A Journal of Humor and Verbal Anarchy

 
HOMELESS FIND ITHACA CULTURALLY VIBRANT

The growing legions of the homeless in Ithaca, according to one recent study, may have a lot less to do with economics and much more to do with the lively cultural and educational scene here in I-town.

Sid Beemer, an intense young man in his late 20's, was, at the time we caught up with him for this interview, practicing scales in Dewitt Park. A P&C shopping cart filled with Sid's worldly belongings along with his tuba case, was parked off to the side.

"There's a big rehearsal tonight." He explained. "The Ithaca Homeless Men's Chorale is doing selections from Handel's Messiah. I wouldn't be caught homeless in any other college town. There is so much to do here. On Monday I sing, Tuesday there's Homeless Contra Dancing, Thursday there's TM, and on Friday Cornell Cinema always shows a couple of classic films. Last week they showed Ninotchka with Garbo, one of my favorites. I love Garbo, and with von Stroheim, oh my god. What an amazing combo!"

According to the study conducted by Cornell's School of Ecology, 2 out of 3 homeless people interviewed in Ithaca are either involved in a choir, theater project or some other small group activity, or are taking at least one class at IC or TC3.

"I sold fire insurance for 30 years, then the company burned down." Fred Carbuncle, a grizzled 60 year decked out in his Catholic Charities best told us. He was just putting the finishing touches on a ceramic bowl he had been working on at the Homeless Potter's Workshop in the basement of St. John's. Another homeless man could be seen carefully removing his work from the kiln.

"Now I'm in the process of retooling, you might say." Fred continued. "Living out in the street, you know, can be pretty tough. I have to collect a lot, I mean a lot of, cans and bottles to pay my tuition. I take this computer course in HTML at TC3. But, things could be worse. There's the soup kitchen, my Homeless Person's Support Group, the Homeless Actor's Guild workshop --hey, did you know I'm playing Willy Loman in Salesman this season at the Kitchen? So I get by, you know, you gotta do what it takes to survive. Maybe one day I'll leave Ithaca and go somewhere where I can get a job. But, for now, things are ok. And, yeah, I'm keeping a journal."




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Comments invited at: ezrakidder@gmail.com - Peace, Ezra at 1:24 AM