Showing posts with label #homeless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #homeless. Show all posts

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Retired

Retired
on July 9, 2010
Worked from September 1981 to July 2010
Public School Educator


On my 55th birthday I retired from my career as a public school educator. This was an early retirement but it was time for me to move on. As I told my friends and family, I was hearing more noise now the music. And so on my birthday I handed my keys and office phone, left and never looked back.

 I have, however, had some great opportunities so far these last six years:

  •      I drove many cancer patients to their treatments. This was really sad.

  •       I ran for State Senate in Maryland in District 35. While I lost I still think I gained in this challenging opportunity. I also ran for the US Congress (District 1) for one month.

  •        I have been a night supervisor for a homeless shelter in the winter months.

  •         I taught in China for a semester (Spring 2012) at the World Academy for the Future of Women. I taught young women how to be global leaders with a focus on the UN millennium goals ending poverty and empowering women. I went back to this assignment in November 2015.
  •       I taught in Nepal for a month with the World Academy for the Future of Women

  •          I took a cross country trip with my 12-year-old nephew. He was good company. We traveled to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Texas.

  •         I was the president of the Cecil County Democratic club.

  •       I was the president of the Cecil County Public Libraries Foundation Board.

  •      I was on the Board of Directors for the Semester at Sea Alumni Board.

  •       I am a citizen lobbyist for Care International, an organization that focuses on eradicating poverty by empowering women.

  •  I've performed four marriage ceremonies.

  •       I took the AMTRAK train from Baltimore, MD to Emeryville, CA.  It took four days and I          loved every minute of the journey.
  •        I have participated in watershed river cleanups in the Chesapeake bay area. A lot of people through a lot of shit in our water systems.

  •       I have been to so many microbreweries that it is now hard to keep track of them all. I have been to more than 145 breweries.

  •        I began writing on a regular basis. I now have about 10 blogs to which I contribute an entry at least once a day.

  •         I have traveled to DC, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Montana, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, Washington, PA, Virginia, Vermont, Florida, Delaware, California, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky,West Virginia, and Nevada.

  •        I have been a regular member of the Cecil County Brunch Club which meets on an irregular basis and purposely eats only at locally owned restaurants. This is our effort to keep the entrepreneur spirit alive and well.

  •      I drove to Plains, GA to meet Jimmy Carter.

  •       I met President Barack Obama.

  •       I met Congressman John Lewis, Senator Chris Coons, Congresswoman Waters, Senator Bernie Sanders

  •      I planted a big-assed garden.

  •       I sang with Bobby McFerrin.
  •         I spent the summer in Haiti in 2013 with the Haiti Family Initiative. We offered a medical clinic, a women’s empowerment group, a sports program, and arts program and a school readiness program. We also fed over 100 children the day which for many them was the only meal of the day.

  •        I was the volunteer campaign coordinator for Cecil County for Hillary Clinton. 
  •      I marched in the Women's March in Washington, DC in January 2017.

  •        In 2010 I traveled to Egypt.

  •         In 2011 I traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, and Belize.

  •          In 2012 I travel to China, Austria, Germany, Spain and Canada.

  •         In 2013 I traveled to England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Latvia, Germany and Haiti.

  •         In 2014 I travel to Jamaica and Haiti.

  •         In 2015 I traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, India, China, Canada and Nevada.

  •         In 2016 I traveled to Tanzania, Puerto Rico, Germany and Idaho.
                In 2017 I traveled to Nepal and Bhutan, Florida, Colorado, Alaska
         
                In 2018 I traveled to Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Canada, Wales, London, Jersey (UK)
















Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Homelessness in America

Someone told me about a tent city in my county.  It's where the homeless live.  I couldn't believe it.  I never saw any homeless people in Cecil County. 

It's tucked away, behind the ACME, right off of the main highway. It's hard  to find the entrance but after a few false attempts, I make my way down to the site.  There are a dozen tents, in close proximity of each other. They look abandoned but the evidence of recent trash lets me know this community is real.

I notice a woman sitting  inside her tent and I call to her and ask if I can speak with her.

"No, I just got back from Church", she tells me. 

So I leave her alone and wander off to explore.  A few minutes later, she calls to me.  She tells me she has been living here for the last four months, right after she lost her job and her apartment.


"I was working at McDonald's and crossing the highway, I got hit by a car.  It really messed up my leg pretty bad. I was in a full leg cast and didn't have any insurance. I couldn't stand so I couldn't work and got fired.  I don't have family around here so I had nowhere to go.  I ended up here.  When my leg gets better I am going to look for work again."

Elkton, MD

June 2014