thanks for the nice words
“How long have you been out here for? Like, aren’t you cold or tired or some shit?”
“Sleep is for the weak!”
I let out a chuckle as he pointed his banana at me like some kind of stick up from a lost Looney Toons cartoon gone weird. I told him I didn’t have any cash, but I offered to buy him some food at a nearby place with my plastic money. He said sure, then picked up his grimy hat and we set off.
“So what do they call you anyways? I bet all you bums have catchy nicknames for each other, like Crisco or Panda Man or something like that.”
“You know if you weren’t buying me a hot meal I would knock your ass to the curb and snatch your wallet… but no, my name’s Earl.”
I was about to shake his hand and introduce myself, but I realized the last thing he could’ve done with that thing is wipe his dirty bum ass, so I settled for a name exchange.
A few moments later we got to the old diner and walked in, where the owner greeted us with some shouting and swearing about homeless, before I convinced him to let us stay since I was buying the man some food. Earl muttered some grizzly old depression-era shit under his breath which I assumed was an insult, but the only thing it brought to my mind was how he sounded like some hard boiled detective on an old time cop show.
I ordered us some smoke meat sandwiches with fries and some soup and we got to talking about his current situation.
“So what’s your story Earl, what brings you out here?”
“Well, I’m sure you, and most people, expect the same old story of a guy down on his luck turning to booze or drugs and then losing everything. The truth is, that isn’t it at all. I used to have a nice house, a nice wife, a nice car, and a cute little dog that would jump up on me every time I came home from work. One day I woke up and was just so tired of it all, tired of the same old bullshit. Getting up to go to work, coming home and resting from work, so I could have enough energy to do it all over again the next day. Let me tell you something else, I didn’t have some pussy job like these computer geeks these days who sit at a desk all day; I was doing hard work. But anyways, I was just so fed up; I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I got ready for the day as usual, kissed my wife when I left the house, then got in my car and drove straight across the country. I maxed out all my credit cards on booze, hotels, and food until I ran out, and then started living on the street. I just didn’t care anymore, and I still don’t… it just isn’t worth the grind.