Sweet Moves

Until recently, Mike was unhoused due to a series of what he calls “unfortunate events.” He used to live in Woonsocket, but now that he managed to get his own apartment in Pawtucket, he only makes the trip back up for appointments at the Thundermist Health Center. He also visited the Rhode Island Department of Health Services (DHS) office, which supplies him with money on an EBT card through SNAP.

I'm having a very good day. I came up here because I had a couple of doctor's appointments over here at Thundermist. On my way here, I stopped by the soup kitchen on Hamlet Street. They had these nice stuffed roasted peppers and salads, so I got some, had a nice lunch. Then I went and did my doctor's appointments and got myself a Mountain Dew. After the doctor's appointments were done, I needed a new DHS card. I may as well kill more than one bird with one stone. I've got a couple of friends who live up here in Woonsocket. I met a few people today who were really cool and I shot the shit with them. I met some people at the church. I met some people at DHS while I was waiting in line. That was all fun. Then I got together with my friend and we hung out and just drove around and shot the shit and caught up. 

I came here because when I went to DHS, I found out I had a couple of dollars left on my EBT card. But evidently, it didn't go through because it takes a while for that to transpire. So the girl over there just gave me $2 so I can get a Halloween pumpkin. I thought that was awesome. The thing ended up being $3 because the one that was $1.75 that I was going to buy, he sold. So he gave me this one for $3. People are showing me love today. 

I've come here a couple of times. I come up here every once in a while. My only issue with it is sometimes it's a little bit more expensive. You're saving money on one end on your food stamp card, but then they charge a little more, so in the end, it kind of balances out. 

If I got an appointment and the farmers market coincides with me being here, I’ll come and poke my nose around if I happen to have money on my EBT card. I don't necessarily pay cash for food unless I have to, you know? I eat all the bad stuff, vegetables aren't high on my list on the food chain. I'm more of a carnivore myself. I mean, I like vegetables, too. If you know how to cook them. I like food cuz I'm a glutton. 

They had this fruit that I had never saw before. I don't even know if it was a fruit or if it was a vegetable or something. It was called a lemon something. I never heard of it before. But I started shooting the shit with the person who was selling them. I tried it out, and it was pretty good. It was like a lemon cucumber, I think is what they called it. 

Going to farmers markets hasn’t changed my eating habits. I just eat the things that I like. You stick to what you like. I went out with this girl, and she was a fucking vegan. She drove me fucking nuts. She wouldn't even eat honey.

I finally got a place by myself and I'll keep it that way. I’m getting a cat. Because of all this stuff that happened, I've been wanting a cat for a while. For whatever reason, where I was living, I just went through a series of unfortunate events. I was homeless and all this other crap. So I finally got a place. By myself and I ain't got to worry about roommates. Sweet moves. 

All these poor animals, they're up for grabs because they need homes. Moving’s expensive. It's going to take me at least a few months to bounce back before I can start thinking about taking care of another living thing. Right now I'm working on plants. I’m incrementally working my way up. When I get a cat, I'm going to name her Huntress.