#WarOnTheHomeless #homelessness #homeless #pdx #portland
A 'friend' left a pile of crap outside my camp for two weeks, and the wind and rain storms scattered it around a bit.
i waited for him to come clean up his mess, while the locals hated on me for the mess.
finally, i had enough and cleaned his mess up myself, put the most obvious garbage into a trash bag, and what looked to be valuable in his little folding shopping cart.
the next day, someone dumped the garbage out, and the wind scattered it out along a busy street's sidewalk, which includes a (well-used) sheltered bus stop.
just so they could complain about 'the homeless problem.'
today, i ran into a homeless acquaintance while we were at a shower project a local church sponsors (THANK YOU! Imago Dei!), and he told me that his camp was set on fire a few days ago, while he was away overnight.
he had a propane space heater and a nice propane stove.
the fuel canisters for them - including old, mostly empty ones - exploded, and one of his neighbors said the flames were higher than the nearby treetops.
if not for a huge, thick tree, the explosions would likely have killed his nearest neighbor, who was asleep when the fire started.
there were no nearby homes or businesses, as they are camped underneath an interstate overpass bridge, which is why i believe it was targeted - the chance to exterminate some homeless people would not endanger other people - except for first responders and traffic on the nearby streets.
there have been numerous instances of explosions in the night in the neighborhood i camp in - and have for most of the past seven years.
last weekend, one such explosion shook my camp. i went outside to find the source, but the wind and rain discouraged me from searching far.
it must have been one helluva blast, but i could not see any signs of it - no rising blast cloud, no fire, no demolished anything.
things are getting whacky-stupid out here.
"Mercury (Sunshine)" - John Murphy 
