For True Friends Who Welcome Back To Planet
Argue Then Shake Hands.
San Francisco, Your Touchstone.
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by Joe B. Whew, today is a difficult day for me. Its pest control by the San Francisco Housing Authority. The rules are at least once monthly our S.R.O’s[Single Room Occupancy]apartments to make sure fleas, silver fish, roaches or ants aren’t in or starting to invade the space. The inspections and the annual visit to S.F.Housing Authority for rent check stubs three months consecutively. The S.F.H.A. has rules, for me its always been panic time especially when I have to been on time. Because Poor’s Magazine’s media job in the beginning my home was full of newspapers, generated online information, my own reports, recorded interviews. My place would be a constant mess and I had little time straightening it up. My problem is time control when visiting S.F. Housing Authority and cobbling three months worth of check stubs when I explained my dilemmas and that I will be late at times due my jobs erratic hours. Luckily, I’m a quiet, mind-his-own-business tenant. Over the years I have collected books, kept old painting, drawings, photographic and other artworks collecting dust. A very dear friend helped me get rid of lots of excess junk. Patient and kind but ruthless in throwing out anything not relevant which includes all the defunct Penthouse Men’s graphic adult Comics and R rated video tapes. Yes, the young woman was royally pissed off. "Joe, your not keeping all this porn here are you?" After all the graphic smut is thrown down the apartment’s basement garbage area I went back to my room and saw my friend fast asleep she had rushed back to my place after seeing what a real paper, book, and junk storm it is. We began cleaning up she almost gave up when I argue about books being donated to first and second floor library downstairs now she is in deep sleep. The window is crack for some air circulates through the stuffy room. I lock my door to let her catch up on whatever sleep she had missed helping me after that I resolved to keep my place clean so the next time she or any other woman visited it would not be as wild and dirty as it had been. That was a few months ago before she left the states now on her return and the Housing Authority I must again do battle with my place this time its not as bad and easier I hope when she again visits she’s not as tired but if she is she can take a long safe nap in my apartment as I go downstairs. I know they’ll be no more panic days of cover-it-all-up. I return to my apartment because if my friend wakes up alone in my darkened room she’ll be startled, scared, and slightly stressed and I won’t cause her to feel abandoned; she has helped me now I help her as friends are suppose to. Funny how a single human being can change another. I hope when she returns she feels as comfortable and even if she’s rested may still have a few z’s and feel safe in my place. The books are gone and no overdue library books to think about. Soon she’ll be back, I’m nervous about her seeing my place again but this time most of the porn is still gone except for Pent House Men’s Comic’s Daddy’s Little Girl Part II. Maybe she won’t be as hard on me this time. Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org |