This is not the life I ordered
 

one man's investigation into the plight of the homeless in Las Vegas. Thought some might be interested.

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin...gi?read=105091

Alot of people we know and work with are 2 paychecks away from being on their way to living on the street. I have worked with a guy just like Chuck. He lived in his van for the year and half I worked with him and I would imagine he still does.

America is a wonderful place as long as you don't weaken and run out of money.

It's very easy to ignore these people and their plight. I am most guilty of this myself. I greatly admire the courage of the author to put himself in that situation, and shed some light on a dark subject. I happen to think he is a great writer, he speaks eloquently for the disenfranchised, the "misfits".

Interesting story, but the guy wasn't out there long enough to do a good story on it...I'd be interested in reading the same story from someone who was out there for more than 36 hours.

I understand what you're saying, and I don't mean to act as a defender of the author, but as he said, he's not an ivestigative journalist, just a writer. And I think he truly believed spending any more time in that situation may have cost him his life.

I appreciated his honesty that he couldn't make it more than 36 hours because it really drove home how hard it is to be homeless- his increasing disorientation and dehydration was really affecting- between that and the lack of ID it really makes clear why it's not as easy as "Why don't they just get a job?"

Thanks for posting the link, golfer.

Yeah, I'm not hatin'...I was just surprised that someone would take on something like that & only last a short amount of time....especially since he was a self described 17 year marathon runner, etc, etc. He eludes to this himself a couple of times in the article as well...

"I knew that Vegas was a tough place to be homeless, but my God -- less than 36 hours, and I was at death's door and crying to my mammy and pappy for help."

"I had been communicating with a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun newspaper named Tim Pratt. When he learned of my experiment's premature and pathetic end"

Like I said, not hatin'...I just think it would have been an even better story if it was for more than 36 hours...it was interesting nonetheless though.

Oh, I didn't think you were hatin', and I agree had he been able to last longer he probably would have had even more things to describe about life on the streets that we can't imagine, but as a result of him not making it more than a day-and-a-half I started to wonder how many of the homeless people I see every day muttering to themselves are disoriented from dehydration. We forget how vital water is untill we can't get it from our own faucet whenever we feel like it.

If ever elected president---I would try to solve both the homeless problem and the immigration problem together.

Hook the homeless up with all the cigs, booze, and firepower they need---and have them guard the border ruthlessly. Many of them know a thing or two about combat already...and most of the ones that don't are outright crazy anyway....why not solve two problems at once?