Johnny, we're here in Nashville. You're right. You're sleeping outside. Yes. Tell me
about it. Well, basically I ended up outside. That's the main thing is I was
over it paying my sprint bill at one of the local places here in Nashville and
pulled around back and go in and of course I have a travel trailer which I
sleep in live in and went inside and had a little discussion with the owner
about him running double bills on me for one thing so I closed out my bills
paid my bill and left and went outside to leave his premises well my truck
wouldn't start it's a 77 older Dodge but still it's my home I live in it it
has a shower everything you need cooking facilities everything and so that
night he said it was okay for us this you know I just stay right there because
I couldn't get it started he was kind of concerned and everything then all of
a sudden the next day I wake up and there's a sign put up on the building
that wasn't there the before that said any vehicle that is does not have
permission to be on his that property will be towed at owners expense well I
took didn't think that much about it really and so then I continue to work
on my truck used to be a pretty good little mechanic so I jerked out the
top of the distributor took it apart and then told the two fellas that was
helping me to go just go get me a distributor this will go purchase a
whole distributor here here's the money so they're gone for I don't know an hour
or two a little longer than I thought they should be but then all of a sudden
two tow trucks pull up I'm sitting there I'm in a wheelchair first of all and
setting but I'm sitting inside my truck and in the driver's seat the guy walks
up there and says well well I hate saying man but you know we've got to we've
got to take your truck and I said we're gonna take it he goes well we're gonna
take it over to our lot and of course I said well wait me I got to have a card
here who who are you anyway who called you and he said well the owner called it
and I and so we we got to hook it up to it and get it out of here and so I in a
sense I guess I made a mistake because I should just set their wages to the
police come in and then flop the whole ordeal out if I had to go to jail I just
went to jail you know because they impounded my home that's where I lived
everything I own is in that truck so it's still in it except for the three
bags that I drug out and put in my wheelchair and had on me and I even
had a bad time with with the bus driver because I had so much stuff that bus
driver didn't want to let me on the bus and I'm paying for a bus you know and so
that's kind of like the start of the ordeal then I go over to the towing
company which is a local express towing here in town and first day was a hundred
seventy dollars and I'm on my own record company in Texas at one time and all
of a sudden they're charging thirty dollars a day for the storage on my
truck till I get it paid now that started on the on the first of the month
what's now 70 of 18th and I'm up to 530 dollars to get your home out to get my
home out my home that I mean and now I'm I'm living on the street sometimes I
have to like like last night when it rains I got a fine shelter to where I
can get out of the rain I sell papers local local homeless papers just to get
by to I was thought I was gonna make enough money to to pay for the truck to
get out because it's sometimes I can make fifty seventy dollars a day selling
papers you know people donate to us and everything but the funny thing about it
is this thirty dollars a day is so ridiculous to take a man's home and then
just wipe out everything he has and then to be able to just say that don't worry
about it it's no problem it might not be a problem to them because they got a
couple of places to go home to you know all of a sudden I'm starting to I used
to be a minister well I'm still a minister I can't say used to be but I'm
still a minister and I'm starting to really feel what the homeless have to
go through because now I'm homeless and you know a lot of people don't realize
but they're only one paycheck away from where I'm at that's very very true how
can people help you get your car well right now what I'm doing is I'm calling
all local churches and sending them a fax of the situation and one of the
local people here in at the operation stand down Julie she's one of the
counselors and she did a write-up for me that explains the whole situation word
for word and she did a great job I mean this this woman worked a half a day so
people can yeah find you through here operation through operation stand down
yes and and they can just send it send it send the contribution to in in
attention of Julie and that way it won't get much more than me right now I see
I'm I've I say I raised $230 so far and it's 530 today but tomorrow's gonna be
560 and then the next day will be so I'm I'm needing like $320 $300 you know
right around there if you had three wishes what would they be that that
people would have an open heart and really understand what being homeless is
about and help that the help somebody that's in need like myself and if they
could contribute some money contribute it on and it'll only be used for one
thing get your mom and that gets get my home out I have to I have to be in
classes on on the end of this month on the 28th and at that time I mean that's
the way I get to to class and I have to I have to attend three times a week I'm
a Vietnam veteran and and in a wheelchair permanently and I have all the
paperwork to prove it well thank you very much for talking to God bless you
brother thank you
