It's just li'l ol' me, Annie Grace, aka "Snaggle-Tooth Annie", on 'count of my crooked, stained teeth.  Now yall know why I am called "Snaggle-Tooth Annie":  you can probably figure that out once you see me.  I'm not pretty; I'm butt-ugly.  Look more like the back end of a pig, if y'all know what I mean.  LOL

Now that the weather is nicer (severe threat just 'bout over .. I hope!), it's much nicer sleepin' outdoors.  If I can get a room at any shelter, that's even better, but if not, I sleep at the park if the cops don't chase me or my buddies out of there first, or if it's bad/chilly out, near anywhere where there's warmth.  A body can get mighty chilly on these mean city streets ...

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  Tomorrow, me, Rica, Manuela, Ryan, Cordelia and her three little ones (Eduardo Panchito, Rosca, and Emilia), and Charlie-The-Crazy are gonna honor our Veteran friends (Vet-Man and Q-Man), and visit the graves of Shoeless Joe and Conyers; they were friends of ours, but they died broke and poor; nobody even come to their funeral, so we honor them by remembering the brave sacrifices they made for our country.  If it were not for people like them, we would  not be free today (though lately, I see that freedom being stripped away, little by little; it's scary to see!).

We might go to the city parade ... that is, if the rich folk don't chase us away again, like they did last July Fourth.  They didn't want us hangin' 'round, so they chased us away, yelling and calling us dirty vagrants.  It was horrible!  We never did get to see the rest of the parade, and we never did see the fireworks ... heard 'em, though, but it still didn't dampen the sour mood I had at the time.  Some people are so mean!  Don't they realize that we are people too and deserve to be treated with a little compassion or respect??

They could end up like us if they don't watch themselves!  I mean, look at me.  I was married, but then my husband died, and I couldn't afford the rent of the apartment I was livin' at, so I got thrown out and have been homeless now for the past several years.  So I am now one of the "invisible people" that few people see or are willing to talk about.

I hate having to wear layers of dirty, smelly clothing, but a person's gotta keep her body covered, y'know?  I hate scrounging in Dumpsters or trash cans looking for something worth eating or begging on the streets, asking for a little money so I can get somethin' to nourish me.  I hate having to go to overcrowded shelters or having people staring at me like I'm something nasty that just crawled out of the sewers!  I also hate not being able to afford to get my teeth fixed or my hair done, so I don't look like such a rag'muffin!

Well, hell, I've done it:  I've done made myself cry again.  Seems that is all I ever do anymore.  Cry.  I wouldn't wish this sorry life on anybody; to be homeless is one of the greatest insults that can ever happen to a person, especially when I think of the happy life I once had when my husband was still alive and had a place to call our own!  I once had it all; now I have nothing but my stubborn will and the determination to try to live despite terrible circumstances that weren't even my fault!

*to be continued.*