Nick Campo
LeiLani
English 1001-110
10/8/07
Student Interview
It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, the last day before our rough drafts were due when I thought all hope was lost. The Baton Rouge community’s homeless had left the city. I thought to myself, “Okay, one last trip down college and call it a day.” Just at the very end of the road, right before the overpass, there he was; my holy grail that had been eluding me all week. He was tall and gangly, had the appearance much like a skeleton. Very thin, sunken in eyes, and a grin that gave his harsh and dirty face a far removed look to it like he was watching life on a television screen. He was smiling at his Cracker Jack box like it was a golden medal earned after much hard work. I actually owe the interview solely to this Cracker Jack box because I would never have even seen this gentleman unless he had not flaunted them so proudly in front of my car. As soon as I did see him I knew he was the one for the job. I pulled over and offered him lunch if he would sit with me and answer a few questions. He was rather skeptical at first but when I told him we would be going to Hooters his distant grin turned into a mischievous one. He climbed into my car and my nostrils were immediately assaulted by the unbearable stench of the man. I did my best to act as if I did not notice, but it was tough, the smell was close to that of a cow pasture and gasoline. His skin was covered in dirt and grime, I noticed this when he shook my hand and I was left with an oily film on my own. I immediately rolled down the windows to the car and asked the man his name. He told me his name was Jake Richards and it had been a very long time since he was able to go to eat at Hooters. It was a short drive around the corner but it felt like forever, I could not wait to get his smell and dirt out of my car.
When we walked into Hooters we were looked at kind of oddly by the hostess but she quickly covered up her surprise to see someone like Jake, who did not really seem to notice or car, coming into the restaurant with a classic Hooters “I’m here to for your pleasure” smile. We got a table outside for the sake of the other patrons, ordered a few appetizers, and I began my questioning.
By the sheer looks of the poor fellow you could tell he has been down on his luck lately. He was wearing jeans that were so thin I do not think they were doing more than just concealing him, his shirt was ripped in many places, and a deeply faded green bucket cap with his long nappy hair protruding from the bottom of it. I began my questions with some basic ones so has not to scare him off or get to personal too soon, I asked him if he had noticed any change due to hurricane Katrina?
“That storm was like a blessing.” He went on to explain that because the storm surged so many people to Baton Rouge he was able to ask that many more individuals for money and in turn make more income. It made me laugh a little and I realized he was not laughing at all. It is hard to grasp, in my opinion, that this is his way of life. That if Jake does not find enough generous people in a week he will not eat for a week. No wonder he was so proud of his Cracker Jacks, they were probably the best meal he had had in a year. This brought me to my next question.
“Have you ever considered getting any sort of job?” This brought on a fit of laughter from my new buddy. He looked down at himself and said four simple words through a mouth full of fried pickles:
“Would you hire me?” I conceded the point, as I had mentioned earlier his appearance is not really up to par and these were probably the only set of clothes that he had. After this I kind of lost him for five minutes or so where he just began singing real low to himself. I have never really been around the homeless or the crazy to much so I just let him work it out of his system. After he finished his concert with a very obtrusive high note he looked at me and asked for more food. I figured this was coming so I got a few more appetizers and continued with the interview hoping that I would have enough information to end it soon.
After an awkward silence I asked him if he would describe an average day in the life of Jake for me. I was met with a blank stare. I was not sure if he was thinking about it, sleeping, or avoiding the question all together so I asked him again. This time he blinked and began talking as if it was the first time he had heard the question. He told me that he usually wakes up whenever it starts getting noisy; I would imagine that would be about six or seven. He then travels by foot up and down the highway until he finds where traffic is mostly jammed and, if he still has his sign from the day before begins begging this Louisiana community for whatever pieces of coin they might have to offer him. If he is hungry when he wakes up, Jake will go over to the McDonalds garbage, he says they have the best amount thrown away. He then continues to move around the city either just passing the time or finding friendly looking individuals to ask for a few cents. He seemed to have absolutely no idea about the jobs set up solely for the homeless, sadly I did not know enough to even point him in the right direction. I just told him to keep his ears open. Although I could tell him about one thing he might look in to trying. That was collecting cans and turning them in for a few cents a can. I told him it was not much but it was better than nothing and he could look into it.
I asked Jake how he ended up here in Baton Rouge and where his family was. He responded to me with something I did not really expect at all. Mr. Richards told me that he was born and raised here and at one time was actually enrolled at BRCC just down the street. I was astonished and needed to know more. He told me that one day he just could not take it anymore and he dropped out, he got by for a little while but he had not spoken to his family in a very long time and had no source of income. Jake said that one thing led to another until he could not afford rent. “At first it wasn’t so bad; it was just one night out of the week your friends wouldn’t take you that you were sleeping in a park. Then it becomes ‘hey, it’s not that bad it’s only two nights in the park,’ next thing you know your living in that park. None of your friends will even speak to you. And here I am.” Jake finished with a very somber look and I was truly sad for him. I asked him if he would have done anything different given a second chance. He shrugged and said probably not, “I just could not and cannot handle all this.” With the end of this question I got the bill and gave him a ride down the road where I dropped him off where I found him. Jake shook my hand and thanked me for the food and began walking off in the opposite direction.
Jake Richards was by far one of the most interesting characters I have ever met before. The interviewing process of this man was perhaps some of the most fun I never want to have again. From the way he smelled to the way he talked there was nothing very pleasant about Mr. Richards, but he is definitely some one I will probably remember for a long time. It was a sad thing to see someone with such obvious mental problems have no chance at succeeding just because he did not have any one to notice the problems early enough to do something about it. Maybe if his family would have been a bit closer they could gotten them taken care of, but who knows. Hopefully Jake will make it one day and be able to turn his life around.
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