Monthly Archives: December 2012

Anthony is Ok

I had to run some errands on Friday so I decided to take the car and go by Anthony’s corner to see if he was there. As I drove on M Street I spotted his familiar bright yellow vest from a few hundred feet away.

I pulled the car over, probably in some illegal spot, and called over to him. His eyes darted in every direction looking for where the calls were coming from and then he saw my extended hand out the window, beckoning to him.

I captured this image of Anthony back in February of 2010 when we first met. (photo: Reed Sandridge)

I captured this image of Anthony back in February of 2010 when we first met. (photo: Reed Sandridge)

“Merry Christmas my friend,” he said with the jovial spirit of a true santa clause. He handed me the latest edition of Street Sense and I gave him a five dollar bill. I explained that I was worried about him because I couldn’t reach him on his phone. He told me that his minutes were all used up for the month on the phone that he receives through a government subsidy. “You gotta have a phone,” he says referring to the world we live in today.

He gave me the number to prepaid phone that he uses when the other one is out of minutes. “This one is working now and at the end of the month I will switch it back to the number you’ve been trying to reach me at.”

I was relieved I had found him and that he was ok. He told me he was going to find an inexpensive motel or something in Virginia and spend a night or two indoors to celebrate the holidays. I want to get him something…still thinking about ideas. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

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Can’t find Anthony

I have done no writing this week. With holiday soirees, last minute shopping and end of year work boiling over – I have had to scrap all writing this week. And on top of all this, I can’t find Anthnony.

I’ve been calling his cell phone but he doesn’t answer. On Tuesday and Wednesday his phone rang but he didn’t pick up. Then yesterday it just went straight to a message where it said, “The cellular subscriber you are trying to reach is not available.” I just called his number again. Same thing.

I’m going to head down to his corner and see if I can find him. It’s cold out there…hopefully he is ok.

 

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Week 2 Update – Slow Start

If it’s good enough for Biden and Obama…then it’s good enough for Anthony and Reed! Ray’s Hell Burger, Arlington, VA. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

I met Anthony at his corner on Tuesday morning. His bright yellow Street Sense vest makes him easy to spot. His face was tired and almost melancholy. He spotted me and the edges of his mouth perked up as we shook hands.I asked him how he had been feeling and he said he felt OK. In spite of this, I felt he was a little down though. I probed a little deeper and he shrugged it off and changed the subject. “How is the writing coming? You meet your goals?” he asked.

We decided to go get some lunch first and then discuss our progress. I’d promised Anthony that I would take him to Ray’s Hell Burger over in Rosslyn – a place that I normally would say has the best burger I’ve ever had. But this time was a disappointment. It fell short – the quality seems to have slipped there. On top of that I was feeling guilty taking him to a burger place when I know that he needs to eat healthier given his recent visit to the hospital.

Anthony ordered the Soul Burger – a six ounce all beef patty topped with bacon, swiss Continue reading

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Anthony Released from the Hospital

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Anthony at George Washington Hospital (photo: Reed Sandridge)

I got up early and headed over to George Washington Hospital. I made my way to room 311. I poked my head in to see Anthony reclined in a standard hospital bed, his head cocked back at an angle watching a TV hanging from the ceiling.

He was happy to see me.

He told me that they were adjusting his medications and trying to stabilize his blood pressure. “They say they are gonna release me today but that all depends on getting my blood pressure way down.”

Our conversation was intermittent. His concerns and thoughts were clearly visible on his bearded face.

“I’m just waiting on Continue reading

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Anthony Hospitalized

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute a normal blood pressure reading is less than 120/80. (photo courtesy: foxnews.com)

I got a call from Anthony this afternoon from George Washington Hospital. After going to one of the free clinics in DC, he discovered that his blood pressure had soared to 218/164 – alarmingly high especially given that he is on more than a half dozen blood pressure medications. The doctor sent Anthony straight to the emergency room and he was admitted.

They are running a series of tests and adjusting his medications in attempts to get his blood pressure down as he is at a heightened risk of stroke or heart attack.

I’m going to go visit him in the morning and see how he is doing. Please keep Anthony in your thoughts.

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Goodbye to friend Tommy Bennett

“Where I’m at now, I’m at peace with myself.” – Tommy Bennett, 1956-2012

I got a call from Anthony today – he was just checking on how I was doing on my to-do list. It made my day to see him taking his role seriously. We caught up on each others work but then he shared some sad news. Our friend Tommy Bennett passed away last month. I met Tommy through my Year of Giving project and he and Anthony were close as well.

To learn more about Tommy, you can visit the vendor profile that Mariko Hewer did for Street Sense about a month before his death. You can also check out Day 155 of my Year of Giving when I first met Tommy.

It saddens me a great deal to learn of his passing. Tommy was a great guy. He would be the first to tell you that he had some hiccups along the road, but as long as I knew him he was an exemplary individual – warm hearted and walking the straight and narrow.

The Street Sense newspaper will have a special section of their paper that comes out tomorrow that pays tribute to Tommy.

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Tommy and me enjoying some shade near the corner of 13th and G in DC.

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Potential Challenge for Anthony

The Anthony & Me project is off to a good start. I checked in on Anthony on Thursday morning – he was bundled up at his corner selling the paper. He’s working on his to do list for our next check-in.

I bought his latest edition of Street Sense, pushed some singles into Anthony’s glove covered hand and tucked the paper into my book bag. It was only today that I cracked the paper open to read through it.

I thumbed it open to the first page where I saw an article by Editor-in-Chief Mary Otto. “DC Housing Authority to Freeze Waiting List” was printed at the top of the article. Fearing that this could hurt Anthony’s dream of housing, I read on.

StreetSense Paper Nov21

The article talks about the 66,000 families in the DC area who are on the waiting list for affordable housing. Although that number sounds staggering for a city that only has about 260,000 Continue reading

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