AUSTIN ADVOCATE

Homeless in the Middle East
By Stephen Armstrong

Over the last several weeks 500,000 people have fled from Lebanon including over 4,000 Americans, in fear of the Hezbollah and Israeli fighting along the southern Lebanese border. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, pleaded with the Israelis and the rest of the world to stop the assault and bombardment of his country. I would assume that most people know this part so far. What I wonder however is, do people understand that close to a million people are now homeless? How do you think they will be treated when they arrive to other countries?

The truth is many of those countries do not want them and have no more respect for them than we have for the homeless in America. So while we sob over the dead civilians, how about the ones who got out, what about them, who is to save them and help afford them housing. They cannot go back to their homes, now piles of concrete and rubble. They need our help, and need someone who understands their new disposition and will show them a place of refuge in order to get them back on their feet. This is an important concept we must look over more closely.

This is a cause for homelessness, and years later when these people are still needing assistance will we look back on this war, or tell them to get a job? Remembrance of ones position in order to advocate who they are and where they come from is important so we acknowledge Lebanon’s current nightmare. Realize that these are the reasons why people become homeless; their own government cannot help them so they have to help themselves.

Andrew Muha, American evacuee, quoted, “There’s a million homeless in Lebanon and the intense amount of bombing has brought an entire country to its knees.” The relief air bridge is being launched following directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to alleviate the suffering and hardship of the Lebanese people, in the wake of the brutal Israeli aggression.

Meanwhile, the UAE Red Crescent Society (RCS) yesterday received Dh1 million cash donation for the relief efforts of the Red Crescent Society and to improve distribution of humanitarian aid in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories. The RCS staff at Beirut office is doing everything to procure the required relief materials from local markets despite the prevailing serious situation, said Al Suwaidi. “Preparations have been completed to launch the distribution of relief material to beneficiaries, besieged people, the homeless and refugees who came from areas which had to bear the brunt of the (Israeli attacks),” Al Suwaidi added.

Israeli forces are also allowing refugees to make safe passage through Lebanon and Israel. UN humanitarian aid is also on the way for these wary travelers, who when the aftermath is calculated won’t have a home to come back to.

How can we help, if you or someone you know isn’t helping already. Let’s forget about us for a second and let’s talk about them. Back in its February ’05 issue the Austin Advocate printed a story about homeless helping the homeless; a donation of $116.92 was raised by people on the streets and given to the Tsunami victims over in Southeast Asia. I feel that its time for our brothers, sisters of the street, and Austinites together continue donating gifts and blood to the Red Cross and other related relief organizations. I feel that this would be an important step for our two worlds to meet on common ground and spread the same feelings of compassion in unison. Because the homeless are just as concerned about the world as we are, and who better to understand these new homeless people than the homeless themselves.

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Reforming the Food Stamp System
Jill Merselis

The Bill: H.R. 5158 Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2006

Purpose

Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) introduced the Anti-hunger Empowerment Act, also known as the Beyond the Soup Kitchen Grants Program Act of 2006, in the House of Representatives on April 6. If signed into law, the bill would amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to decrease the administrative and bureaucratic costs associated with the Food Stamp Program, while making food stamps more accessible.

The Department of Agriculture, which administers the Food Stamp Program, would reimburse state agencies 75% of the costs incurred by their provision of food stamps. At the state level, this would free up resources to finance new, currently unfunded, activities with the goal of streamlining the process of applying for and collecting food stamps.

The bill seeks to reduce the average wait time and number of office visits for applicants seeking benefits. It would require food stamp agencies to stay open for longer hours during nights and weekends, offer applications online and provide a clear checklist explaining the steps involved in the application process.

Also, applicants would no longer have to submit fingerprints to receive food stamps.

To track the success of the Anti-hunger Empowerment Act, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture would submit an annual report to the Congressional appropriations committees. The report would include individual state agency data on the average number of days required to process an application and the quantity of office visits made by each applicant to receive benefits. Also included would be statewide negative error rates, which measure the occurrence of incorrect benefit suspension or termination and denial of applications.

Additionally, the act would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to give grants to eligible community-based nonprofits to establish Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot programs that provide nutritional education to economically disadvantaged groups.

Background

The first Food Stamp Program was implemented in the United States in 1939, with the goal of reallocating farm surpluses to Americans suffering economically because of high unemployment rates. After this program ended in 1943, there was a period of experimentation with pilot programs until 1964 when Congress established a permanent Food Stamp Program. This program established eligibility standards, prohibited discriminatory practices, allotted funding, and divided administration responsibilities between federal and local government.

Initially, a half million Americans sought benefits; by the mid-1970s the program had 15 million participants. The ever-expanding pool of applicants aroused government concern over the program's cost.

The American food stamp system took another turn with the creation of the Food Stamp Act of 1977. This Act included anti-fraud provisions, restricted access for students and aliens and raised requirements for educational material on nutrition.
In the 1980s the Food Stamp Program endured a series of cutbacks. In the 1990s, welfare reform led to a decline in participation in the program.

Congress found that in 2003, according to the Department of Agriculture, only 56% of Americans eligible to receive food stamps actually did. Additionally, in 2004 the number of Americans dealing with hunger rose to 38 million, including 13 million children. Many believe this data shows a renewed need to reform the system for allocating food stamps in the United States.

Sponsors
Rep Serrano, Jose E. (D-N.Y.)

Co-sponsors
Rep Joe Baca, (D-Calif.)
Rep Joseph Crowley, (D-N.Y.)
Rep Raul M. Grijalva, (D-Ariz.)
Rep Maurice D. Hinchey (D-N.Y.)
Rep Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.)
Rep James P. McGovern (D-Mass.)
Rep Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.)
Rep Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.)

Status
On April 26, 2006, the Anti-hunger Empowerment Act was referred to the House Subcommittees on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry.

By Jill Merselis

Reprinted from Street Sense
© Street News Service: www.street-papers.org

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US Department of Housing and Urban Development say to New Orleans Poor: ‘Go F(ind) Yourself (Housing)!’
By Bill Quigley

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced they plan to demolish over five thousand public housing apartments in New Orleans. In August 2005, HUD reported they had 7,381 public apartments in New Orleans. Now HUD says they now have 1000 apartments open and promise to repair and open another 1000 in a couple of months. After months of rumors, HUD confirmed their intention to demolish all the remaining apartments.

HUD’s demolition plans leave thousands of families with no hope of returning to New Orleans where rental housing is scarce and costly. In New Orleans, public housing was occupied by women, mostly working, their children as well as the elderly and disabled.

To these mothers and children, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said: "Any New Orleans voucher recipient or public housing resident will be welcomed home."

Exactly how people will be welcomed home, HUD did not say.

How can thousands of low-income working families come home if HUD has fenced off their apartments, put metal shutters over their windows and doors and are now plans to demolish their homes?

Jackson, who is likely sleeping in his own bed, urged patience for the thousands who have been displaced since August of 2005: “Rebuilding and revitalizing public housing isn't something that will be done overnight."

Patience is in short supply in New Orleans as over 200,000 people remain displaced. "I just need somewhere to stay," Patricia Thomas told the Times-Picayune. Ms. Thomas has lived in public housing for years. "We're losing our older people. They're dropping like flies when they hear they can't come home."

Demolition of public housing in New Orleans is not a new idea. When Katrina displaced New Orleans public housing residents, the Wall Street Journal reported U.S.

Congressman Richard Baker, a 10 term Republican from Baton Rouge, telling lobbyists: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."

This demolition plan continues HUD’s efforts to get out of the housing business. In 1996, New Orleans had 13,694 units of conventional public housing. Before Katrina, New Orleans was down to half that, 7,379 units of conventional public housing. If they are allowed to accelerate the demolition, public housing in New Orleans will have been reduced by 85% in the past decade.

The federal demolition of housing in New Orleans continues a nation-wide trend that has led some critics to suggest changing HUD’s official name to the Department of Demolition of Public Housing.

Much of the public housing demolition nationally comes through of a federal program titled ‘Hope VI’ a cruelly misnamed program that destroys low income housing in the name of creating ‘mixed income housing.’

Who can be against tearing down old public housing and replacing it with mixed income housing? Sounds like everyone should benefit doesn’t it? Unfortunately that is not the case at all. Almost all the poor people involved are not in the mix.

New Orleans has already experienced the tragic effects of HOPE VI. The St. Thomas Housing Development in the Irish Channel area of New Orleans was home to 1600 apartments of public housing. After St. Thomas was demolished under Hope VI, the area was called River Gardens.? River Gardens is a mixed income community - home now to 60 low income families, some middle income apartments, a planned high income tower, and a tax-subsidized Wal-Mart! Our tax dollars at work destroying not only low-income housing but neighborhood small businesses as well.

Worse yet, after Katrina, the 60 low-income families in River Gardens were not even allowed back into their apartments. They were told their apartments were needed for employees of the housing authority. It took the filing of a federal complaint by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Center to get the families back into their apartments.

As James Perry, Director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Center says about the planned demolition of public housing, ‘If the model is River Gardens, it has failed miserably.’

Despite HUD’s promise to demolish homes, the right of people to return to New Orleans is slowly being recognized as a human rights issue. According to international law, the victims of Katrina are ‘internally displaced persons’ because they were displaced within their own country as a result of natural disaster. Principle 28 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement requires that the U.S. government recognize the human right of displaced people to return home. The US must allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence. Such authorities shall facilitate the reintegration of returned or resettled internally displaced persons. Special efforts should be made to ensure the full participation of internally displaced persons in the planning and management of their return or resettlement and reintegration. The US Human Rights Network and other human rights advocates are educating people of the Gulf Coast and the nation about how to advocate for human rights.

HUD has effectively told the people of New Orleans to go find housing for themselves. New Orleans already has many, many people, including families, living in abandoned houses, houses without electricity or running water. New Orleans has recently been plagued with an increase in the number of fires. HUD’s actions will put more families into these abandoned houses. Families in houses with no electricity or water should be a national disgrace in the richest nation in the history of the world. But for HUD and others with political and economic power this is apparently not the case.

As in the face of any injustice, there is resistance.

NAACP civil rights attorney Tracie Washington promised a legal challenge and told HUD, ‘You cannot go forward and we will not allow you to go forward.’

Most importantly, displaced residents of public housing and their allies have set up a tent city survivors village outside the fenced off 1300 empty apartments on St. Bernard Avenue in New Orleans.

If the authorities do not open up the apartments by July 4, they pledge to go through the fences and liberate their homes directly. The group, the United Front for Affordable Housing, is committed to resisting HUD’s efforts to bulldoze their apartments ‘by any means necessary.’

If the government told you that they were going to bulldoze where you live, and deny you the right to return to your home, would you join them?

[For more information about the July 4 protest by the United Front for Affordable Housing, call Endesha Juakali at 504.239.2907, Elizabeth Cook 504.319.3564, or Ishmael Muhammad at 504.872.9521.
If you know someone who is a displaced New Orleans public housing resident and they want to join in a challenge to HUD?s actions, they can get more information at www.justiceforneworleans.org ; For more information on the human rights campaigns for Katrina victims, see the US Human Rights Network at www.ushrnetwork.org or the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, www.nesri.org.]

by Bill Quigley.

Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and professor at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law. You can reach him at Quigley@loyno.edu

Reprinted courtesy of Bill Quigley
© Street News Service: www.street-papers.org

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When They See the Light
By Stephen Armstrong

Can they see the light, when will they see the light, the light at the end of the tunnel. Put down, standing around, nothing more than a frown and a faint sound of hope in all of their minds. Lifeless, stillness, blissfulness, emptiness and guiltiness in the minds of those living out there. Fed up, drawn up all conclusions, and have mastered living on the streets......Now what.

I’ve worked here a mere six weeks, and have already heard the cries of injustice, displays of imperfection and whispers of hopes and dreams lost in the wave of poverty and street justice. How can anyone begin to imagine life as it used to be, especially if life never handed you a fair hand in the first place. I’ve heard stories that if spoken one by one, could span across the century and continue to plummet into this belligerent behavior we call rationalization. I’ve been told stories about life born, raised and died on the streets without any recognition except those in that close vicinity.

So where is the light, can they see it, have they seen it and lost track of it. Like a dream, once awakened by the urgency to do something, it’s lost in translation. Unable to recall how it came to be, or what it meant, does it mean anything, and thus the day begins. Where do they find it, how can we help them to see it, further than a dream, closer than heaven, somewhere in-between lies.....it.

“It” lies at the center of every human being, a famous line states, “There is a difference between knowing the path and choosing the path”. This is something that everyone deals with and is conflicted with no matter who you are or where you come from. A universal struggle for everyone, homeless or housed, our friends on the streets fight the same battle. Except they aren’t doing as well, they’ve strayed far from the path, and even though they sometimes see it, it cannot be reached.

An invisible barrier is present preventing them from seeing us and us from seeing them, somehow we’ve come out on top and they’re at the bottom. Nevertheless they need our help in seeing the light, and more importantly reaching that light at the end of the tunnel.

How can we achieve this? Simply recognition of their presence is a good place to start. We need to understand that the homeless in general are just like you and me, but their environment brings stress and hardships unable to touch us in our homes. We must come to realize that it’s more efficient to find them homes, jobs and a place to recharge, than it is to keep building shelters and handing out sake lunches.

What is that old saying, “Feed a man a fish and he’s fed for the day, teach a man how fish and he’s fed for life” an expression reminiscing in my head. Constantly I hear someone bringing up an issue, which causes me to revert back to that expression, because simply its true. I had no idea about the homeless services that existed, and the lack thereof in this city, what I mean are services which fail to teach a man how to fish, so to speak.

Alan, homeless man, told me the other day, “How is anyone supposed to get up and do something, when they get kicked around all the time.” Here’s an analogy, a child punches an inflatable fight doll, and for that brief moment there is satisfaction that he’s punched that dummy on the ground and it ain’t comin’ back up. No sooner do you reach this conclusion, does that dummy fly right back where he was a second ago, sound familiar. What’s the point of handing out a dollar to a street person, it’s the same thing as handing out a fish for the day. Why not offer them a true solution instead of knocking them down, and then to your surprise, asking you again for another dollar, see what I’m getting at.

This is an important concept that Austinites need to start embracing. Let’s end this thinking that one has done their duty by simply choosing one day out of the year and deciding that it will solve all the worlds problems, in particular homeless issues. What I want to see are Austinites actively involved in job placement and affordable job training facilities. We must continue to look for the light at the end of the tunnel and understand that sometimes they can’t see it, even though to us its obvious. We must discover the Good Samaritan in all of us, and use it to help pick up our fellow man and put him back on his feet for good. What homeless people want to hear is that someone cares about them and how they progress in life.

We cannot simply pass ordinances that indirectly target the homeless, and expect the problem to go away. These people will simply move into our neighborhoods and begin to panhandle there, not to mention they would be so far from care, that they would be seen in plain site regardless of the ordinances. A “homeless highway” would exist where groups of street folks commune from one end of town to the other. Let’s face it, these people aren’t just going to move to San Antonio and San Marcos, or set up a band of merry thieves in the forest like Robin Hood. No, many are gonna do what they’ve been doing since Reagan cut funding for mental hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in the 80’s, survive. You’ve heard this all before anyhow, except ask yourself have you contributed or decreased homeless in your area? How has your community improved because of you? Treat them with dignity, kindness and respect, just like you would to any other housed citizen or working member you encounter.

Homeless mockery toward us is a direct bi-product of our ignorance to address their problems, I’m not saying that it’s justified, but we could normalize their behavior by finding other ways of telling them how we feel than to, “go get a job”. What that means anyways, I would assume they mean, go out find a job, fill out an application and wait for a response. Sounds easy to me and you, hell if I needed another job I would go and find one right away. So why can’t these “losers” get a job like us. Easy, when you don’t have an address you can’t get a job because that company has no way of filing you into their records for the government to read. If you lack a telephone how are they going to call you for an interview? They can’t. You have no phone.

I could go on, but you should be getting the bigger picture. The government and corporations in America make it extremely hard to get a job without having a few important items which any working housed person would have readily available. The homeless lack most of these tools, for instance affordable housing takes over 18 months to get approval. Most apartments won’t accept you without a job or proof of income over 3 times the rent, come on people we know this stuff.

So why do we yell out empty and useless advice toward people. Several reasons could be attributed, but one sits in my mind. Fear, fear that we could become like them if we don’t hold our own jobs, which is completely logical and understandable> I don’t want to be homeless either. However it’s selfish to assume that everyone can get a job at the same rate and chance. The homeless are harassed frequently by police and business owners, most of the time they’re breaking some law and it needs to be enforced. Whether it’s illegal camping, public use of a restroom or any other misdemeanor. Point is something like that can ruin their chances of getting affordable housing.

Yet again we have to look deeper into the issue, for instance an anti-camping law is sound in theory, but ridiculous in its application. At first it seems plausible to say, hey that sounds good no one should be sleeping outside a business, nor should they be peeing in public or worse. A closer examination shows that anti-camping is sleeping anywhere deemed public, which is anywhere in Austin, basically. Secondly peeing in plain sight is wrong, reality of it reveals that anywhere including peeing behind a dumpster violates that law. With no public restrooms where can you use the restroom, I mean really WHERE CAN YOU USE A PUBLIC RESTROOM IN AUSTIN? Nowhere, because there are none built, the premise is that everyone downtown assumes you have money and a job. Therefore everyone should be able to afford a restroom pass (buying candy at the corner store or beer at the local pub/bar). So basically displaying basic human functions in Austin is a crime, if you’re homeless, which results in a long criminal history and this prevents them from getting jobs as well.

Our society is being counter-productive to one another, and it’s absurd. So getting back to the point, if were going to end homelessness, or at least get them out of our lives. We must stop this behavior, its childlike and immature, and another thing too bad so sad doesn’t cut it. I find myself drawn between yelling at the public for their ignorant behavior, and finding sympathy for everyone involved including the public.

So when you’re out on Sixth Street or passing along Red River, remember “hobos and junkies” act the way they do because we, productive housed individuals have failed. We have simply allowed them to slip through the cracks, and have justified our behavior and theirs by throwing out comments, without ever looking at the root cause. For those of you in attendance of church and other religious buildings, remember the feeling you get after you leave that congregation. You feel so good, and feel like you’re a part of a greater cause than your own life. Take that feeling and apply it, don’t let it fizzle off into Sunday yard work and football. Go out, instantly at that peak of happiness and spread it around, help them to find the light.

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The Twenty Dollar Bill
By JD Acuff

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, "who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, "what if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.

"Now who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson," he said, "no matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20."

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened, or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless, especially to those who love you. You are most especially priceless in the eyes of God.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.

"You are special - Don't EVER forget it."

Pass this on, even though you may never know all the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it brings.

For my friends, remember you ARE special. Don't ever forget it.Pass this on ,you may never know the lives it touches,the hurting hearts it speaks to,or the hope that it can bring. Count your blessings, not your problems. "And remeber: amateures built the ark... professionals built the Titanic. If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.

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In the wrong place (Austin) at the wrong (any) time
By Richard R. Troxell

The following is part of a sworn affidavit by Jasmine Lewis:

On April 5, 2006 at approximately 1:00 p.m., I was taken to jail for failure to I.D. which is a class B misdemeanor. I was sitting next to the alley between the Austin resource Center for the Homeless and the Salvation Army. There were four people sitting against the wall. I was sitting on a small 2 1/2 foot square flat that was neither in the roadway nor on the ARCH property. This was neither road, nor alley nor sidewalk. There were no signs posted about sitting. Further down the alley there was a sign about not trespassing on ARCH property but this related to other property on the back side of the sign.

A police officer entered the alley from the west end. He pointed at each of four people me included and said "you, you, you and you sit down here." We were basically in the same position but we were all next to one another now. The officer said that this was a prohibited area and no one was supposed to be sitting in this area. He said something like "I want to see everybody's I.D." I said mine was in my car. At this point one of the other people took loud verbal exception to the idea of getting a ticket for "sitting down" when there were no signs and he had not been warned not to do so. As it turned out, he did not get a ticket. In fact, everyone else was let go. One of the people had only community service papers as identification and he was also let go. The officer's focus came back to me. He said "you're the one with the Arizona car. Where is your driver's license?" I explained that my driver’s license was from California in the past but I have my I.D. which is from Las Vegas and my car is registered in Arizona. My license plate is good until April 2007. I have other people to drive my car. The officer then called for backup and said that I was a "keeper" because I was lying about California, Arizona and Las Vegas. The officer told me to point out my car. I did so. It was parked at least 60 yards away from where we were sitting. It was slightly out of view around the corner and parked legally in the Salvation Army parking lot. Hanging from the rear view mirror was a green authorization parking pass. The officer asked me for the keys to the car which I did not readily provide. He then reached in through the window and popped open the door. He then searched the car. This was done without a warrant and without my permission. The officer said that he was having the car towed because I had no driver’s license. I explained that I had other people drive my car for me. Later, Warren Stalworth, Director of the Salvation Army and a retired police officer, when questioned by the officer explained that in fact my car was legally parked and it was displaying the legal Salvation Army authorization sticker and that it was parked on Salvation Army property with their permission. Finally, the car does have a good license plate tag (through 2007).

Austin City Council meeting May, 18, 2006:

I called upon them to help this poor woman. Dead silence. Not a word. We just stood there for what seemed forever. Finally, I thanked the City Council for listening and slowly turned away. We were almost back in our seats when the City Manager, Toby Futrell called us back and then directed us to see the Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza. We thanked her. Just then City Council Member Danny Thomas called after us. He said he wanted to monitor the outcome. I turned into the microphone and thanked him. Then the new Police Chief (one day) Cathy Ellison pulled us all aside and asked that the entire story be repeated. When Ms. Lewis and I were done she turned to Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza and said, "This woman needs to get her car back... today!" Quick as a wink she turned on her heel and was gone. We couldn't believe it. Three hours later Ms. Lewis had her car (her rolling home) back and without paying the approximately $2,000 in towing and storage fees. We danced the dance of joy.

We have placed Chief Ellison’s name in contention for the House the Homeless Curtis Ray Wilson Award for 2006.

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"Indian Chief" by Jeremiah Hurta Jr.

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Texas Heat

By Gregory Donseroaux

There's nothing like this Texas heat.
It'll definitely knock you off your feet.

Temperature soaring so high,
Even the birds find it hard to fly.

Yes, even in a shady place,
You'll still find sweat rolling down your face.

It gets so hot until there's nothing you can do.
Yes that Texas Heat keeps you miserable too.

It gets so hot, transit has ozone day.
You can ride the bus for free, you don't have to pay.

Sometimes they have them back to back.
'Cause that Texas Heat be kicking like that.

When it's summer in Texas don't be no fool.
You better take it easy and try to stay cool.

You better play it safe and stay out the sun.
Or it will knock you out or bake you like a bun.

Yes, when it's summer in Texas it's real, real hot.
That heat can take your life, I kid you not.

So when you're in Texas and its summertime.
Just stay out of the heat and you'll be just fine.

I don't like the heat, that I must say.
But I still love Texas anyway.

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I Miss the Ole Folks
(Out My Hood)

By Gregory Donseroaux

I miss the ole folks from out my hood.
They stayed down for the right and down for the good.

They never gave me no bad advice,
They were always caring and nice.

I miss them ole folks so very much.
For their warm embrace and their tender touch.

For their looking out in the hood for me,
When I was a knucklehead too blind to see.

For showing me in life which way to go.
And giving the wisdom to take it slow.

For pushing me in the right direction,
With a lot of love and pure affection.

For showing me that crime don't pay.
And to work for what I want was the only way.

For being a mother and father figure to me,
If it wasn't for them ole folks where would I be?

So when I look back and reminisce,
It's the ole folks out the hood I miss.

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Medication

Sanity is in a bottle
And when it costs too much
What is one to do?
For years the mind was tamed
For one labeled insane
Now scarce finances
Find finesse out of the quest
The brain chemicals
Coincide with pills
One’s ills assayed
But our minds open laid
To the check of the checkbook
Which bounces like a ball
And we cry
In desperation
About the temptation of government programs
Which jam our health
For the wealth of others.

-- Mary King

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