June 6th 2016

June 6th

Today I went to a dunkin donuts I will not be coming back to. Manager was such a bitch about my cart, she could have asked kindly for me to move it but she comes out telling me she's gonna call the cops and just being nasty about it. Looks like I was wrong about the street it's N 60th ave.

I stayed out front of dunkin for about a half hour or so as i filled out complaints on the store's facebook page as well as to Dunkin Donuts Corporate.

As I was leaving a nice man gives me a few dollars for Breakfast. Thank you sir, God bless. I start towards walgreens where my friends had just headed after the Dunkin Donut Diva came out in a tizzy but I decide to head out on my own in the other direction. Laurie is nice and all but she doesn't shut up and I can't sing when I've got someone talking to me constantly.

As I'm walking I see a sign knocked over, I pick it up and put some large rocks on the base so it doesn't happen again. The sign says Duran Motor Sports and I think of my friend Timothy 'TJ' Duran from boy scouts. I was his patrol leader and we got along really well. I wonder what he's up to, maybe I should look him up on Facebook.

As I continue along I see a Denny's in the distance. I remember they have all you can eat pancakes for four bucks. The man just gave me three so I decide to post up out front to see if I can pull in a few more bucks for the meal and some coffee.

Ive played through a large portion of my songs and i still haven't pulled in any loot so i start to consider abandoning my Denny's plans and heading over to Taco Bell across the street for dollar breakfast burritos. I continue playing and am down to my last four or five songs and I think to myself that even if I don't make enough that I should still eat here since, I haven't gotten a single complaint about my singing yet, I do have some money that I made the day before, but then people start coming out who saw me playing when they entered and I pull in three more dollars before I run out of original material. Just enough to cover food and coffee, I'll have to dip into my pocket for tax and tip but that seems reasonable enough.

I enter and wait for a minute to be seated, then a pretty young lady shows up and leads me into the dining room, she let's me choose my seat and I ask her if there are any seats near an outlet. No luck, why did I even ask, this is florida and Hollywood on top of that. I take a seat at the corner booth.

My waitress asks me what I'd like to drink and I tell her coffee. Then she asks if I'm ready to order and I tell her I'll need a minute to look over the menu. I see that for four dollars they also have a value grand slam with two pancakes two eggs and two strips of bacon or sausage. I then peruse the rest of the menu out of curiosity. I look through the drinks first to check out the price of orange juice and see a berry orange juice cocktail. I also see some blueberry drinks that I want to try, looks like its blueberry season at Denny's. Then I see a maple bacon Sunday which intrigues me. Oh wait what is this? Honey jalapeño bacon, oh I have to try this. I pray that I can substitute it into my meal.

When my waitress returns with my coffee I tell her that I'm ready to order and I ask her about the bacon. She tells me it'll probably be fifty cents more and I say no problem, I must sample this culinary creation.

While waiting for my food I begin writing this and in what seems like no time at all she is bringing me my food.

I start with the bacon and it was better than I could've imagined. The sweet honey with the spicy jalapeño and the salty bacon blended together perfectly. It was like a Fiesta in my mouth.

I then move onto the eggs and they're a little runnier than I would like especially without toast to soak it up with but delicious all the same.

I finish up with the pancakes. One is much larger than the other and I wonder if I got jipped on one or if I got hooked up on one. They probably measure out the batter before making them so I probably got the same as everyone else. The first pancake is perfect but the second one is a little mushy in the middle, not undercooked but that way that when the syrup is absorbed into it it starts falling apart, I think it's because that's where the butter dollop was. The rest of the pancake is nice and firm just the way I like it though.

While eating I see my waitress, I find out her name is Rose, running around like a chicken with its head chopped off. I decide she needs a good tip. I also see a family come in and sit at the table next to me and hear that it's somebody's birthday. I think this calls for a song.

Just played happy birthday for the birthday girl and she gave me a fiver, God bless you thank you and now another woman at the table just gave me seven as I was typing that, God is good. God bless your whole family, God bless everyone. They asked if I knew happy birthday in Spanish before so I figured with a tip like that I should deliver, so I look up the lyrics and then return to their table with a Spanish rendition. I forgot the woman's name, which was Dale, and pause when it comes to that part of the song a bit embarrassed as I ask her name again, everyone giggles a little and I don't feel so bad.

Now I'm just finishing up my coffee and water and am just about ready to head out. A very pleasant Denny's experience definitely stop in if you're in Hollywood.

So I'm at this McDonald's and I go to get some ketchup from the dispenser and they don't have any of the little cups. I see an empty container and I assume that's where the cups are supposed to be. So I grab the container and go over to the counter to explain the situation, the cashier just yells at me to put the container back and tries to give me packets of ketchup which won't solve my problem so I just grab a drink cover and squirt the ketchup on there. The fries aren't even hot either.

They have video games here or at least it appears that way, there are some playstation controllers attached to the wall with tvs above them, but they aren't turned on. I'm disappointed so I wonder how many kids have been disappointed by this, it makes me sad.

The only good part of this experience was this man with his son in line behind me. The son had a rat tail and was so full of energy, he reminded me of myself as a child, only a bit more vocal, and yes I used to rock the rat tail.

I tell his father that I like the boy's haircut, that I used to wear the same do. He comments that while he and I have beards since his son's too young to grow a beard his tail is like his beard, I like that.

I then see the son notice the video games. He doesn't let them not working get him down tho. He tells his dad to pretend it works and starts pressing buttons and making sound effect, it made me smile.

When I'm about to leave McDonald's a man notices my guitar and starts asking me about it and where I play. Then he asked if I ever head down to the keys so I tell him I was on my way till I lost the bike in miami and have been sort of stuck in this area since then. Turns out his sons Carson and Tyson(was it) were at the Ft Lauderdale mic I played at and they had told there dad about me and my bike trailer he even mentioned Lying No Good Dirty Rotten Scoundrel and told me his sons found me very entertaining. What a small world. We introduce ourselves and I find out his name is Glen. He gives me his number and I call him so he has mine in case his sons wanna contact me. I hope they do, it would be very cool to see them again.

So after McDonald's I head out with no clue where to go. I end up back over by Thirsty's but I don't feel like drinking. There's a walgreens on the corner and I consider going there to play a bit but something tells me not to so I continue on. I pass by a bus stop and I see a man with a bandaged foot and a wheel. I say howdy and God bless you and I almost move on but then I think to myself that maybe this man could use someone to talk to.

I inquire about his foot and he tells me he just got out of the hospital and that they wanted to amputate it but he wouldn't let them. He goes on to telling me that the cops forced him to go to the hospital even though he didn't want to. In addition to that they left all of his stuff on the side of the road including his radio. This man, his name is Joe, really loves music, he's a drummer, and losing his radio was just about the worst thing that could happen to him, he needs his music. I play him a song or two then he tells me his favorite radio stations and I decide to try and pull one of them up on my phone to brighten his day a bit. I try downloading a radio app but I don't have enough space on my phone. I don't understand how a simple radio app can take up over 335MB but I couldn't download it. After wrestling with my phone for a bit though I finally find a page in my browser that will stream the station. We listen to the radio for a bit while he goes on about how bad the cops treat him and the other homeless, it really makes me sick when people treat us like we're garbage, but we're human just like them and deserve respect. Joe tells me he's heading to Ft Lauderdale as soon as possible because of this, which is exactly what the police want. They treat us like this to force us away. I'm sorry but homeless people are a part of every city. If you don't want homeless then block yourself off from the world and turn your city into a gated community, oh but then you'd lose out your tourism revenue wouldn't you and that's what this is all about, money, right?

As i head off to figure out dinner I decide that I need to do something about this. I need to start interviewing the homeless here in Hollywood and put together a documentary. Show the world what's going on here. They even have a city ordinance against lodging in public which the police interpret to mean you can't sleep in public. That means no napping in parks, at the beach, or anywhere ever unless you know someone who will allow you to sleep on their property. Well, this essentially makes being homeless a crime because who can live without sleep. Without sleep you cannot be happy and dont we have a right to the pusuit of happiness. This ordinance is a modern day Jim Crow law discriminating against the homeless trying to force them out of town, into jails, or into homeless shelters.

Homeless shelters ha, more like internment camps, gonna make us wear little badges marking us as homeless? Why don't you just skip all that and send us to the gas Chambers already? Shit when you stay at a homeless shelter they treat you like you're on probation, like you're a criminal. They give you curfews and search your things, no alcohol, no guests, boys better not be in the girls dorms and vice versa like they think all homeless people are rapists. Seriously they have so many rules, you're not truly free anymore. If the law forces you into a homeless shelter then the law is forcing you to give up your natural rights which is unconstitutional.

Homeless shelters may be there to help the homeless but it's defective help. Shit I'd be happier if they just threw a tarp over a vacant lot and told us we could come and go as we please. It would be better than dealing with the Bullshit they put us through at a homeless shelter.

What they really need is just a large building full of cubicles with a bed and a desk in each and outlets to plug your stuff in. There'd be Common rooms with tvs and kitchens to cook your food. A place where you can check in anytime you like and they give you a room number and key. Essentially a hotel for the homeless, but that would be too good for us wouldn't it. We need to be baby sat and regulated because we're scum that can't be trusted.

While I contemplate all of this I hear birds chirping and a loud car go by I look up and see Tony the Pizza Chef II. Pizza sounds good so decide to have a slice. I don't see much traffic coming and going so I don't bother setting up and playing out front to earn my meal, besides I sort of just feel like relaxing and enjoying my pizza right now.

I enter the shop and I see an older man at a table he has on a shirt with the logo on it so I assume he works there. I say howdy  sir and he says hi. Then I hear a welcome from my left side. It was a young girl behind the counter. I didn't see her when I entered so she really surprised me. I turn towards her and she says hello, I say hey how you doing and order a slice.

A short while later my slice comes out. It's huge, almost the size of two plates. I would say that this one slice is equivalent to two slices at most places, well worth the 2.85 I payed for it, and boy was it tasty. I tried to eat it as slowly as possible to savor the flavor and while some pizzas are too greasy and others don't have enough grease, because we all know the grease keeps it from being too dry and also contains the best flavors,  this one had just the perfect amount with a tiny puddle forming at the base of the slice as I ate my way through. A small drop dripped on my hand as I neared the end, when the crust cracked from being folded for so long. This was a thoroughly enjoyable pizza experience.

After I get done eating I go outside to play pizza day. The first run through was crap and the guitar was out of tune so I give it a second go. As I'm finishing up I see the man who works there come out. I can't tell if he's upset or just intrigued. He doesn't say anything as I wrap up the song and after hitting the stop button I explain I'm just recording a quick video. I wanted to stay and play a full set but after he came out I wasn't so sure it was a good idea. So I pack up my guitar listen to the video and post it to Facebook.

I came to the conclusion that I need to practice pizza day a bit more often though or maybe I just needed a drink before either way I was unhappy with my singing. Then I move on to find a place to sleep.

I didn't have a drink with dinner and I want to find a place that takes my food stamps. Walgreens is behind but I'm already heading in this direction and don't want to backtrack. I check my handy dandy map for convenience stores and there's one in the shopping center just ahead. I hope they take stamps.

As I approach the store it looks closed it also doesn't look like the kind of place that takes food stamps either but I decide to check it out anyway since I do see a bunch of signs blinking open. I get closer and see a sign that says EBT accepted but the lights are definitely out the sign on the door says they close at 9 and I decide to check my phone, 925, just missed em. I check my phone again and find a cvs in the direction that I'm heading.

On the way cvs I'm talking to Gary. I see a Savealot and stop here instead. They have an apple drink, half gallon for a dollar and it's in the refrigerator, I hope it's good. I purchase it then head outside. I take a seat in the grass and test out the drink, it's delicious, it tastes like the Arizona sweet apple which is more like a sour apple apple juice, better yet you get three times as much for the same price. It's so good I end up drinking so much I upset my stomach a bit, then I still can't stop myself from taking a sip here and there, It's that good. I talk to Gary for a bit then I get the feeling that I should move on. I try walking and talking but there's a bunch of the road torn up and it's difficult to maneuver my cart with one hand so I tell Gary I have to get going. I then continue down the road.

I find myself in an new part of town I've never been in before. There's another walgreens over here and I wonder for another second if I've gone in a circle, then I realize I've only been going straight. I take a right at this corner and a short while later I have to take a leak so I turn down the next block. I pee on this fence that has bushes in front of it. The fence is around an empty lot and while relieving myself I notice a shopping cart within. I wonder how it got there and I decide to walk along the fence to see if there's an opening,  there is. There also are not any no trespassing signs either, beautiful, so I then find a shadowy corner by some bushes and camp there for the night