There was a time not all that long ago when I was homeless. I shared a great apartment in northern Manhattan with someone I was not really close too. I was freelancing and not saving any money so each month I would end up broke. Suddenly he came to me and said that his boyfriend was wanting to move in so I would need to move. Everything happened very quickly and I put all of my furniture in storage and hit the streets of the city looking for someone who would let me move in with them. I bounced from sofa to sofa always feeling like I was in the way until Thanksgiving night of 2006. That night, in the pouring rain, feeling feverish and sick, I was asked to leave a warm apartment in Chelsea and ended up on a friend's floor in Washington Heights.
In the middle of the night, I awoke to my friends big Jamaican boyfriend searching my suitcase. My friend had stepped out for a while.I asked what he was doing and he asked if I had any "crystal meth" in my bag. I told him I didnt and he began to scream at me about how I was a freeloader and when I got up to leave it infuriated him to the point that he followed me down the stairs screaming that he "hoped I died of AIDS in the street". The next thing I knew (I still dont remember how I got there), I was climbing the fence on the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge. I felt like my life since September of 2001 had been torture and I saw no end in sight. Then out of the blue, a woman passing stopped and said very calmly, "That water is colder than you think...If you jump, it's forever and ever. You can't change your mind. You will never see the sun again.....or taste chocolate ice cream....there are so many beautiful things in life....dont throw them away." I pulled myself down off the fence. The woman took my hand and walked me in the pouring rain to the Manhattan side of the bridge. She hailed a taxi, stuck a $20 bill in my hand and told the cabbie, "Take him to St. Vincents emergency room." Then she looked at me and put her hand on my wet forehead. "You are burning up with fever," she said, "but they will take care of you." Before she closed the door, she said, "My name is Eleanor Chaikin. I live in Brooklyn Heights on Henry Street. If you need anything, look me up." She closed the door and as we were pulling away, I saw here walking back toward the bridge in the rain. I ended up spending three weeks in the psych ward at St. Vincents after admitting to being suicidal.
God Bless you Eleanor Chaikin. Whoever you are and wherever you are, you saved my life that night.
Since this experience, and after getting through that period of my life, I have felt a need to help others in the same situation so they would not have to go through what I did. This leeds me to the point of this entry. I met someone who had just moved here in December and he seemed to be a nice guy. He is straight, Puerto Rican and moved here from Miami. I told him if he ever got in a pinch and had nowhere else to go, to call me and he could crash at my place. One night he called and I opened my door to him. That was 5 months ago and with the exception of a recent 4 week trip back to Miami, he has been on my sofa since. I was understanding and did not ask for any money from him even though I have no money myself. He was here while I endured Chemo and radiation therapies for cancer. I was unable to work yet he ran up my Con Ed bill because it has to be cold so he does not melt. Then he started doing steroid shots. The real problems start here and it came to a head last night when I tried to talk to him about the defensive attitude he cops inappropriately. The incident climaxed with him trying to take my phone away, punching me in the face and putting me in a headlock almost tearing my ear off with his Mr T bracelet. My glasses were broken and I was bleeding out of my ear. Refusing to give me back my phone, he sat with a smug look on his face and told me, "try to get me to leave". I left the apartment to get the police only but began to think that I did not want to have him arrested or fuck up his new job, so I came back up and allowed him to stay. AM I THE BIGGEST FUCKING IDIOT ON THE PLANET???
24 hours have passed. I have learned my lesson not to have compassion for people. And, I will never open my door to another person. I have saved him at least $3000, and what do I get for it? Assaulted and threatened in my own home.
QUESTION FOR THE MASSES: What is the best way for me to get this freeloading son of a bitch out of my apartment?
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