when i first came down into the tunnel,
it was looking dangerous man, real dangerous
'cause even in the daytime it was dark
and, like, i was scared
i'm saying, somewhere down the line
it can't be as bad as it is on top
because on the streets, you had kids fucking with you
you had police fucking with you
i mean, anybody can walk by you
while you're sleeping on a bench and bust you in the head
at least down in the tunnel, you don't worry bout that
but nobody in their right mind gonna come down here
so you don't have to worry about ... (?) coming down here messing with you
but they're not (?)
they got me too scared to come in here (?)
but to me, once you get passed your fear, the first or second night...
after that man, you adjust
you'd be surprised what the human mind and the human body can adjust to
- tommy ? - what ?
damn i'm tired
i'm tired, yo
give out
i could sleep for about...
2 or 3 hours more
i don't feel like getting up
shit it's fucking late
i gotta take a fucking piss
good morning people
do me a favour man...
- bring you back an empty bottle ? - no, take it out for me (?)
yeah, sure
it's fucking cold, man
... (?) feels cold ... (?) like yesterday
i'm getting up
i'm ready
ready to hit the street
when i first came down ... (?)
scared that...
not scared, just looking at this god damn place and shit
yeah
at that time, i remember i came down here just to get out ... (?)
i looked around, i started noticing, started building this shit
and that shit just became a little project
at first i took it as ... (?) two weeks
and then this fucker became, like, home
after i started building
thought, you know, stuff that i could use
clothes, tvs, lamps... got power !
that cap... (?) went right away
went right up my god damn mind and shit
you know what i'm sayin
and look at me, i been down here for fuckin 5 years, going on 6
who knows it's been that long ?
you don't, been that fuckin long
i just forgot completely about the damn time
i can see the place looks a little cleaner
yeah, but you know what ? it's that fucking dog, man
ever since i got that dog
fucking place been fucked up
i was just being sarcastic...
i can see the dog chews everything up and shit
yeah man
it's hard to keep a place clean with a dog
especially down here, he drags everything in
- was it clean before ? - yeah it was always...
- used to be real nice and clean... - yeah it was !
in fact he used to make us take off our shoes !
almost everytime i came in, he had a different rug on
every couple of days, he'd put down another rug
place looked real nice
and he was always working on the house
like what ?
fixing the door, always the door
if not the inside door, the outside door
working on the roof
making a trap door to get out and escape, or come in
putting a window in, then he'd take it out
you know, all kinds of stuff
he even had a ladder in here
- the ladder used to be in this corner - yeah i know i took it out
it used to go straight up to the roof
then he was putting a balcony up there, and then he changed his mind
he's the only one i'd ever see working on his house
everybody else, like, they just...
- they got some nice houses... - i mean yeah i seen them
they did their house, but then they never did anything else to it
whenever i used to come down here, i'd always see him working on his house
i thought i had the nicest house down here...
but i don't
well, this don't look nice now you know
but i don't have the nicest house
you know who's got the nicest house down here ?
tommy...
but he's been here a long time
no, tommy hasn't been down here...
maybe a year longer than i have
you know like a lot of my friends... (?)
fellows come down here (?)
in fact my boy came down last night to visit me
brought one of his boys from school
he'd never been down here,
kid shit on himself when he came in and saw the ... (?)
well, hey, that ain't no help to you... (?)
but you feel good about it i guess
... (?)
outside it ain't outside as he think
make you feel a little better
you ain't a tramp as he thought you was when he walkin down the track
yes, exactly
that always makes you feel better
i don't consider myself homeless cause a homeless man ain't got a home
you don't consider yourself homeless
you ain't ready to cope with this then...
if you don't consider you're homeless
i mean i do, it's like in the back of my mind
way back in your mind (?) if you don't consider you're homeless
you know that ?
you gotta look ... (?) in the back of your mind
what was the purpose of me building this place right ?
it's not to be helpless, that don't say you ain't homeless
- it just stopped you being helpless - oh yeah ?
if you consider you're not homeless once you get down here
you'll be ... (?) those bricks all your life
shit, i got real comfortable down here
in this fucking dump and shit man
let's face it man
i mean like, down here i don't have to pay no bills, no nothing
look at me, i'm shaving with... i'm using power red line (?)
don't even have to pay the motherfucking bills and shit
i mean that's part of comfortability and shit
you know what i'm sayin ?
turn the tv on, leave the tv on all night
don't have to worrry about paying ... (?)
that's fucked up
but that's one of the reason i got so confortable
in winter time i don't freeze...
summer time i don't burn up !
only thing we ain't got down here is running water
and we did have that down here, believe it or not, at one time
we had running water
of course i got fucking comfortable, man
i got too god damn comfortable
that's why i'm really pissed off at myself, man
cause i lost 5-6 years of my motherfucking life
being down this motherfucker
i'm gonna go out, make me some money man
i got to get paid
gotta make that allmighty dollar
so what's happening ?
i got to do my normal, man, i got to go out
try to find me something to sell
first i got to find out what i got here from last night
i got these off ... (?) on 75th street
cds... you know what i'm saying ?
i can sell these to my man on east 2nd street
these some good cds
plus i got a couple of books
hey i'm gonna get paid brother
you know how us homeless guys do it
we got to make a dollar
this is my motherfucking van here
that's right, that's my van
that's right, that's a bad motherfucker
to a whole new ride !
this is my motherfucking station wagon
if you notice, they're the biggest ones
and they ... (?) motherfucking kids
... (?) fucking wagon
you understand what i'm saying ?
and the reason why i'm saying this
because each one of them fucking carts contains something
and what's that something ?
money !
that's why they say more money,
mo' money, mo' money...
and more motherfucking money !
you know what i'm saying ?
free enterprises
what people throw away
other people can use
when they can use it, i get paid for it
because i found it
and half of the time, it'd be in perfect working condition
it'd be just like new
but down here, man, you'd be surprised the stuff that i've been founding
and i've been selling, and getting top dollar for
like vcrs, color televisions
little portable televisions like this
you know what i'm sayin... i found that
heaters like this, you know what i'm sayin
now i don't sell everything,
stuff that i can use, i keep
but stuff that i can't use, i sell
everything you got, that you paid for, i can...
9 times out of 10, i will go out there and find it
and it be in perfect working condition
and i'll sell it
that's the name of the game, hustler
i'm a hustler bro
i get paid
i'm putting this sign... no crack
cause they've been knocking on my house, sometimes...
and they wanna borrow a stim(?)
and i don't smoke crack no more
so you know...
crack fucked me up
crack got me down here
well crack helped me get down here
and then, now i stopped
and it took me a fucking long time to realise
that that shit wasn't, you know...
that wasn't it, that wasn't me
so i don't want them in my house
because if i see it around me everytime
and i let people smoke in my house
then i'm gonna get the urge
it's bad enough that sometimes...
i stopped crack already for a long time,
for more than 3 years now
and sometimes i wake up with the urge
and i haven't done it for more 3 years
and sometimes i still wake up with the urge to smoke it...
but i fight it
and then i'm gonna have these people knocking on my house
talking about if i got a stim(?)
or if they could go inside and smoke
that shit is gonna fuck me all up again
so i said, well let me go ahead and put a sign
so that way these arseholes can read it
and don't knock
i do like you do sometimes
heat it up a little bit
... (?) not used to wasting it you know
just heat it up a little bit
good good
this is one of the things i...
keep to keep myself a little safer
than what i'm supposed to be down here
but i usually set up this trap
with these pans and everything over here
simply...
put a pan like that
put a little pencil underneath it
so that...
it'll roll if somebody dodgy comes by
put it like that,
...(?)
come over here,
and tie it to the other side underneath
so that way you know,
even if they got a flash light
they can't really see
in the dark down here, they can't really see
and you tie it to over here,
not very tight, but...
whatever movement you give it from up there
so like...
when you walk by it, you know
when you trip the wire
you can see that at night time, you know
but people that don't really know
what's going on
and they're just looking around,
looking to find something,
or steal something or whatever
when you walk by it,
you trip the trap,
make all that noise
damn, y'all still here ?
y'all must wanna hang out with me or something
if y'all think i can't keep up, come on
because i'm gonna get paid about right now
i'm ready to go out and make me some money
i bet you i come back with 10 dollars
i'm gonna get paid
and there's no doubt about it
80% of the population down here are crackheads
and that might be an understatement
might be a little more than that
it's really bad you know because they smoke this shit
and they get so hooked up on it
they just lose sight of reality
they don't take care of themselves
half of them don't wash their arse
and they always all so bullshit
and they always think that somebody is out to get them
and stuff like that
it's really fucked up you know
i've seen guys... sell coats right of their back
in the middle of winter when its 20 degrees outside
just to support a drug habit
see how people can let something...
something do that to them
take control of your life like that
myself i can't go out like that
it was the new year
i was sitting in the room with my little step daughter
i was sitting in the room and shit
and then they called me over to the room
and they told me : you wanna get high ?
you know, you want some crack...
i said no, you know, i tried that shit
that shit doesn't do nothing to me
so...
they say well try this
so what they did was to put rez
they cook it up, and they put rez
and then they put crack on top of the rez
i didn't know anything about that shit
and when i smoked that shit
that shit fucking rocked my fuckin legs man
and my shit is like... you know... i like to OD
i like to almost OD on drugs
i like to go to the highest
man, i loved it,
i loved it
and i kept smoking, kept smoking
but i never got to get back to that...
that first high, yeah ?
that first high, i never got it
and i wasted so much money
i made a mess of myself
you see what mess i'm into now
you know what i'm sayin ?
because i wanted that high
you know, my wife kicked me out
she had my fuckin clothes packed bro
swear to god man
she had my fuckin clothes packed when i left man
because she told me,
it's either the drugs or me
and i kept sayin her
but i kept fuckin going back to the drugs
one day when i went home
my clothes were all packed man
today is a fucked up day and shit man
but this dumpster is empty
there ain't shit in here
this shit used to be stacked up to the top with garbage
you'd be walking around on the edge of this shit
no more garbage
i'd spent about 45 minutes
trying to go through all of this bullshit in here
there ain't shit in here today
nothing
nothing but garbage
what did you say about this spot ?
this spot here, there's always a lot of plastics
nothing ... really good ... cans (?)
there's always been a lot of plastic and stuff
i used to get like...
i used to get like 3 or 4 dollars worth of cans out of here
but i used to get like two bags, maybe two and a half bags,
like this, of plastics
what is the best thing you sell ?
the best thing i sell ?
it's hard to say...
what sells the best ?
nasty movies !
nasty faggot movies
them dicks be slanging and shit
them faggots be gathering around
they'd be mugging you for that shit man
i mean...
basically the whole faggot books
and the faggot movies sell quicker than...
girly books and girly movies
i know me and my partner had like...
forty-some faggot books up there and shit
...
we sold all of them before we sold any other book
watch them faggots ... (?) see them dicks hanging out
... (?) backing up man
i had a motherfucking crowd, yeah !
that's what sells
anything in porno,
mainly sissy
right now see i'm too early, or too late,
ain't nothing out here,
not yet anyway
but it'll get better, it's definitely gonna pick up
by the end of the day, how much do you have ?
usually on fridays, if i work all day
about 70$, 60 or 70 bucks
i have enough to play around a little bit
stinking rich...
i call it being cracking rich for the day
because i got enough money to go out there
to basically do what i want to do for a day or two
it gets me through the week end
i take saturdays and sundays off just to chill, you know...
i've always done that...
i ran away from home when i was 16
got tired of putting up with my parents bullshit
so i just said fuck then i left
my father was a dope fiend,
an alcoholic
my mother she didn't give a fuck
she'd let my father beat on her,
beat on me and my sisters
she wouldn't say anything
she wouldn't do anything
i haven't spoken to them in 10 years and i don't care too
couldn't give a damn ... (?) now
they had 16 years to love me
and treat me like a son
and much less treat me like a human being
and they couldn't do it then,
and they couldn't do it now
so i couldn't give a damn about them
they gave me life, that's enough
that's all i thank them for
alright
there goes the egg
- what are you making ? - corn bread
country corn bread
here goes the mayo
here goes all the water
how did you learn how to make that ?
when you're from the country you learn how raise it, grind it,
and cook it !
pull it... shell it...
let it grind...
if it don't go right then, then there ain't no right in it
get down, motherfucker
get down, get the hell down
fuck !
motherfucker bites man
and all he does is go for the fucking hands
alright get down
stay there
thats all he does is go for the hands
he don't bullshit bro
kick some ass
this butter... (?) makes it taste better
... make it without it (?)
sweet... (?) makes it more kinda...
crumby
butter... (?) makes it go together better
and ...(?) sauce
better taste too
being homeless you can like...
consider grow down here
because if you're homeless on the street
some have just what they got in their arms
their little pack on their back
if they get caught in the rain they ain't got shit
just as simple as that
so if you're homeless,
this is the best spot
you got a door with a lock on it
you got a frigidaire
or you can come in, suggest what you want to eat
you've got somewhere to cook it
you can go by (?) (buy?)
damn i think these ... (?)
... top off a little brown (?)
... (?) too much brown ... (?) with their top on
you got a TV
on top if you see a TV, you peep in the store and wonder (?)
that's like...
you like growing down here compared to being homeless anyway
these are my doggies
this is ladybug, the mummy
i've had her for about 4 years
and these are her little kids
this is her little boy
this is junior
the other two are little girls, this is princess
she has a bad leg, she once fell off the roof
which is the reason why i built the pen
to keep them up here so they are safer
plus so that they don't wander all over the place
this is the other little girl
this is fanny, she looks just like her mum
they're about... puppies are about a year and...
about 14 months older
this is my pet,
my first one
yeah... roger
tammy brought this one to me you know ?
and he's real cool
he's a lazy cat but a pretty one
he eats rats
yeah, no... he does...
but he really doesn't...
but rusty does !
mr rusty over here
eats martians !
oh my god (?), it's a mouse...
rusty does eat rats
he doesn't eat them, he just plays with them
and does a little damage
so they don't come into my territory
he's kinda like a trooper...
a little protector...
true protector !
that's my little rusty
go outside
fucking dog, man
he plays... he plays too fucking rough
look at that
now we can play some darts
he bit me man
... (?)
yeah, on the r.. (?), i know...
but who told me to get a dog you know ?
who did tell you to get a dog ?
who told me to get a dog ?
the mother fucker who stole my tv and shit
that's the motherfucker that made me get a dog...
then we got the most famous gerbil
mrs peaches !
she had 12 kids man
peaches had 12 kids
she was alright man
mrs peaches was alright
what did you do with the kids ?
four of them died and...
she ate the rest of them man
i couldn't believe it man
then we came to found out
that they do eat their young
how the fuck are they so many of them then ?
they all fuck !
this is my precious flying babes man
wanna talk about an airplane ?
this is mrs bleecks man
when she flew around she used to fucking...
the papers, and the clothes,
and everything went flying
the rats, every...
everybody went flying when mrs bleachs got out of her cage
i should've never kept her in a cage
and for me keeping her in a cage, she got killed
but mrs bleecks was the best man
not the best, but close to it
as roger was...
don't start your shit
hey, come here. what did i tell you about that ?
didn't i tell you about your bullshit ?
get the fuck over there, you can wait
get over there, you can wait till they eat
arsehole...
come here bugs !
go eat
come here fanny...
i had some problems with a fellow
and he threatened to burn my house down
and i didn't believe it
but to think that somebody would actually burn down my hut...
and hoping that i was in it
she got burnt out man
what the fuck can i say ?
she got burn out
she did somebody wrong and they set her arse on fire
which i do feel bad,
and its not funny, because that can happen to anybody
that can happen to anybody
but that's one of the things you have to go through living in the street
you're on your own down here, man
you're on your own
you can't go round (?) to the police
the police are going to tell you to get the fuck out of here
they'll listen but don't listen (?)
what party is gonna come all the way down here
in this motherfucking tumble(?)
just to investigate a goddamn fire
you're ain't no more a fucking taxpayer
i feel sorry for dee though man
because like,
she had a little building down there
but she'll get it again, just like she got...
i don't think she paid for no boards
and whatever she lost, she'll find it
she'll get something up
i walked around for a little while
after crying and hurt
i went to ralphie
and i asked ralphie if i could stay in his house for a few days
until i could find some more wood and stuff
to build another hut for myself
you're going to put eggs in there too ?
sure...
eggs, mustard...
that's what make it taste so good !
don't stretch your luck now, you've been ok today
i haven't bust your ass today
get over here
stretch it here, get here
that's cool
i got to feed the dog
the dog was already fed, his food is prepared
all you got to do is put in in the bowl
we got to make some collie(?) green someday
they ain't nothing (?) but just roll them up, cut em
that ain't all to it, you got to clean them suckers
yeah, i know you got to clean them
clean them from the bugs that they collect
yeah, i know how to do that
i clean them,
and then i roll them up
and i cut them in little slices
cold water...
i know, cold water is no good to wash that
well, thanks a lot !
i told you, i just take the spaghetti
and put the top on and just go like that...
it's simple, man
instead of going through all that
well you cook different from i do
i mean we're homeless people...
yeah we're homeless people,
but if you know how to cook, cook right !
olive oil...
it's not that, dee
- dee, it's not that - then what is it ?
if you're going to come and drink out of the fucking cup
and then you're going to lay the cup there
and then you're going to go out
and then the cup is going to be there, dirty
all goddamn... for two days
then i'm going to throw it out
i bet you didn't do that to your wife, did you ?
no i did't do that to her, because she would've kicked my ass
yeah she would've kicked that ass boy !
but i have to do it now, because of the situation that we live in
if you leave shit on the floor, what happens ?
what will happen ?
i bet you didn't do that shit to your wife...
well when you have rats like we have here ?
still, i bet you didn't do that shit to your wife...
we didn't have rats like we have...
she would've kick your ass all over that damn place
- funny girl... - what cup was it ?
it was a cup
it was a large cup,
one of them large cups
that my friend brought back from a country
where he went to on his vacation
and it was kind of shaped like a mermaid
with just a top like this...
- that shit was from macdonalds man... - it was no damn macdonalds !
- that shit was from macdonalds... - it was not from macdonalds !
mcdonalds don't even have cups like that !
- i know, you got the last one ! - yeah, right...
i didn't get the last one
they don't even have cups like that !
and it had pepsi on the side
because i got the top to it
it got the straw to it
and it got the cap to the straw
- now mcdonalds don't even... - whoever gave her the cup,
went to mcdonalds, got the cup, wrapped it up
- and said hey baby here - yeah right...
i got this from spain or some shit
my friend don't do no shit like that
yeah i don't know
all i know is that...
leave that dirty stuff here, and it's not clean...
so where do you hide all that shit at ?
i keep it in my food bucket
i got a couple of food buckets... (?)
keeping it in you're food bucket ?
so where you put your pots and shit at ?
where you see i'm at !
my man.. i mean
i understand the situation
but check it out my brother
shit ain't that motherfucking rough now
it can get better
i know you survived
and i respect that to the fullest
with all these big motherfucking horses you got running around here
you leave your shit right there ?
yeah, i wash my shit, what's wrong with that ?
you mean you got room in this motherfucker for a sink ?
... (?)
the rats don't come when the dog is here
they were coming through that hole
- did they come in ? - fuckin yeah they came in
but where was the dog ?
the dog was outside !
if the dog was outside, he wouldn't let the rats come in
hey listen,
if the dog is outside, the rats are in here
how the hell is the dog going to...
why do you think the dog keeps woofing out there like that ?
it keeps them from coming in here
he'll be woofing that way and they're coming in through this way
so the dog can be woofing over there...
i ain't seen no rat up in here
hey put it this way... you lost the cup
see, to me, i'm a damn fool
i sit here and battle with the motherfucker
like i was ... (?) from last night
that motherfucker woke me up last night
... (?)
another one zooming by
they're all trying to get inside here
i mean, they're looking right at me
and jumping and shit
but i almost caught one of those motherfuckers last night
suzie (?) jump, bam !
i didn't hit him directly on his motherfucking head
but that motherfucker went away
i know he didn't come back last night for no more
he said fuck that, he had enough
but he went and told his relatives
i tell you man,
i couldn't sleep at all last night
it ain't going to be like that shit tonight !
it might be like that tonight
but i know they aren't going to be full tonight
like i can't get rid of this motherfucker
... (?)clean up behind him ... (?)
he doesn't bring any company with him either, he's by himself
motherfucker !
everytime i see this motherfucker
that make me have a ... (?) nice sleep
... (?) i know he walks at night
he walks at night, not trying to sleep
so me and him aren't going to make it with that kind of shit
i hope...
... (?)
this may make him go under my bed
but i ...(?) put that light out
i hope he comes back to check his house out ... (?)
and the food i have for him
and then i've got some ... (?)
right now i'm cooking something to eat
because i'm tired of taking my shit
i keep telling them, they don't have to take it
just ask me for it
i'll fix you a meal
i'm definitely going to fix them something to eat
i'm going to fix them a good meal
after this they won't want no more
they won't want anything else to eat after this
because i'm going to put sausages,
oatmeal
i'm going to put the topping on top of it
once i put that on top,
all they'll want is water
what is that ?
poison !
they got some wise ass ... (?) out there
get my pack of this
a pack of this will keep them awake
whilst i mix this all up
they won't want anything else to eat
because they'll be too full
after they get their water,
all they'll want to do is just lay down
that's all
and they won't want to get back up anymore
it looks good, my friend
i ain't gonna stand here and lie
it look good
- you want some don't you ? - no sir
there are some things you do
and some things you don't
what's that ?
that shit you're doing now
what i'm doing now, i am eatin
i understand that...
this tastes good
this is rice
this is ham, fried
seasoning real good
and it tastes very good
and its clean
cleaner than the stuff that comes out of the kitchens of restaurants
this is clean food
and it tastes very good
lot of flavour
the food mike, it was clean food
you cannot dump on this
all you can do is just eat this
and keep on eatin .. (?) want more
hey yo tommy !
- what's up tommy ? - oh shit
oh shit
what's up man ?
- when did they let you out ? - what's going on over here ?
oh damn, yo, this is mark
- this is my friend mark - what's up mark, how you doing ?
this is my friend brian(?) i've been talking to you about
- you lost a lot of weight... - no doubt, and yourself man
- seriously, when did they let you out ? - ... (?)
while you were up north ?
proper...
- what's up man ? - nothing man...
i can't believe this shit
holy shit...
- no doubt ! - no doubt...
8 and a half months kid...
no doubt cous' ! too long...
- ... (?) - oh shit
looks nice on the back
turn around
what's so funny ?
what the hell...
don't be fucking around, dee
holy shit ! fucking cold !
oh fuck
{y:i}holy shit ! fucking cold !
{y:i}oh my goodness
what do you expect with four dogs ?
especially growing small puppies shitting a lot
when i just had ladybugs,
it never got like this, never
{y:i}feels good does it ?
it feels good but it's fucking cold !
{y:i}alright, just speed it up then
holy shit !
{y:i}welcome back to the shit, right ?
you're not going to start doing anything until you're ready to stop
so don't you think its about time for you to stop ?
no, when i get good and ready i'm gonna stop
- and when is that ? - well i don't know...
it could stop me !
so that's the problem,
it could stop you instead of you stopping it
yeah, but still, i don't like to be pushed
i was smoking crack and i stopped
yeah but you're smoking reefer
i smoke reefer but i don't smoke crack
read down this, it's still a narcotic
there's a difference to it
you're going to stop doing anything...
there's a difference it
you can smoke a fuckin bag of reefer
and chill out in the morning...
- i understand all that... - the only thing...
- no, but check this out - it's still a drug
- its still a drug, i don't care - dee, check this...
anything you wan't,
it's when you get ready to stop something
you're going to stop it on your own
- you don't have to... - i'm not saying that...
- i'm not saying that - okay, but...
by you keeping saying to me "stop smoking crack",
it only makes me want to go out there and smoke more !
why ? are you a baby ?
- you ain't no baby... - don't pressure me...
that's pressure
- that's putting pressure on me - so when are you going to stop ?
when you stop putting pressure on me
when you and other people
- stop putting pressure on me - but you put it like i smoke reefer
well i smoke reefer...
i don't put pressure on you !
but what happens when i smoke reefer ?
i sit down, i chill out...
- i understand all that ! - and the only thing i do is eat
but regardless... still the factor remains
alright i'm not going to put any pressure on you
you want to (?) that
don't come back and say
that you didn't do it when you did it
don't come back over here
- talking like you didn't do it - well don't even bother to ask me
well don't bother to say it (?)
i'm being punished for every god damn thing i did wrong
and still got more punishement to come
cause i've done so much shit wrong
i mean i've done a lot of things wrong
a lot
i get to the point where sometimes i feel like crying
sometimes i feel like crying...
because i...
(?) i was so damn selfish with myself
with everybody around me,
it was all about me
i didn't care about what anybody thought
i was fucked up
i wouldn't listen
i went to jail, i got caught robbing
i went to jail, let's say today (?)
yesterday my daughter was born
i came out
before my daughter was out of the hospital,
i was back in jail
then i came out 5 years later
and stood out,
like 2 months
out of 10 years that i did in jail,
i stood out 2 months and 2 weeks
what happened when you were inside, to your daughter ?
my daughter ?
in 1976,
76 ? yeah, in 76
i was doing time
and my daughter was raped
she was 5 years old, she was raped,
her leg was cut off,
her arm was cut off,
and she was burnt
that made me feel fucked up
because part of it, i think, is my fault
because i should have been there
instead of being in jail
and doing what i was doing
robbing...
and doing all the things i was doing
i wasn't taking care of her
i went to detox i needed a break
so that's where you were then detox
we were fucking looking for you all over the fucking place
hope you didn't go to jail
but we had a nice ... ... (?) a menu
a little bit yeah
my friend used to eat eggplant for lunch
now they don't have it regularly for lunch
now they have that as the chef special
so you only get that once a week
that eggplant you mean ?
that shit was great
first time i was there that's the first thing i had
i didn't even know what it was
they get double portions
eggplant parmesan !
i could eat that all fuckin day !
the first time i was there
u don't get a chance to choose ur stuff
they just give you whatever is laying around
until later on
but when i got there the first time
thats the first thing they gave me
*it's my favourite man*
i said this dinner is great
i didn't know what it was
i never ate egglpant in my life
i thought it was some weird shit
eggplant ? who the hell eats that shit
and it was good
i always order that, every chance i get
dunno what that is, i don't like it
i only eat what i'm familiar with
stuff i ain't never seen before
yeah that's beef
good stuff
very very eadable
very tasty too
this one is the safest pile you could eat from
cause the food is clean, plus its kocher
once they throw the food they put it all in one bag
they don't mix it up with garbage, coffee browns, trash
and nothing like that
it all be clean
take a few of everything man and tie the bag back up
put in in the back (?)
... (?)
where ?
i got a whole fucking bag of donuts man !
look at that shit
and these are today's donuts
u want one ?
these are good
they're fucking good
they're my favourite
they *are* good yeah
fuckin hell i could eat these motherfuckers
... (?) container of milk
maybe two containers of milk
yo brian that motherfucker stinks man !
wash ur fucking ass
no you wash ur fucking ass man
dump it man dump it
i was in jail
and i had came on the news
that two kids got burnt in a fire
my two sons
i regret so many things i may have done
... (?) my children
sometimes i ask why couldn't it of been me ?
why couldn't it of been me ?
i liked that responsability of being a mother
somebody a little one can hook up to
sending them off to school
they get the education they need
i miss some of those things... i do
In response to external pressures,
armed Amtrack police are ordered into the tunnel
to tell the residents that they have 30 days
to pack up and evacuate or face a forcable eviction
Filming was prohibited
DROP THE GUN MOLE!
when they woke me up man
they had their guns and everything
its like what the fuck ?
it took me time to get ready
put my shoes on
cause i sleep comfortable in there
take my socks offm, my jacket
i wasn't gonna come out in my underwear
with my shit hanging out
u gonna come out or what ?
banging on the door
i said take it easy ok
when that happened
they saw that i had took my time
and then i came out fully dressed
they had the guns
i went over there to take a piss
hey where you going ?
hey relax man what the fuck is wrong with you ?
i'm not against u
u guys are coming down here to fuck me up alright ?
i can't do nothing to you guys cause there's too many of u
i'll take you on one on one
and i'll talk to u
nothing about guns, bats or nothing like that
i'll talk to you on one on one
they said they wanted me to clean that shit up
i said i ain't cleaning shit up
i got to move ... (?)
i ain't cleaning that shit up
they must be mad, take me to jail
i need a little rest anyway
i'm not cleaning up their garbage if i got to move
shit
that's making their job much easier
cause last time they said we had to leave
they said they were gonna do it in a humane way
they were gonna sit down at a table
and have some big words (?) from Amtrack
to discuss where we gonna go at
last time they was here they tell me
they don't give a fuck where we go
we just gotta go and shit
they said they were gonna try to get us housing or shelter
or something else
i dunno what that something else is
i don't wanna to go to a shelter
cause i don't wanna worry bout someone stealing my shit
they're gonna steal all my clothes
they're gonna steal everything i got
drugs, it's infected with drugs
what they should do is leave us down here
that's what they should do
leave us down here until they get housing
and when they get housing they ship us out
but not just take us out of here
i mean we're all down here by oursleves my friend
like a family alright... you gonna break up the whole family
it's not worth it
it's not fair to us
they gonna jave something...
at least if you gonna construct down here
okay put some of us to work
for us to get something out of it
because this has been our home for three years for me
imagine all the people that been down here for 20 years
i got three words
i got three words for whoever's fuckin idea this was okay?
and it's not i love u
it's leave us alone!
people residing in the tunnel are experiencing a lot of health diificulties
*Amtrack community relations officer*
they are respiratory conditions from living in cool dank conditions
asthma i know is prevelant amongst a few indivuduals
it's just there's a lot of vermine and disease that's spreaded from rodents and vermine in the tunnel
and of course the danger of living close to high speed trains
individuals run the risk of being struck by trains
we've had two fatalities there in the course of the year
one woman froze to death from exposure
and another individual was struck by a train
it is absolutely a dangerous horrendous living situation
... (?)
okay...
why you smiling though ?
u gotta be thinking of one way to get outta here
... (?)
i'm planning go back on the east side
u already been overthere
uhh ?
u already been overthere
we'll find somewhere
sounds shitty (?)
can't go in the park
whatcha gonna do ?
i gotta move on
u gotta learn how to go with the flow
yeah i know i been going with the flow
since i came home
that's how you got in here, going with the flow
everytime i stay with the flow..
when i was gonna get out the fuck of the flow
being a homeless its all types of problems
u never know what lies ahead
so until it comes, deal with it
can't plan shit being really ... (?) home
u can't plan shit
u say yeah well i'm going home to go sleep
u get there that motherfucker's gone
your home is gone
it's really hard to plan what you gonna do
it's deal with it day by day
or needs to sleep upstairs (?)
and they were going home to go to sleep
her home was gone
going to 28th street with the children (?)
i ain't going in no shelter
... (?)
shelter is out
i ain't going in no shelter
i'll ride the train
i ride the motherfucking train
i tried but lasted two nights
that ain't nothing
COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
our first response
because of the long relationship that we've had with our clients
was to immediately go to court
previous to amtrack's decision to evict people out of the tunnel
we had just sued amtrack on the grounds they cannot through people out of pen station
they travel here in ny city (?)
so when we found out that amtrack was gonna come in
... (?) we knew we had to stop them throwing people out of the tunnel
who had called it their home for 10, 15,25 years
we met with amtrack officials
at first they were very abrupt
they wanted everybody out
had it been a few days they were gonna fence it off, put in security guards
we worked at a plan
that we would assist people in moving into temporary shelter
with amtrack ... (?) people
but soon thereafter we learned of a program run by the fellow government
who had set up an aid program
and we garanteed amtrack that nobody would be left inside of the tunnels
the section a program, the housing program here in ny city
is a great ticket into housing
it garantees someone an apartment
health paid ...(?) and security fees
so it was a perfect chance
and i think amtrack knew that
it's a good opportunity to work with advocates
rather than have a legal challenge
and ... (?) we were pretty confident
had we gone to court, we would have won
it was crystal clear, a violation of people's rights
we didn't want to defend people to live on the street
we wanted to get them into housing
that was the ultimate goal
and we're glad it never went to court
right you ready ? go !
we're outta here !
hard to believe its our last day in this place
i thought this day would never come
right ?
i thought this day would never come
no doubt
are you exited ?
exited ?
very exited
like a crackhead that just found a thousand bubbles on the tracks (?)
yo that's all dirty laundry
yeah ? so we put all dirty shit in here ?
don't mix dirty clothes in with the clean ones
here it comes
... (?) got a job ?
got a job coming up, 1.50 an hour working at ... (?)
that's right cousin .. (?) once i get this moutain bike
cook !
start making 7 or 8 meals a week
whatcha gonna do then uh ?
enough to pay the rent, enough to help out with food
no doubt
oh man once we start these jobs there won't be none of that fried chicken and shit like that
straight up steaks, flaming ...(?), all kinds of good shit
it'll be nice
no doubt
we gonna gain about 400 pounds a piece eh ?
got some good memories here too, in ny
u gonna miss it ?
sometimes
how much you gonna miss it ?
not bad enough to come back
it's almost a freedom now
this is ... (?) do whatever i want with it
cause in an apartement you can't do that
that's ... (?)
what's next ?
... (?) sign these
this white piece of paper is proof that you are actually homeless
here you go !
i love my apartment man
i *love* my apartment
... (?) up
... (?) hustling
... (?) that i made when i was out there
i'll put it all back in here in this apartement
and make it look decent
i definetly love my apartment
as far as the living room is concerned
once i get it together the way i want it
eventually there'll be a nice new set of furniture going around
these cornered counches ? you know what i'm talkin about right ?
this is one section here as you can see
what i wanna do is get a matching section that goes all the way round like this
and eventually i'm gonna get a new entertainment center
as you can see right now i'm just making a new bookshelf
i'm hoping that eventually i'm gonna get a new entertainment center to put this wall
eventually there will be a nice 25 inch color tv
with cable hookup, and a vcr, a nice stereo system
i'm planning on getting a nice rug to sit out here
yeah i feel good
i'm getting new furniture, new ... (?)
yeah i feel good
i can't wait
to me it's like giving a baby a new toy, play with it all day
that's the way i am
everyday is something new, and it's something good
now i feel like i never was in there
that was the sadest part of my journey through life
then were dark days, dark, real dark
at the time it didn't bother me at all
once i sit back and think about it
i ask myself how could i have done that ?
let myself go like that
and be that way ?
u don't realise until you get out of it
u drift back every now and then
... (?)
damn i used to do that
that used to be me ?
u say no way...
yeah it used to be me
it definitely used to be me
i tell u, to me its like it never happened, at all
and it will never happen again, ever ever
i will never go homeless again
that was like a nightmare
and i woke up out of it
and i'm staying awake
i'm serious, i don't want that shit, i don't need it
i'm gonna stay working, and doing good
i don't want to be homeless no more
terrific !