Lonely and Homeless

“Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
Oh, I'm so lonely…..”

That song came to mind as I watched “Birdman,” a homeless person in the community lean on the cold rail near the beach and stare out over the Pacific Ocean at a recent sunset before the local police began giving tickets for watching it from your car!  How many sunsets has “Birdman” seen over his lifetime as he hangs around familiar territory?  What was it in his life that led to his predicament?  Mental illness?  Addiction?  Adjustment disorders?

He pointed out the rocks below and reminisced that he began sleeping on them at nights when he was sixteen years old.  He felt safe down there, he said.  But on this night, he was hoping for a motel room which the town was giving to some of the community homeless due to the spread of the COVID19.  He wasn’t sure he would qualify. He could no longer get down to the beach… it was closed.

Homelessness and loneliness go together.  His challenge is similar to ours:  he worries about food, clothing and shelter.  But his worry – and those like him – is daily.  Most of us are holding in place, hunkered down but with food, clean clothing and shelter.  That may change as the government inflicted shutdown continues and people lose their jobs and livelihoods. 

He doesn’t work so the lay-offs and shuttered businesses aren’t his concern.  Sort of.  But still, it is a dilemma because no one is on the streets to give him a handout.  Some of the local restaurants which feed the local homeless out the back door, are closed.  The social services are limited due to the pandemic and people of good will are confined to their homes.

The chronic homeless like “Birdman” are out there on the streets.  They may not be in our neighborhoods but look around, you’ll see them.  They aren’t going away; their numbers may grow as this pandemic lingers. 

“Birdman” is just one story out there.   

El Capitan

Meet the "Captain."  I was at the San Diego Embarcadero recently to observe the raising of two yachts which had sunk in the harbor after the recent heavy storm which passed through.  The two old yachts had broken from their moorings and were unceremoniously sunk near the pier.

Sadly, like any other major urban area -- especially those geographically located in temperate climates -- San Diego has its fair share of vagabonds, vagrants and the purposefully homeless.  A harsh reality when homelessness is an accepted part of the moving city.

But I digress; as I watched, "The Captain" slid alongside of me and began to give me a narrative of the salvage operation.  He was quite articulate, funny and informative.  The Captain told me that the sunken yachts were used by homeless people and were abandoned when the winds came and the harbor sea became extremely rough.  He pointed out that the lines weren't frayed from straining against the wind, rather they had been cut, hastening their demise of the old, dilapidated vessels.

While I talked to him, he recounted that he loved the ocean and that before his druggie days he crewed various yachts and working vessels around the port.  But that was in another time.  Now he hangs about the harbor, occasionally yelling a "hello" to a fellow traveler as he talked of the old times.

Before I left, I asked the Captain for a couple portraits; he readily complied.  The rugged face, the large nose, the stringy hair, the ragged beard:  all part of the persona of a man who struggles along the waterfront just like those old yachts did that stormy night.

Aye-aye Captain.


Tech Information:  Fuji x100s; ISO 200; F/8; 1/320 sec.  Black and white from Nik Software Efex Pro 2.

Mamma

This image is one from my "Faces of Nepal" Series.  Up in the mountain villages, this is not an unusual sight to behold; a mother publicly nursing her youngster.  This is the most healthy and practical way of feeding an infant among the village women who are poor and not always well fed.  I liked the juxtaposition of the serenity and quietness displayed on the face of the infant verses that of his mother. She has a worried look, a look of apprehension perhaps.

So I recently posted this image on my site at 500px and it barely received notice.  And I wonder why.  Here is a natural, non-sexual, instinctive act committed in love by the mother toward the child.  Some find this offensive.  I find it beautiful.

Tech Information:  Nikon D7000  Nikkor 24-120 @75mm; 100th of a sec; f/5; ISO 160

If you would like to see more of my work, it is here:     https://500px.com/photobyjdp