Old Times Sake - Sweet Sable
So every first wednesday of every month, my parents go do this "sandwich run" thing. They head down to East Hastings and Main (aka "Hell's Gate") and hand out sandwiches, drinks, and dessert to the homeless of Vancity. My city. I don't usually go with them, but I went last night. If you've been to the chinatown, you know how much of a mess it is.
First we hit up this house on Main and 17th, where some of you St.Pat's kids make the sandwiches, we load up the broke-ass truck with the food, some tables, then we head down to the Downtown Eastside.
It's kind of a trip because there are no legit seats in the truck. You have to strap yourself down in the back, there are no lights inside, just darkness. It's pretty ominous. You end up getting kinda anxious, and you start thinking about shit. It kinda feels like one of those scenes from a war movie where the soldiers are piled in the back of some vehicle, nobody's looking at each other, there are no windows, no lights. It's just them inside this tank or whatever, thinking about how they're on their way to battle, fight, kill... Haha well it's kinda the exact opposite of that, I'm just there to hand out sandwiches with my fam, but it seems like a similar anxiety. You don't know what to expect, but you can expect the worst in the Downtown Eastside.
It's kind of a trip because there are no legit seats in the truck. You have to strap yourself down in the back, there are no lights inside, just darkness. It's pretty ominous. You end up getting kinda anxious, and you start thinking about shit. It kinda feels like one of those scenes from a war movie where the soldiers are piled in the back of some vehicle, nobody's looking at each other, there are no windows, no lights. It's just them inside this tank or whatever, thinking about how they're on their way to battle, fight, kill... Haha well it's kinda the exact opposite of that, I'm just there to hand out sandwiches with my fam, but it seems like a similar anxiety. You don't know what to expect, but you can expect the worst in the Downtown Eastside.
We set up right next to the welfare building. We actually pull up into the parking spot beside that exact alleyway in the picture. My dad parks, he walks to the back, and opens up the door. The last bit of daylight seeps into the darkness of the truck. We hand out the food from the container of the truck. There's already a line-up of hungry people that's measures over a block long. It's a trip to see the characters there. You see everybody that you would expect; prostitutes, the mentally unstable, the drug-addicts, etc. I saw crack rocks being exchanged with a handful of coins right in front of me. The worst shit I saw was this young guy, maybe late 20s, early 30s, just shooting-up in the alleyway, tilting his head back, and he was just zoning. It was fucked. Another thing that tripped me out, was that some of the people look like 9-5, day-job types. You and me types. I handed a PB&J sandwich to some dude who was dressed in a shirt and tie. It hurts to see that people have to live that way. People always say, "It's their fault that they ended up like that", but that's stupid, you can tell that some of these people were just never given a chance. It's sad to see that one of those most beautiful cities on the west coast is so broken. My city.
sorry. but im happy now.
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E and i used to make those sandwiches.. never went as far as handing them out.. now i know.
Wow..
I applaud you and your family for doing that and everyone else who helps out.
It's actually really sad to realize the reality of it all though..