the Beach …. and the Calvin

…. I hadn’t jogged the beach for awhile. so I thought I’d get some exercise in and  see if any new skyscrapers had appeared since my visit last month …..

 

calvinhigh

 

….. Nope, no new skyscrapers, but I was quite surprised to see     …. – Calvin !

…..   Calvin is a giant fellow, a notorious character for the beach … He is on and off homeless, a problem for the Police, and I thought he had been banned from the seaside… ….. He is a little mentally ill, talks very LOUD, and doesn’t like Cops telling him what to do  …. he would relax on the sand and yell at anyone that got too near to him  ….

 

calvinonbeach

 

… He is so big that the Police couldn’t budge him, so they would entice him with food to get him up and off the beach! ….His weak spot was a McDouble, and the Cops often did what they had to do  …..

….. So it was that I first knew Calvin must be back on the beach  … I jogged up on his calling cards –

 

calvintrash1

…..   endless scattered McDonalds wrappers – assorted drink bottles etc. tossed on the sidewalk!

 

cal11

…. there he was….larger than life ………” hey Calvin”, I said   ……  “Who you?” , he barked    ..”I’m the guy who got you that pair of low cut army boots you asked for a few years back” I replied ….  “size 14 extra wide”, he shouted   …

……  Calvin says he is a Marine – says he was the youngest lifeguard ever at Nova – (22 years old) ….  says he has slimmed down from his old 880 pound frame, to a wheel chair fit of only 385 lbs.   …..

…….   says he was glad to see me, that he could use a few bucks, and needed a new pair of those low cut army boots – size 14 EXTRA WIDE !   ….   I gave him two bucks, and said I’d let my readers know about the shoes if he would give me one more fun picture –  ……    then  he said “remember I told you I was a Marine?”  …. and let this one off –

 

cal31

 

…..   would someone take Calvin some new shoes ?

4 Replies to “the Beach …. and the Calvin”

  1. I recently met a nice homeless young man here on the beach. He’s unable to cope due to ADHD.. He can’t spell, do simple math, lost his clothes, his I.D., social security card and has said it’s been years since he’s received his meds Viv-an which he last received when he was in jail up north several years back. I got the guy on food stamps and am working on getting him his I.D.’s. People like him fall through the cracks, end up in jail and their lives are ruined and they are unable to find a job because they eventually end up with a felony. This city needs a simple one stop place where they can get on Medicaid, I.D.’s, social security card applications, food stamps, clothing and medical assistance. Absence this, the spiral of mentally ill, homelessness and an exploding prison population will only get worse. Just look at our at our Sheriff’s county jail and its just a revolving door. The only one who benefits are the prison administrator companies. The system is broken for the homeless, addicts and mentally ill here in Ft Lauderdale and its a disgrace. But we’ll do what we do best, blame the victim,.

    1. The city of Fort Lauderdale tried to set up a one stop center for the homeless, but the NIMBY attitude put the kabash on that

  2. Someone please write all the existing facilities and their amenities.

    Task Force for Ending Homelessness is a good start.

    Please do not include the main Broward libary.

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