Houston

Hey everyone:

As soon as I get a chance to update all the stories I will but I am just on here to announce a few things:

first off, I made it to Houston safely!


I guess it's time to tell the story of my robbery. I was on the phone with Casey Hunt one block away from the FSU campus when two guys who looked shady approached me. I thought for a second that the dudes were there to rob me but I am too trusting and thought I was a jerk for even thinking of it. One of the guys asked me for the time: I told him. It was ten. Then he rushed up on me and pulled out a gun from his pants. "give me your phone!" he yelled. I gave him my phone. Then he demanded for my money but I hesitated. I don't really have much money so all my money is important to me. He pressed the gun hard into my spine. Then he demanded again, "Give me your wallet." I still didn't give it to him so the other guy started screaming, "shoot him, shoot him, shoot him." So, after that I gave them my wallet pretty easily.

Then, they ran off. Their baggy pants didn't help the fact that they were slow runners. I could have out run them any day. I wanted to run after them, tackle them and beat them for my wallet but I used a little more sense and ran home.

I mean, what were they thinking? I am practically homeless with no job and little money and they are stealing from me? Not only that... they are stealing from me to buy 700 dollars worth of liquor. A luxury that I can't afford any more, really. I shrink my diet down to a sandwich and a grapefruit a day and these guys take everything I have.

Now, I was left with no ID, No SS, no money, no credit, or anything. And I am 850 miles from home.

I didn't even think to call the police but my friend Roxy did it for me. They were there promptly and started my case.

They stole a total of 700 dollars in credit before I could cancel my cards and they potentially can take more because they have my SS. They took a 50 dollar walmart gift card, a gift card to CPK, and a gift card to the movie theater (which was Jay's last gift to me before he died so I have been reluctant to spend it because it had so much sentimental value.) I lost an irreplacable picture that I had in my wallet for 11 years.

Luckily I had my camera on me which had all of my pictures from my trip and they didn't take it. I guess they didn't see it. That was probably the most important thing in my pocket.

I have officially decided to cancel the rest of my trip for the time being. I am going to go home on april 28th. I am getting a ride from my friend Tony. He is an angel because he is coming to Texas to pick me up. Hopefully when I get my money together again I will head out to California for the summer and then north to Washington and Oregon.

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me throughout my journey.

Bryan

ATTENTION

I think I am going to cut my trip short, at least temporarily. Tonight i was robbed at gun point and have nothing. no money, credit cards, license, ss.

I need help or advice on what to do. all credit cards are canceled. Pray for me.

bryan

The break down

Greyhound did it for me again! The bus broke down at 1 30 AM in west palm beach. The second bus didn't come until 5 hours later. So I slept at the train station with no blanket, it was pretty horrible.

The next evening I finally made it to Tallahassee where I would see my friend Ashley for the first time in almost a year. This leg of the trip has been true college craziness. Going to bars and a comedy club and the circus are just a few of the amazing things I have done.

The best of all was when I went to Ashley's Sorority's Semi-Formal in Panama City. We took a party bus down where we listened to music and got crazy. Then we ate a fancy meal half a block from the beach so we went in the water after we ate. Then got our dance on which was awesome.

April Fools

On April first my Grandpa came down to Lake Worth to pick me up and hang out with me for a couple of days. I finally could stay in a place that I recognized as home. Having grown up going to this house in Stuart once or twice a year I felt extremely comfortable. They made me a huge dinner that night and forced me to eat two HUGE steaks which I managed to do somehow even though my stomach was so small I was full after only a few bites.

They continued to stuff me full of food the next few days at every meal then sent me on my way to Miami.

In Miami I got lost pretty quickly, but luckily when I asked for directions in a steel yard I was not only given directions but a ride to my destination. I walked a lot in Miami and on South Beach. I really didn't have fun in Miami but without a car the place was too expansive and overcrowded for my taste.

Then I would make it to Tallahassee?

A Savior

I have become accustomed to taking the tri rail down the coast of south Florida. A spent a day in Fort Lauderdale on the beach where kids were celebrating spring break. I was just another kid on vacation until I put my bag back on and homeless people were trying to hang out with me. I was depressed by the spring break. Everyone seemed so desperate to hook up and they were all completely shameless about it. I guess I didn't belong in a scene like this anymore.

I fit in more with the homeless people but they kept asking me to "blast" with them (which I am pretty sure it means heroine.) So, I couldn't hang with them too long but they did give me a lot of advice on how to take care of myself on the streets and where the best shelters are.

On the 27th I wrote this in my journal:

"I am in such a complete state of homesickness and loneliness that I am not sure if I can operate logically. I am making short cuts on my trip and I am not moving forward. I want to cut out the keys and the everglades because I don't have the heart? Anything to get me home sooner, I have missed so much awesome stuff with easy living and I question if it's worth it. Just get me to Tallahassee where I know someone."

Luckily God heard my cry because that day I got a call from a man named Rusty who offered me a place to stay in Lake Worth with him. So after I watched the last spring training game of the season I got on the bus and headed south to Rusty's.

3/25/08

I am a chameleon! I stayed in The Embassy Suites hotel and I was treated like a millionaire. I looked and felt like I belonged. I was given whatever I wanted. Of course that was only one night so I packed my things up and started walking.

I came to an intersection where a man in a Mercedes was stopped. He looked at me with deep fear in his eyes and locked his door so I could see. He was scared of me, a person who he must have assumed was a homeless person.

Not even a half hour later I ditched my bag in the woods and buried it under some leaves and walked on a college campus. I felt like a student. I got many smiles from attractive students: A sign of approval that I must be a student. Then when I was in the library a kid asked, "Do you have 90 cents on your card?"

I have figured my role on this trip. I am a chameleon and I am going to take advantage of it to continue getting by.

But what happened before I was stuck on the streets?

I left Bradenton in the morning and took a long and terrible bus ride to West Palm. I had memorized the local bus schedule so I got on a local bus and met up with my friend Debbie from Sam's who was in town for Spring Training. From the bus stop is was another 2 mile walk to her hotel where I met Debbie, Debbie's mom and her friends.

We talked all evening in the lobby and ran into many sports stars. The best was when Hal Mcrae was making a cup of Coffee and we asked him how the cardinals looked this year and he said, "just okay. You know, just okay."

When I left the girls for a minute to check my email they had made me up a plastic bag full of food! Then they offered me to stay at the hotel for a night in my own room. I politely refused but they told me that I had to and that they were going to get me a room anyway, they already decided. It was pretty amazing, especially because I was homeless the next night and here I am in this fancy hotel living the life.

Breakfast was whatever I wanted to order and it was free. I could actually get full! It had been a long time since I had felt that feeling.

We watched the cardinals trump the nationals in a slow placed game but a great victory.

I have a lot of catching up to do.

I haven't had a lot of internet access in the past couple of weeks so I have not really been able to update. I also don't have a way to load my pictures so I can't do that right now either.

Urban Camping:

I ended up Urban Camping the next couple of nights. When I say Urban Camping, I really mean being homeless. It just sounds a lot better when I say urban camping because it sounds like something I wanted to do. I wasn't able to find anyone to couch surf with so I was forced to camp even though I was in the city of West Palm.

I wasn't able to set up my tent because I was trying to hide from other homeless people and police. I just slept out under the stars near a pond surrounded by trees. It was really uncomfortable and I didn't really sleep the first night. Luckily the state of Florida is under a drought warning so I only got sprayed by sprinklers at 4 AM sharp one of the nights I camped out. That morning I watched a spider spin its web and a raccoon scavenge for food.

Oh and there was an animal that slept in the bush next to me that was quite loud during my entire camping experience.