This is just my personal take on Summer Time the way we used to play it In anchorage Alaska.
I had went through a divorce I asked for do to a domestic misunderstanding, changed my mind and wanted to drop it however once you betray a young wife's trust she may not want it back. Any how I was out on my own I cleaned up all my debts from bad checks my ex-wife and I had passed around town trying to keep the family fed. When years later a close buddy of mine and I were accepted at the same time to the Salvation Army Family Residence Shelter.
I remember thinking great another step in the right direction. After the daily chores and events of the day and after the long days of trying to find work, income and and making what ever appointments you had getting your life to return to some type of order. We found we had developed a family of our own right there. I found myself looking out for others not only myself making sure they went breaking the rules and making life harder in general for all of us.There were times when we could find a few evening hours free to get along, working together, just hanging with each other.
It was on one occasion when the men residents would gather around at back door after the day meals or in the evening before the day was done we'd gather at the back parking lot. I can remember this guy I met there who was wheelchair stricken, he also had a set of dry weights, and his arms were very well developed. He would join in with us telling jokes stories and taking turns once he showed us these chords on the guitar. I played around with it and developed it and added to it the years passing. Well my new frond friend made a few turns for the worst. He wound up having a mental break down of the worst kind his singing songs stopped, his playing the guitar stopped, lifting weights everything just stopped. When we noticed that he stopped bathing and taking care of himself the staff had to call the folks on him. They said they made other other accommodations for him. We never heard from him again. Well, come to find out he had developed quite a little fancy for one of the ladies on staff. He took it upon himself to take matters into his own strong and capable hands. He decided to make his move. Only to be rejected. This led to his shutdown.
Another of my new found friends there at the time was this little very attractive young mother. Every time i think of her my heart still skips a beat. You see I had managed a job at a fifteen floor five star world wide hotel. I was their night cleaner cleaning all their kitchens and sometimes I'd stay over and help the ladies with some of their heavy housekeeping work. The hotel wok kept me in very good physical shape. Plus I loved to go running along the Frozen Rivers during the long winter months and down around the Cook Inlet and riding my bicycle when I could find one. Well I got fairly poplar and as I loved to play the hotel's Grand pianos. I was collecting some rather good change working a lot of hours when I ran across a very good deal on a automobile a sweet full-size two door metallic blue, with a white soft top Buick Regal it had a Holly Quad barrel carburetor sitting on top a 500 cubic inch Engine under the hood, bench front seat, and fully loaded with cassette and eight track stereo in the dash. I recall one night coming home from work this young mother was upset and the baby was crying more than usual. I had developed a rap-ore with the mother and the baby and was known to take the baby and hold her and walk her some time out side till she quieted down and at time I'd sing to her and the baby would fall sound asleep. So it was on that particular evening. Except we were up late past lights out and after giving the child back to her mother I was asked rather rudely by staff to return to my room. Having a job and not wanting to cause further disturbance to the child I complied. I got back up a few minuets later and the mother was down the hall crying uncontrollably. I went to console her and discovered the state had come and taken the child away from her she had lost custody. Chills ran through my whole body as I realized what was going on and that the little child some how also knew. I wound up getting a small efficiency for myself and cane and collected her and her thing and the young mother stayed with me for a year or so.
I found that no matter what I thought I didn't have when your living through the streets and shelters etc... There's always others that were much worse off and they were sometimes quite close to you. I got close at the time to some of the residence. I found it strange how if you work at helping others along your way, you find help yourself. I remember I didn't have much a pot to piss in of my own and still. I keep on keeping on.
~ Samuel
