Life on the Santa Ana River Trail

                                                Life on the River Trail               Photo by Andrew Bose

(My effort to give my teenager a reality check.)

The life of Donny

By Andrew Bose:

This interview is a very interesting topic the living life of a homeless person. We all look at the homeless as trash or lazy and even insane There are many like that but others just messed up with their lives and missed many important chances for success you never know with the right choices and opportunities that man begging might have cured cancer so with that I will continue with the life of Donny.

So I head to the local river trail see Donny and say “hey Donny” and he looks at me with a big smile throws his arms up and yells “SUP BUZZ!!” While giving me a hearty handshake I ask him how he's doing and with his usual response  “F***IN FANTASTIC!” I tell him I will buy him a beer if he sits and talks to me about his life, he says “Why do you want to interview me, seems like a weird school project” he said. After getting his drink, he sits on a tree stump and we get to talking.

I begin, so Donnie how old are you? “53” he replies. How was your childhood?  “Well my childhood was actually a pretty good one I grew up down here with a lot of friends and a good family with tons of different things to do” he explained. I ask, how about your teens, he said  “Well that's where things got a little dark you can say, I loved my teens but I lost my mother my sophomore year that was the worst thing I ever went through I started to use drugs like weed my freshmen year and got into cocaine after my mother's death I went to Edison played football it was fun at first but after awhile I hated it I dropped out my junior year at 17 and got into meth when I was 18” I asked what type of music did you like “When I was your age I liked country like Hank Williams and David Allen Coe that was my shit man” he said with a hearty laugh.

So what were the reasons for living on the streets? “ After my mother died I was lost, my dad was drinking really heavy and was a mean son of a bitch and took his depression out on me. He didn't last that long and he suffocated himself in his car” Jesus Christ, I said,  how'd you take that? “ At the time I was so spun out on drugs I couldn't give half a damn all I knew is that he was with mom and that made me happy I suppose” he lets out a soft chuckle and takes a big sip of beer and goes on “ I got an inheritance after his death it was about two hundred thousand dollars, geez that was a crazy two and a half years I don't remember a lot of it honestly but when I was on the last few grand I bought a shit load of meth and started to sell it” he said.  How'd that go I asked?  “Drug dealing is never profitable if you get high on your supply” he says laughing “ When I was about 25 I got busted and got 5 years for it, prison is the biggest shithole ever it's just a cesspool of wasted life but that didn't keep me from coming back”.

How was the first time you got out “Well 5 years is a really long time and I was happy to be out and crystal was happy to see me to so I started using again but worse then before I had no money so I was stealing it or robbing others for it. I got into a lot of fights in the pen and on the streets I should have been a boxer” he says laughing “but trouble found me again I thought it was a smart idea to steal a car and go over the speed limit in it I got pulled over and busted that got me two and a half years with good behavior that wasn't very bad I had a kitchen job I liked” he said. Did you ever have to join a gang I asked?  No he said “ I was big at the time all I did was work out so I never had any problems and I didn't like those sons of bitches who ran them either but I was cool with everyone”. That 2 year stay didn't phase me I was right back into crystals arms right when I got out didnt stay out very long I robbed a liquor and got shot in the ass by the Asian owner when I was running out” DAMN that's lucky I say, he says “you can say that I got 8 years for that and in that time I was done with everything I wanted to kill myself but i'm not a pussy haha I knew that when I got out I was never coming back I swore it I was 45 and I was done with crystal” What did you do next I asked?  he said “I was done breaking the law, no more of that shit I decided the best thing I could do is travel so I started hitchhiking I went everywhere, sleeping in bus stops under bridges met a lot of cool people I ended up doing a loop for about 3 years and ended up back in California.  Where was your favorite place to visit?  “Well when I got back to California I went to San Francisco and met some rad dudes who had a type of commune where they just took shit loads of acid, now that was pretty cool, I hung around with those guys for awhile. I liked it there might go back for a bit soon. I don't know but HB is my home, I love this place with all my heart that's why I'm happy here” he said.  So where do you like to stay at night “ I like the river trail it not that crowded and peaceful at night Sheep Hills is different that's a lawless place  people get murdered there a lot.” He said. How do you get your meals “ I use food stamps and the soup kitchen always gives me a lot buts its kinda shitty” Where do you go to the bathroom? He smiles really wide stands up and says “ See that bucket in that bush right there that's where I shit” he laughs loudly.

About a hour goes, I'm ready to wrap it up and ask any advice? “Never ever ever try meth” he explained in a clear voice. What makes you happy I asked, “ A nice cold beer, waking up in the morning and going to the beach” I then ask my final question do you have any regrets he repeats again “Crystal Meth wish I never touched it that’s it nothing else I'm happy with myself” I thank him give him some more change I tell him how much I liked listening to him and that I got enough to write about he says “Alright cool cool hope you ace it bud I'll see ya around” and I watch as he rides slowly towards the beach.