A Hard Morning

11:30AM
-----------
I received an extension on my jay walking ticket. What a pain in the ass. I was wrong in committing the infraction, especially in Skid Row. If people do not pay attention to the street lights, there could many tragic accidents.

I went down to the public relief office as well. I experienced something new on the bus ride to the office. A man, sitting next to me, was talking on his cell phone. He said something that caught my attention: two with half. I learned that shorthand while in jail. Evidently the man received a prison sentence for two years but he would only have to serve one half of the sentenced term.
However, he was in some kind of program. He continued to talking and told the person that if he became fed up with the program then he would just pack up his bags and return to prison. He went on to tell the person with whom he was talking that he would continue to do what he had been doing. He would continue to sell drugs and save his money. If he decided he could not continue with the program, he would put money on his books and term himself into the authorities. By the way, "on the books" basically means who would establish a credit balance so he could purchase items from the prison store.

Needless to say I was flabbergasted. I thought he was a good planner but I have never heard anyone meticulously plan his next stint in prison. I have never heard anyone consciously make a choice to go to prison instead of remaining in a program. Usually, a judge will give a person the chance to go to a program instead of going to prison. I witnessed many people leaving the program to do drugs and, by doing so, they violated their parole and would return to prison when they were caught by the police.

Wild, isn't it. I wish I could hear from the public about the man's choice to go to prison. I wish I could hear their comments on someone fleeing the facility to do drugs, knowing that if they did so, they would return to prison.







8:30AM
-----------

I had a rough night last night. Doubts sprang up. I felt like I was in a vault. I was frustrated at not being able to finish the blog about my visit to the police department. That will come later today. I came here this morning to finish it but I left the list of quotes at home. I did not want to improvise.
---

Walking down the steps this morning, there was a woman laying on the first platform between floors. She was
dressed in a night gown. I noticed one of her legs was amputated and she was crying. I looked at her and asked her if she was ok. I really did not know what to do. Soon the manager came. I was not in good spirits before I left my room. Now I was even more down. I was leaving to find a person with whom I could talk. I had seen him last night. He keeps telling me I am on my way. He is actively recruiting people so I can interview them. Billy, the man to whom I am referring, believes I am on my way to being a reporter.

He was not at his guard post at the Midnight Mission so I returned to the room. The woman was now in the back of an ambulance receiving some kind of care. Ambulances are very common on Skid Row. It would be unusual to not see one at least once a day.

I landed here to finish the blog but remembered I forgot the quotes. The day is not starting out very well.
I check my other blog at Blogomonster, and scrolled my posts. I noticed that more people have at least viewed the pages. However my most recent posts only have one view each. It appears that the older posts are more popular. My record now is 60 views. It is on a very early post.

Usually, that would give me a boost but it did not. That is not a good sign. I checked my email and notice that Jan and Kevin returned emails to me. The messages were brief but they uplifted my spirits a little.

This is the first time I have struggled emotionally like this in quite some time. My optimism is waning. I do not like that. I must imrove my attitude. Perhaps it will improve after I speak to Jose.

Life is not pretty this morning on Skid Row. Have patience, Walter. The feeling will pass. I will finish the blog later today. I must deal with some administrative red tape with the public relief office and the traffic court. Maybe that is what it is. I spend more time trying to stay at the break even point than I do moving forward.

talk later. Good morning world. I love ya

Oh yes, thanks, Dgarzila for the comment. That did the trick.