RONNIE

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

RONNIE’S STORY

I lived here for most of my life, but decided to move to Utah. I did the Job Core there for a year and a half but came back here because I missed my family cause they mean so much to me. I lived in Clearville, Utah though...it was beautiful up there. Man, the mountains were crazy beautiful. My brother was with me there. He did plumbing and I did printing. In six months I graduated from where I trained for the job, and came back home. I was twenty four at the time, and when I got back here, I messed up and got my second DWI. With that DWI on my record, I thought I had to get out of this town again. So I went back up to Utah and met a beautiful girl and asked her to marry me after three months of seeing her. I thought she was the love of my life. She stayed with me another three months, then left me without a trace. Then there was another girl later on, but she left me too, as everyone else does.

I had a nice apartment in Utah when I was working. I am a custodian at heart; my momma taught me well, she taught me how to clean. My momma passed away five years ago though, and it stinks. God, I miss her so much.

I am not exactly sure how it all happened, but I ended up homeless. For a few years now. I live in an abandoned house now with a few other people. I’m so tired of the street. I just didn’t want to spend another winter out here. I used to bring rubbing alcohol in my tent and it would heat that thing up like a sauna. Putting it in a Vienna sausage can, light a piece of paper on fire, throw it in there and woosh, three inch flame. But I ended up catching my tent on fire. I managed to put that fire out but it was still smoldering and the fire department got called, but it was too late cause I lost pretty much everything I owned. Everything.

Looking at my life, I never thought I would be living on the streets for this long. Never. There is so much about living on the street that is not good, but the hardest thing about it is dealing with the weather. Spring and summer is alright. Fall is awesome, but winter is baaaaad. Nuts. Terrible. So the weather, yes, is one of the hardest things to deal with, but you’re also dealing with things like not being able to find a job. I haven’t had a job since I’ve been homeless because I was a little meth head. I have stopped that now and been looking for a job, but it’s so hard to try and find a job when you haven’t been working. I mean, seriously, the temp service around the corner wouldn’t even accept an application from me because I haven’t had any experience in the last year. It is a catch 22.

With all the struggle I have experienced in my life, I can say I still have not given up hope. And I’ve had a lot of stuff taken from me but the one thing they can’t take is my faith. You know, I still believe in that big boy upstairs, and if I had a chance I’d go to church.