Two figures darted through rush-hour traffic in the drizzle of a rainy April evening in Longview. With unwashed T-shirts clinging to their backs, they flagged down wary drivers who were attempting to exit a grocery store parking lot, not far from downtown.
“Hey, can you spare a couple bucks?” they asked. “We’re trying to get a bite to eat.”
A few people rolled down their windows and handed over change. Others did not. “All they can say is yes or no,” said Shane Wendell, one of the panhandlers. “If they say no, I don’t hold it against them. But we don’t usually do this because we usually work.”
They had not worked on that day, a Monday. During the weekend, Wendell and his friend, Terry Pate, had lived off their earnings from a roofing job. The money had run out by that afternoon, washed away by pitchers of beer at a local tavern.
So they walked across the street to the grocery store, and they begged.
THE SCORE
After scrounging together some cash, Pate and Wendell bought a pouch of rolling tobacco and enough malt liquor to keep the buzz going. They made an unlikely pair.
Wendell was 35 years old. He was tall and easy-going, from the Pacific Northwest by way of Houston, and he wore a baseball cap pulled low over his curly blond hair. He had been homeless for five months.
Pate had been on the streets much longer, and it showed. With a quick temper, intense blue eyes and a face etched by hard living, Pate said he was a former surgeon’s assistant who had divorced a good woman in Malakoff. He had been homeless in Longview for more years than he cared to remember.
“We’re not all bums,” Pate said. “If somebody could just give us a job, we’d be back on our feet like that.” He snapped his fingers: “That quick.”
Pate ordered Wendell to carry the malt liquor from the grocery store, and he tried to return to the bar where his girlfriend was still drinking. Wendell wouldn’t allow his friend to wander off. The rain had stopped, night was approaching, and it was time to go to the place they called home. The men crossed East Marshall Avenue and turned down a side street. They walked past large homes and a business or two, then ducked into the woods and were gone.
ARRIVING IN CAMP
A footpath parts the weeds where Pate and Wendell stepped into the forest. It is all but invisible to the drivers who pass by it every day, but it is well-known among the street people in Longview.
The trail meanders about 150 paces through stands of sapling and brush, over a fallen log and past tall pine trees. It wends toward a campsite in the middle of a bamboo grove.
Wendell and Pate were not the first homeless people to make camp there. They had been sleeping at the spot off and on for a couple of months, adding to the mounds of refuse around the dome tents and campfire as they tossed off old clothes and shoes, food wrappers, empty cans and 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor.
For warmth, they burned canes of bamboo that sizzled and popped in the flames.
Wendell said the camp had been tidier when they stayed there more frequently. Lately, as the weather warmed and the mosquitoes returned, they had been spending more nights at motels and in the Salvation Army.
“It’s not always like this, but it can get that way,” Wendell said.
Pate’s girlfriend showed up. Jill Doss, 42, wore thick glasses and a V-neck blouse. She said she grew up in Longview, married at 16, then divorced and joined a carnival that was passing through East Texas when she was 20. She lived in six states before returning to Longview in 1998.
“I met a lot of awesome people between here and there,” she said.
Doss is the mother of a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, both of whom live with their dad. She had spent the previous night in a motel room with Pate, and Pate was jealous of her interactions with other men.
“Jill!” Pate barked at her. “Give the writer a break!”
Doss’ story was over.
WITH FRIENDS
“Company!”
The friendly shout rang from the trail. The camp’s previous occupants, a couple of guys named Tommy and John, had come calling.
The men were staying in a motel after finding steady work on a trash truck, and they cracked jokes and sprinkled lemon-lime salt into their drinks to kill the bitter taste of the malt liquor.
Pate sidled over to the man named John.
“Did you bring us a little somethin’ somethin’?” Pate asked him.
“Not yet,” he replied. “They’re not giving it to us till the morning, but we don’t feel like waiting so we’re about to go find it.”
Pate told Doss to fetch her Bible. He ordered the reporter to read a passage from 1st Corinthians 13, a chapter that defines love for the Christian religion.
Pate snarled at the chapter’s conclusion. “You can say it, or you can mean it,” he said.
The sun set over the bamboo grove, and Tommy and John left camp. When Doss stood up to follow them, Pate tried to stop her.
“Honor, Terry!” she shouted. “Where’s your honor?”
He watched her walk away in the firelight, then bolted after her. Wendell shouted as he ran past. “Terry!” It was no use. Pate reached his girlfriend on the trail outside of camp.
“You want to use me like this?” he said.
“Get away from me!” she screamed. “Get your hands off of me!”
A BEATING
Tree branches snapped and leaves rustled in the confusion. A rapid fire of fists on flesh pounded in the darkness. Pow! Pow! Pow! Wendell ran to break up the fight.
When he walked back into camp, Wendell said Tommy had ambushed Pate and beaten him for confronting Doss.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I just know they were fighting in the brush, and I broke it up. All I know is they’re both my friends, and I stand behind my friends.”
Beaten in the fight and fuming about it, Pate stumbled toward the street. Tommy returned to the camp to ask whether anyone had noticed a cell phone that had fallen from his pocket during the scuffle.
“He went down like some kind of kung fu move, and I caught him at least seven or eight good times,” Tommy said, demonstrating with a series of sharp uppercut jabs.
Wendell sighed. “I need to get out of this town,” he said.
Wendell had been breaking up a couple of fights a week in the camp. He said he drifted into Longview from Houston after he was laid off from his job and his wife left him with a mortgage and other bills. He had found work in Longview through a temporary labor service but lost the job when he misplaced his contact lenses and could not see to work.
He was thinking about hitching to Fort Worth to enroll in a course to become a commercial truck driver. It was hard to make plans when living day to day, though.
“I don’t know how else to explain it,” he said. “I don’t have a set plan for every day. I wish I did. I used to. I get up every morning. I try to get me something to eat. There’s always Newgate,” a homeless ministry in town. “You can get some doughnuts and coffee. I try to work every day. Sometimes I work, sometimes I don’t. If I don’t work, then I wander the streets, try to make something happen. If not, I have to eat at the shelters.”
That morning, Wendell said he had awakened alone in camp shortly after daylight. There were beers left over from the night before, so he started drinking. He said he had been drinking all day. That wasn’t a typical day, though, he said, because he more often tries to find work.
“Do you know how hard it is to get back on your feet when you’re down? It’s not easy,” he said. “It’s not, man, because when you’re dirty, you ain’t got no place to shower, you don’t have clean clothes, who’s gonna hire you?”
As he spoke, Wendell kept glancing into the darkness of the trail beyond the campfire. Finally, he called out to the woods: “I hear somebody out there!”
“I heard some footsteps,” he said.
THE NIGHT
When Pate returned to camp, he was still furious about the tussle.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve got a woman that I have cared about and walked out on me, and I had to wrestle some little punk out there because I’m too (messed) up, but tomorrow we’ll do a rematch.
“We better get a rematch,” he repeated. “You get me a rematch.”
Wendell scolded his friend.
“If you want to fight, fight in the street,” he said. “You do not need to be fighting in camp.”
Pate pleaded for money to buy crack cocaine, and when turned down, he spent the rest of the night muttering about the rematch, speaking in tongues, cursing the people around him, preaching from the Bible or, especially, calling out for his girlfriend.
“Where’s Jill?” he yelled.
“I don’t know!” Wendell replied. “Quit asking me that!”
Even at around 3 a.m., Pate awoke in his tent and called out her name.
“She’s gone, man!” Wendell said. “Let her go! You’re better off without her.”
AT DAYLIGHT
Wendell and Pate arose early the next morning and rustled through their belongings.
“Let me guess, we’re out of cigarettes,” Wendell said.
“Hup!” he exclaimed, finding the pouch of rolling tobacco. “We’re not down and out yet.”
After rolling a couple of smokes, they walked to the Newgate mission for coffee and doughnuts. They left before the preaching started.
It began to rain, and the friends quickened their pace as they made their way to the Labor Ready office a mile or two away.
If the rain would let up, they had scored a job repairing the roof of a restaurant near the grocery store. Then they’d have enough money to get a motel room, take a shower.
Pate’s girlfriend was at the day-labor site, milling around with the men waiting for jobs. Wendell feared a confrontation, but Pate only spoke to her and watched her walk away.
5,384 responses to “One night in a homeless camp”
Excellent article. I absolutely appreciate this site. Continue the good work!
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Well written.
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking the time and actual effort to produce a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get anything done.
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Many thanks.
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Everyone loves it whenever people get together and share ideas. Great site, keep it up.
Howdy, I think your web site may be having web browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Other than that, great website!
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you ought to write more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but typically people do not talk about these subjects. To the next! Many thanks.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who had been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me lunch because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this topic here on your web site.
I absolutely love your website.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you develop this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my own site and would like to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Many thanks!
Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Spending some time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and don’t manage to get anything done.
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something that helped me. Appreciate it.
You have made some really good points there. I checked on the web for more info about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this site.
Buy Drugs
It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this subject, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Buy Drugs
Porn site
I needed to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have got you book-marked to check out new things you post…
You are so cool! I don’t think I’ve read through something like that before. So nice to discover someone with some original thoughts on this issue. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This web site is one thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with a little originality.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be helpful to read through content from other authors and use something from other websites.
I would like to send this post to any of you who are earning from futures trading markets, especially the ones caring about energies and metals.
This is proof of just how far people in power will go to gain authoritative control over the masses.
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Many thanks for supplying this info.
Howdy! This article couldn’t be written much better! Looking through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I most certainly will forward this information to him. Pretty sure he will have a very good read. Many thanks for sharing!
People are typically audited by the IRS for one of two reasons: random selection done via computer screening or questionable items on a tax return.
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Viagra
Great site you have got here.. It’s hard to find high-quality writing like yours nowadays. I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
After looking over a number of the blog posts on your website, I seriously appreciate your way of blogging. I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back in the near future. Please check out my web site as well and tell me how you feel.
Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Many thanks, However I am having problems with your RSS. I don’t understand why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody else having the same RSS problems? Anyone who knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanx!
This is the perfect web site for anybody who wants to understand this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject which has been written about for many years. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful.
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Take care! Exactly where can I find the contact details for questions?
I have been exploring for a bit for any high-quality articles or blog posts on this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this website. Reading this info So i?m happy to convey that I’ve an incredibly good uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed. I most certainly will make certain to do not forget this website and give it a glance regularly.
Viagra
Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thanks Nevertheless I’m experiencing issue with ur rss . Don?t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting equivalent rss drawback? Anyone who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx
Sex
bookmarked!!, I like your blog!
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this site. I’m hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts by you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own blog now 😉
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Thanks for providing this information.
I absolutely love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m trying to create my very own blog and would love to know where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Thanks.
Can I simply say what a aid to search out someone who truly knows what theyre speaking about on the internet. You positively know how you can convey a difficulty to mild and make it important. Extra people must read this and perceive this facet of the story. I cant imagine youre no more standard because you positively have the gift.
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
May I just say what a relief to find a person that actually understands what they’re discussing online. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people really need to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular given that you most certainly possess the gift.
You’re so awesome! I do not suppose I’ve read something like this before. So great to discover someone with original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with some originality.
This is the perfect webpage for anyone who really wants to understand this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a subject that has been discussed for a long time. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful.
Porn
Saved as a favorite, I like your site!
Porn site
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!