Two guys who worked signs

These two were not your typical guys who stand by the freeway with "homeless please help" signs. No, these guys stand by the Home Depot with signs that say "need a job". They stand there in their tool belts and they frequently get picked up by someone looking for day labor.

Most days, they just get handed a buck or two by people going by.

I met them in the park doing their nightly routine. They come into town, stop at the store and buy something for dinner and a 6 pack of beer. They might stop at the park for some smoke. Then they get on the bus and ride down to the marina. Every thing they own is in huge backpacks they carry. Once they knew me, they would invite me to go with them in the evenings.

We sit at a picnic table by a BBQ box and they prepare whatever it is they bought to eat. They drink the beer and smoke the smoke and eat. They always shared everything with me - and sometimes I would have something to share with them. More often than not, I would not even have bus fare, but they always brought me along if they saw me.

We would sit up until after dark, talking. Once it was dark enough, we would climb a little hill and find the cardboard stashed from before. I never knew that two pieces of cardboard can cushion the ground and insulate from the cold the way it does.

We roll our sleeping bags out and sleep there throughout the night. It's peaceful and calm there with the water sounds so close. And I feel safe with these guys.

In the morning, we walk over to the marina showers. They have a key to get in, someone they did some work for gave it to them. The luxury of a hot private shower in the morning is amazing. I would stay in there for a much longer time, but the guys have to get to work. They head out in the morning and I walk back up to the park to see what the rest of the day is going to be like.

One evening a week, I could always run into them at the laundrymat washing their clothes. On nights when it's raining, they would look for me, cause they would get a room in one of the seedy motels on University for the night. It was great to sleep in a bed once in a while, they took turns on who gets the bed each time. They always let me sleep in the bed too.

One of them got a steady job and they both moved into an apartment in the suburbs for a long time. I didn't see them around much after that.