Ooookay.  I've made it home, I've had a few days of R&R to settle in and parse through the bulk of my experiences over the last few weeks.  I've got tons of work to do that I was just getting to or hadn't even started on yet when I hm...what's the word for that anyway?  I suppose technically 'kicked out' fits, but that implies that I'd done something wrong, which we'd covered.  Whatever.  When I lost my connection.  That suits.  Anyway...I've got two videos left that I shot in California that haven't been processed yet.  Plus one that I shot along the way, and some brief shots/clips like traveling through the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnel. 

Unfortunately, Y'r obd't dumbass here left his power cord/charger for the camcorder in Utah.  I did shoot one more promo, but I'm not sure if that will ever see the light of day.  Still, my couple of "punch-ins" that I filmed while in Cali for the homeless doc I want to do are also on that camera...and I try to preserve everything I can, these days.

I also have photos from the trip out and back to process, write descriptions for, and post and blog about.

Regrettably, with things happening as fast as they did, I didn't get nearly the footage of people at the Wayfarer's center that I wanted to.  I'll have to hit the mission in Kalamazoo, maybe check GR, Detroit, and Chicago as well.  Indy.  There are people.  There are people everywhere, always, who are homeless, broke, confused, wandering, in need of help.  I saw so many people who should have been under some degree of medical/psychiatric supervision...but instead they're relying on a system of charities and programs that was never intended to help them.  That is a story that has to be told, graphically.  People need to know, and people who can help need to be motivated to do so.

And yes, regrettably, it is also true that some of the people 'out there' are exactly what you'd expect them to be.  Addicts and scam artists and dealers and the like who shun 'real work' of any kind and are quite happy to get by on what they can beg, borrow, or steal.  That has to be addressed, too - I think a key in overcoming any stereotype is recognizing that stereotypes are generally rooted in reality.  Take for example the mental image you get when I say 'gangbanger.'  Some details might change, but if you're honest with yourself I bet part of that image included ethnic minority status (i.e. black or latino most likely), and a certain way of dressing, walking, talking, etc.  Some of that mental image will include stereotypes...but nobody would ever attempt to claim that there aren't people who fit those stereotypes nicely, and they do it intentionally and without a trace of irony.  

The same is true of any stereotype, including the homeless and destitute.  There are a lot of people out there who are sick and need help...and there are a lot of people out there who actively reject any meaningful attempt to change their lives for what you and I would consider the better.  Some of them may have underlying pathologies like addiction or mental illness.  Some of them have other correctible situations, like illiteracy or even lack of social skills.  But some of them do choose to be what they are.  It would be dishonest of me to claim otherwise, or to treat my documentary otherwise.  After all, it's a documentary.  If I ignore uncomfortable facts or facts that stand counter to the very point I'm trying to make - i.e. that most homeless and poor people are not just losers who won't get a job - then it stops being a documentary and becomes a polemic.

Anyway.  I have a lot of work to do.  I'll check in later.

(PS:  I haven't heard from Samara since um...the 19th of June.)