Michael Johnson: Homeless vs. Hopeless during the recession
2009 March 17
Another portrait of a man in my neighborhood that exhibits some of the finer qualities of the Unemploymentality: resilience, persistence and humility. Michael Johnson (not the runner) is a survivor. I can only hope that I will handle it so well when my unemployment checks run out.
Awesome post, and a great message.
Another great piece, John. We need more filmmakers like you to document what’s happening in our society.
wow–great message indeed.
Mr. Henion,
Would like to see this video, but no broadband here. Guess G. Bush (who promised broadband for all the USA back in 2000) forgot about it and Obama hasn’t had the chance to do it yet. Dial-up sucks, but it beats having nothing at all.
Maybe I’ll get to see it at the library one day, but that’s a 40 mile drive, roundtrip.
Your tagline bothers me; “Lifestyles of the penniless and downtrodden”. After reading some of the posts here, I have to wonder about that.
If you want to see how those of us in the country are dealing with this economy, come on down. I’ll be glad to give you the grand tour.
We can start by going to the scrap yard and selling some junk steel, aluminum cans, etc. For weekend entertainment, we’ll head to the flea market and enjoy the wonders of downhome cooking and wacko conspiracy theory gun nuts. You won’t be bored, I guarantee it.
It’s a dry county, so you won’t be able to get anything harder than beer here, unless you want to buy some ‘shine. Bring your own booze.
Yep, tough times, but “Penniless and Downtrodden”, NO WAY!
We work, so we eat.
The sun’s about up, so I have to get out the door.
I’ve got to get a load of scrap metal together.
Then I can come home and work on my novel.
I used to live on Grand Ave near Safeway and ride my bike to work in downtown Oakland. One Friday somebody stole it from the garage, On Saturday i was working to the farmers market when i saw Michael riding my bike down Grand Ave. I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. I had to walk to work for a few months before i could afford another bike.
My guess is you wont let this through but i wanted to comment anyway.
Sorry to hear about your bike, Miles. That blows. And I think your comment is important. He’s not a saint. He knows that too. He used to be a drunk and a crack head and he’s got a lot of skeletons in his closet (like your bike). You should talk to him about it.
After watching the video, i really felt enlightened with the resilience and humility the guy have during this economic times. It is hard for anyone right now where everyone could feel the squeeze of the recession in their everyday life. I did felt it literally when i was out of job, i have to cut every things that is need to be cut. I couldn’t go to movies that often anymore, eat home meals, using the coupons to get more discounts at the supermarkets. I can really relate… i just want to be thankful that despite everything happening, i got another job. It may not be the best job there is out there, it will do to pay the bills. Thanks to jobs site on the webs. Placing more bets on the table, create more openings for myself. I went to different new sites and they offer great stuffs for free. One in particular is onecubicle.com. Kind of fun and new, somehow it works too.
John – the video was so nicely d one but what really got me was the short exchange between you and miles. It was a jolt of a reminder how the narrative is so easily changed by a small piece of info that is randomly inserted into the conversation. And I realized that my understanding and view is extended through blogs like these where the exchange is possible between the creator and the viewer, the author and the reader. We’ve always had ‘letters to the editor’ but they didn’t allow for a dialogue. Thanks for the dialogue. And the honesty to embrace all sides.
best,
ffn