Sandwiches of Saving Grace

I took Ferret some grilled roast turkey and cheese sandwiches and a thermos of hot microwaved vegetable beef soup for lunch today. Rosa accompanied me on this little jaunt and mission of mercy.

“I used to be homeless,” Rosa said, proudly, almost as if it was a badge of courage. "Years ago. Just like you were."

“You never cease to surprise me,” I replied as we walked down the street by the newspaper office to the shopping center.

“When I hooked (prostitution) and lived in Atlanta, I would use the money after selling my body and giving blowjobs to buy cheap hotel rooms every night. Sometimes, I would have to sleep in the park or at a women’s shelter when it was a slow night. I was using heavy then.”

I couldn’t imagine someone paying to sleep with Rosa. I guess there are a lot of desperate men out in the world, including myself. A sinking feeling overcame me when I thought of sleeping with this woman when she told me about her prostituting days. A myriad of sexually transmitted diseases came to mind and the thought scared the shit out of me. I made a mental note to get tested for various diseases ASAP.

Ferret was sitting down at the shopping center and had missed yet another day of work. I told him to stop by the house this afternoon and we would download and fill out the forms to get him back on social security disability. It had been less than nine months since he dropped his disability so he could go back on no questions asked since it was pretty much a given that he has lost his job. Ferret thanked me for the food and the help, and me and Rosa walked back up through my neighborhood to my house.

“He was homeless last summer?” She asked me as we walked home.

“He lived in a tent down by the river,” I replied. “I would walk down through the woods every morning and hang out with him at his camp and drink beer.”

“I can’t imagine you drinking on a regular basis,” Rosa said, surprised. "You act stupid when you are drinking."

“I used to give George a run for his money,” I replied. “I was a lush.”

Rosa settled down in my den's lazy boy to watch her daytime Court TV shows and I sat down to write this. As soon as Rosa leaves, I am going to make an appointment with my family practitioner and get tested for AIDS and STDs. That is going to worry the shit out of me until I find out something about it. My drinking days continue to haunt me to this day; just another reason to never drink again. I exhibit no common sense when drinking and will sleep with anything that moves. No offense Rosa.