THE GRAND TOUR OF OKLAHOMA
Chapter Nineteen By the time, they got to the Indian church, it was nearly 8:30 and there were three cars parked in the large grassy area in front of the church. The Doctor, Rose and Jenny walked up a long concrete lamp to a concrete porch and Jenny opened the front door and they went inside. Off to the right was the chapel and they went inside. Jenny waved and smiled when an elderly woman saw her and came over. The Doctor and Rose stopped when they hugged each other and then Jenny turned to her friends. "This is Alice, Pastor Stark's wife; these are my friends, John and Rose. Do you mind if they come with us?" "No, I don't mind, there's plenty of room," Alice said, shaking their hands. "We need to wait though because they went and got a school bus for all of us to ride in. So just relax and we'll let you know when the bus gets here." They nodded and an Indian woman with salt and pepper hair came up and hugged Jenny. Jenny introduced her as Blue and she shook the Doctor and Rose's hands before she went and sat down in one of the wooden pews. The Doctor and Rose followed Jenny up to the front pew and saw with her on a long, yellow cushion. Jenny took one of her burgers out of the sack and the Doctor and Rose did the same. They ate and chatted while they waited for the bus. "Are you guys doing anything tomorrow?" Jenny asked them. "Not yet, why?" the Doctor said. "Have you been to the library yet?" Jenny said. "Yeah, we went there for awhile yesterday," Rose said. "I go there a lot and use the computers. Frankly, there's not much to do here unless you have money and it's been so hot that I spend a lot of time at the library to get away from the heat. But tomorrow, they have this international festival thing where they'll have foods from different countries and singers and dancers and crafts. Would you like to do that since you said you wanted to save money? It's all free." "Sounds good," the Doctor said. "And also, on Wednesday nights at 6, they show a free movie too. I've seen a couple of them. But that's something else you can do to save money." "That might also be good," the Doctor said. "On Sunday mornings, I go down the street from here because they have a church that serves hot meals that are really good. It's called Fountain of Faith but everyone calls it the Black Church because the minister's a black guy. But they're really nice there and most of the time the food is really good. Then most people come here for breakfast and lunch and they also serve dinner here at 7 and also serve lunch and dinner on Thursdays. But after lunch here, you can walk up to this abandoned Goodwill and around 12:30 a bunch of people come with clothes, sack lunches, books, hygiene stuff…um…backpacks, shoes, lots of things. And also, if you ride a bike they have a guy that comes and checks out your bike and fixes anything that's wrong." "Wow," Rose said. "They take care of people around here." "Yeah, they do. If you go hungry here, it's your fault basically because there's so many places and people that will serve you meals and between Goodwill and BJ's, I get enough clothes that I don't usually go and launder them, I just throw away anything that's really soiled or ripped and get clean clothes and socks and underwear. Um…also, Monday through Friday at 5:30 in the morning, you can go to First Church and get breakfast, except they're about to move that to a different place in about a week or so. Monday night, they have another church group that comes to the library and they serve food and have church service or you can go to the yard outside this church and they have people who come with soup and sack lunches and clothes and then Friday, they move to a parking lot several blocks from here and give away sack lunches and other stuff. Friday, you have that Friday Night Alive and Saturday you have Saturday Night Alive at another church and you can eat there and get jackets and blankets and hygiene stuff." "Yeah, you're right, there is no excuse to go hungry," the Doctor said. "Oh yeah, and most of the homeless people help each other find these places which is why I'm helping you. I'm just doing what others have done to me and making sure you don't go hungry or naked or end up smelly here." "Thank you for that," Rose said while the Doctor nodded in agreement. "Hey, we're all in this together and most homeless people band together because a lot of non-homeless people look down on us and treat us like shit or like we're vermin, especially cops and security guards. Here, if you look homeless and you're carrying a backpack, the cops will slow down and follow you to see what you're doing and sometimes harass you." "Seriously?" Rose said. "Yeah, I've been walking along minding my own business and a cop car will be coming along and they will slow down and look right at me before speeding up and going on their way. I know it's because of people like Aladdin that are drunk all the time and they check for them but not every homeless person does that and it's people like Aladdin that give the rest of us a bad name. So, just be aware of that, especially in Bricktown because a lot of people have said if you go in there with a backpack, the cops harass you. Not me, but I try not to look homeless and I guess maybe I'm a woman. Some of the people who told me the cops hassled them in there were dirty and scruffy and drunk. But I've seen businesspeople carrying backpacks so hoboes aren't the only ones. But here in Oklahoma, it seems like if you go out in public with a backpack, you're automatically under suspicion." "Well, we have a place to store our backpacks and we can store yours so you don't have to walk around with it all the time," the Doctor said. "I'm sorry people are harassing you for simply carrying one." Jenny shrugged. "It's just people's prejudices against the homeless, I've had so much crap and dirty looks from people that I've just learned to ignore it. I know who I am and I'm a good person and I don't give a crap if people think otherwise." The Doctor smiled at that and nodded. "Anyway, just another tip for you so you'll be aware," Jenny said to them. "Really, if you just keep to yourself and don't bother anyone, you'll be okay. Just stay away from the wrong crowd, the drunks, drug addicts, people with tempers who wanna fight everyone, that sort of crowd." "Thank you for all these tips and information," the Doctor said. "No problem, just trying to help. Oh, and I hope Aladdin stops bothering you. You really need to stay away from him. Since I've been here, I know of him going to jail at least twice and both times he beat the shit outta someone who I guess slighted him in some way. He's fucking nuts, pardon my French again. He's also very racist, which strikes me as funny since he's a minority himself but he hates black people and he's called people the N word straight to their faces. I don't know if he'd say anything to you though." "Well, actually," Rose said. "When he first came up to us, he told us that we invaded his country. Meaning the UK did but he said it to us like we personally invaded India." Jenny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, the man has no tact and he'll say whatever's on his mind and then wonder why he keeps getting targeted for a beating," Jenny said. "But he'll beat up people if he feels like it, so like I said, keep away from his nutty ass." "We're trying, believe me," the Doctor said. "Well, I hope eventually he'll give up and leave you alone if you don't give him the time of day," Jenny said. "You'll have enough flak from non-homeless people without him following you around. But the way you guys look, you shouldn't have much problem blending in to the general public. That's why I do everything I can not to look homeless unlike some scruffy people around here. And I have to say, you look good," Jenny said, pointing to the Doctor's suit. "You're one snazzy hobo, I have to say." Rose bent over laughing while the Doctor beamed at that. "I'm an executive tramp," the Doctor said. "I'll say, I don't see any hobos wearing a suit, you're doing the smart thing," Jenny said. "Well, I could go roll in the dirt and jump in a mudpuddle, if you want." "Um…no, I'd advise against that," Jenny said while the Doctor and Rose laughed. They looked at the door when Alice came back inside and told them they were ready. The Doctor, Rose and Jenny hurriedly ate their hamburgers, gathered up their sacks and gear and went outside.
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