What a night. What a night. I don't even know where to begin with this one, so I guess I shall begin at the beginning. Today's suggestion was to be homeless for a night, living out on the streets. Quick note here. There is NO WAY that in one night I could experience what it is like to be truly homeless. So this really was more about spending a night on the street under the stars (also another suggestion). I have had a couple people write in about doing this, so I figured it was something I should try out, even though I was pretty nervous about it. I mean it's New York City. Sleeping on the streets? Risky, with a possibility of getting arrested. So I thought it best, for my safety and an increased level of fun, to have my roommate John come along with me for the adventure. He obliged. My thought about this was to try and make it as true as possible. This meant being out from 8pm till 8am, no subway card, only a couple of bucks each, and an ID, you know, just in case our bodies were found somewhere and we needed to be identified. Side note, I looked up homicide rates around here, and they are surprisingly low this year. Way to go people of the boroughs.
We brought along a bag to carry our extra jacket, blanket, and trash bag in case is rained.
Luckily, it never did. Since we really didn't have a game plan, we just started wandering aimlessly down streets in our neck of the woods. It made for a great little sightseeing adventure, as well as checking out good spots to sleep. We also came upon a pretty awesome mural on the side of a wall. Check it out.
After an hour or so, we headed to Washington Square Park in the West Village, because there is always something going on there. Here we took a spot on a bench and lounged, killing time. Not five minutes after we sat down, a couple of nice gentlemen sit next to us, and I did a double take, as I realized one of the guys was Saturday Night Live Alum Horatio Sanz. Too Sexy! Too Sexy! We started chatting with him for a few minutes, because we often see him at a comedy club around town here, and were wondering when he would be in the show again (this weekend! I'll be there). We told him about what he was doing and said, "well, I'll give you a quarter my man!". Amazing. Horatio Sanz gave me a quarter.
After bidding farewell to our new famous friend, we headed down the park to warm our bellies in a way that anyone would do on a night on the streets: with a bit of the booze. Not much, but
something to get the night going. After a bit more time in the park, the first logistical question of the night pooped, i mean popped up. Where are we going to go to the bathroom? As we were in the bar district, we thought we would mosey into an establishment, use their facilities, and leave. So we headed into one and did our business. Well while I was going, John started talking to the bartender about what we were doing, and he said "Wow. I was homeless for about a month man. It's rough. Here, have a free drink". Schwaaa? Now we are talking. He told us the best place to sleep was the West Side Park. You rock Dylan. He hooked us up with a couple of drinks....fo free! Not only was this awesome, but I randomly ran into two high school classmates Rob and Paul who I hadn't seen
in years. In a city of 8 million people, what are the odds of running into two high school friends at a bar in the West Village at midnight on a Tuesday? Rob even gave us a drink as well. Thanks amigo.
Well at this point, we were only 5 hours into our 12 hour journey and not wanting to sleep, so we thought we would just kick it on the street for while, sitting on the curb. Here, we met our new friends. Mike and Gabi. One was very normal and awesome, the other very not normal and awesome. Mike was a homeless alcoholic drug addict who sat next to us for a bit. He was a good guy, but hard to carry on conversation with, as he was messed up out of his mind. But he told me about growing up in Michigan, his love for Bud Light, and his love for being homeless. He said he wouldn't change a thing in his life, and then he invited us to sleep where he sleeps, near a church, with a giant group of homeless people. We thanked him for the offer, but politely declined. Then all of a sudden, Mike got up and left, just saying I got to go. Good luck Mike. Then we met Gabi, at Brazilian (this is about the 1,000 Brazilian I have met in the last 3 weeks) who is interning here but trying to get a full time job and become a resident. We talked relationships (she has a 4 year boyfriend in Brazil), family, jobs, American culture, and New York. Here is John and Gabi. She was a great sidewalk companion for us, and made our night that much more enjoyable. Let's hang out again Gabi!
After Gabi took off, we decided to wander a bit more and to start searching for a sleeping spot, as it was about 2AM. We took Dylan's advice and headed west to the highway. After getting a bit lost, we finally found the West Side Park. This long, narrow park stretches along the Hudson River, and provides ample space for sleeping. One problem. It was gated off. So we did what anyone who needed a place to crash would do. Hop it. We found the best spot to sleep right away, tucked back in the dark under a tree where no one would bother us. We set up camp and prepared to sleep, and then....sprinklers. Right on us. We quickly packed up our stuff and walked out just in time to see the police officer come riding up. We were trespassing. Oh no. This was the end of the line for us, until he realized some other kids had gotten into the gated playground near us. As they were more of a liability, he told us to leave and he went off the find the kids. Close call there, but now we have to start our sleeping search over.
We were a bit angry and concerned, walking down the highway, when we realized that maybe
the highway was the best place to sleep. No, not IN the rode, but in the median. Think about it, no one would come over, there were bushes, and cars don't crash into the median very often. So we darted across the road into the median and set up shop in between a little row of bushes on the gravel ground. Home for the night. It was 3:45am.
Surprisingly, I slept well for the 3 hours I was asleep, except for the fact that I got about 19 mosquito bites on my hands, face, and lower back. And no one bothered us. No police, no other homeless people, and no psycho killers. We made it through the night! After gathering our belongings, we started trek home, as John had to be at work by 8:30. I feel for you dude. You are a champion.
So all in all, it was a tough night, but we had a lot of great stories and met a lot of wonderful people. Being homeless is really difficult, and I am thankful that I am able to have a place to sleep at night. It is something I hope I never do again, but if I do, I know the best place to sleep!
Please vote for what I should do next week. The poll is up. Also, send in suggestions for next week's poll. Happy Hump Day Friends.
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