I needed to go. Now that I was living on my own again reality started to kick in. I was going to have to take responsibility for my self. This reality hit me almost like a 300- pound wrestler swinging a solid steel chair to my face at 30 miles per hour. It was amazing how fast I forgot about the struggle, forgot about Promesa, and forgot about Help Morris.I forgot what it was like to be in the field working, grinding, and making my own money.

I went from living in a trailer with my mother to staying in the Salvation Army around strangers I didn’t even know. I couldn’t even find a job I had to work at a Temp Agency called Right Hand Man. The only thing good about it is that it was in walking distance from where I stayed. Having to go there every morning waiting in the building for work, along with 20 other guys, was like hoping to get picked for the NBA Draft every day of your life, and if you didn’t get picked you were going to have a bad day.

Just because you were at Right Hand Man on time didn't mean that you were guaranteed to work that day. There was a lot of days that I sat in Right Hand Man for hours and did not get picked for a work ticket. Right hand man paid you at the end of the day so, if you got work you got paid. If you didn’t work then you didn’t get paid. Regardless to whether you worked or not, The Salvation Army still wanted their $9 per night. That alone was a struggle within itself.

The one thing that I can say about the Salvation Army is that I met some of the smartest people I’ve met in my life there. Those guys were far more advanced and more knowledgeable than I was. I learned a lot about being a thinker and about how conversation rules the world. I also did a lot of reading and just learned a lot about my people in general. I would talk to friends that I made in The Salvation Army in Lake Eola, which is a big park in Downtown Orlando.

We would walk the parks in the morning after breakfast if we didn’t get a job ticket for that particular day, and just talk about everything. We would then go to the library, and check back in at the Salvation Army at like 4 or 5pm. This was my way of life from February of 2007 until May 2007.

By the time May came around I was tired of the everyday struggle. I’d filled out job application after job application and I still received no replies. So I finally got fed up with this way of life and decided to call Lisa back around my 22nd birthday. We’d stayed in contact over the months, but I told her that one of my birthday wishes was to come back and be with her. After Lisa and I discussed it, I then talked to my mom who pretty much told me verbatim what Lisa told me Prior to coming to Orlando:

“Sy you’re my son and I love you, but you have to live your own life and learn your own lessons. I can’t make your mistakes for you. You’re grown now and your sins and decisions are yours and yours alone.” My mom said.

That probably should of hit me harder than it did, but I was just happy that she agreed with me. So that first week in May of 2007 I left the Salvation Army to head back to Iowa. My mom rode with me to Lynx Central Station, which is the main terminal for all of the local transportation buses in Orlando. As we waited for the second bus, which I would take alone, my mom shed a tear and I did too. I did too. I didn’t want to leave, but Iowa felt like a better decision at the time.

I also felt like I could accomplish more in Iowa and have a better opportunity to achieve success. The bus pulled up and I kissed my mom goodbye, it wasn’t a so long, but more like see you later. I waved to my mom through the smeared dirty window on the back of the Lynx Bus, as she walked away and the bus pulled I felt a feeling of uncertainty, but I knew deep down that I would be ok. I got off of the number 25 bus, which stops in front of the Greyhound Bus Station on John Young Parkway in Orlando, carrying a brown luggage bag.

The wind felt like a woman’s soft touch against my face. The sun made me feel like I was on a beach in Miami rather than a bus terminal. I instantly wished that I were sipping a Bahamas Mama. While walking towards the terminal, there were people that were greeting family members getting off the buses, and significant others hugging their partners that were getting on the buses. Children were happy to see their families come, while women were crying to their husbands go.

As I walked through the door a little African American girl ran into her fathers arms as he walked through the door in his Army Military uniform.

“Daddy! Daddy!" She said as she jumped in her father’s arms.

He immediately picked her up and began to cry, as I passed them, his wife, would soon join in the welcoming home. She hugged him as if he was leaving instead of coming home.

“Wow!” I thought the power of love, family, and unity. It never occurred to me how powerful these things could be.

The Greyhound Station in Orlando is very small. As soon as you walk in the ticket counter is only a couple of feet away. The waiting area consists of only about 20 tables, which is separated from the ticket line by a mini brick wall, and a few feet over from the waiting area there are the lines that form for the buses going their own respective destinations. The line ahead of me moved pretty fast because there were three ticket agents.

About 5 minutes later I get to the front of the line. My girlfriend Lisa brought me a ticket to come back to Iowa. I had to show the ticket clerk my ID so they could print my ticket out. They then weighed my bag to see if it was over 50 pounds, and they tagged it. At that time Greyhound charged extra for luggage they weighed over 50 pounds. It turned out my bag only weighed 20 pounds so I wouldn’t have to pay the extra fee. Which was a relief to me because I did not have a lot of money. The little money I did have was for food at rest stops.

As I walked away from the clerk I smiled as I wiped a little sweat from my face. The station had a good amount of people in it but I managed to find a seat by myself. It was like as soon as I sat down I started to hear yelling coming from the ticket line.

“The hell you looking at man!!!” One guy said wearing a white shirt.

“Not you ugly!!!” another guy said turning around wearing a red shirt.

“Nah you look gay and we don’t like y’all kind like that man. Get the hell on.” The guy in the white shirt said as pointed at the dude in front of him in the line.

“So what!! And!! None of y’all are going to do anything about it!” The guy in the red shirt responded.

Now Everybody’s attention went from what they were doing to this argument. The people that were in line next to these guys started to distance themselves so if security or the police came they wouldn’t think that they were apart of the argument. I’m sitting in the waiting area literally laughing at this argument. I wasn't laughing at the fact that someone got called gay. I've learned in life that every person is entitled to their relationship preferences. I laughed because of the randomness of the argument, and the inflection of their voices while they were arguing. It probably was the wrong time to laugh, but sometimes you have to trick your self into making yourself smile. If not, then certain situations will always make you angry.

The argument looked to have died down when all of a sudden without warning another guy, that was with the guy in the white shirt swings at the guy wearing the red shirt! The guy in the red shirt dodged it and swung back!! The guy in the white shirt then tries to swing and then that’s when four Police Officers then grabbed the three guys and threw them against the wall!!

They let the guy in the red shirt go free because he didn't initiate the fight. Some people were running and scattering trying to get away from the chaos. The guy in the red shirt then starts to yell.

“You cant even hit me! I’ll punch you in face bruh. I ain’t scared of none of y'all!!” He screams.

“Keep it moving sir or we’ll arrest you too!” One of the Police Officers yelled.

Just then I hear the Ticket Agents over the loud speaker: “Now boarding on lane 5 to Atlanta Georgia. Please have your tickets ready.”

I was so engrossed in the drama that I actually forgot that I was in the terminal. I got in line as the door opened for all of the passengers to go in to the area where the buses are parked. All of the passengers then sat their luggage down by the loading area so the baggage handlers could load them, boarded the bus, and gathered themselves. The funny part about this story is that the guy in the red shirt actually was on the bus with us. I passed him as I went to find a seat in the back of the bus.

I over heard him telling someone on the phone "Yeah I swung on some dudes from out here, they lucky I didn’t go all the way in, I was ready!”

I couldn’t help but shake my head as I walked to the back seat. The Baggage Handlers and drivers finally finished up the necessary work that they needed to do to finally get us on the road. My trip started off crazy and I wondered how crazy it would get. For now The next stop on the Journey was Chicago, Illinois.