Talkin' Shit About A Pretty Sunset

Now that it's warm out, my junkie neighbor sits on his front porch in full sweats and a can of malt liquor at 8:00 every morning. He's coming down off his all night heroin binge and does the "junkie lean" which makes him fall asleep while sitting up. He's been addicted to heroin since he fought in the Vietnam War.

You've probably seen the junkie lean even though you didn't know it. Go to the sketchy part of any large city and drive by a bus stop or park bench. You'll see some homeless dude, sitting there, head falling back, mouth agape, eyes half-closed jutting into the sunshine. If you're lucky (or unlucky), you'll see someone in a half-standing position doing the same thing. That's the junkie lean. But seeing it every morning about 10 feet from my front door is pitiful.

This situation is sad. He's such a friendly guy but he's under so much torment, a lot of pain, and very little joy. But man, you should have seen him react when I showed him pictures of my rockfish. He couldn't stop congratulating me. And he's given my wife some very kind compliments on her beauty (at least he's honest).

You ever seen a long-term heroin user's hands? Imagine taking a surgical glove and blowing it full of air. That's how his hands look --- all bloated, no knuckles, fat and massive. Thank god I've never seen his feet, but they obviously can hardly fit into his shoes they're so swollen. His wide-ass Adidas can't hold his feet with the laces in, so the shoes appear like moon boots but with the tongues hanging open.

And he's HIV positive, gets occasional seizures, and has adult-onset diabetes. How the hell is he still alive?

I'll be sad when he's gone, mainly as the final downward exclamation point of my pity for him. But god damn, I hope he's not around when I have kids in a few years. How would I explain him to a child?

Dear all urban white liberals who are uncomfortable with gentrification: visit me at 8AM any day of the week. If I don't change your mind, I'll give you ten bucks.

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Update: Having read this post, a woman emailed me to ask if I could link to her drug treatment program.