06.17.06
“She talks to angels, Says they call her out by her name…” Black Crowes
Santa Cruz was filled with all kinds of characters. One homeless man, who we called “God”, stood in various places around the city talking to the angels and preaching to no one in particular. He would stand in front of the big plate glass window at the local supermarket and “rant”. He would yell at all of us walking by about listening to the angels because they were trying to help us and didn’t we hear them? Then he would talk to the angels and tell them that he was trying to get us to listen, but what could he do about it? He would get so frustrated that eventually he would just be incomprehensible and mostly spitting. I guess you could say he was “spitting mad”. He also used to stare straight into the sun. he never went blind in all the time we knew him or knew of him. He told us he had learned how to do it from a spiritual leader. People would stop and stare at him as he did it. Sometimes he was very lucid and other times, he was completely unaware of his surroundings. He would sometimes hang out with us in San Lorenzo Park having normal conversations. Other times, he had no idea who we were. Many years later, some young “yahoos” started going through the park beating up “Trolls” for kicks. They called the homeless people “Trolls” because they slept under the bridge at night. Things got very out of hand, and they started beating them to death. Unfortunately, “God” was one of the unlucky ones who was killed. The killers were caught and convicted, but only served 10 years. I guess the homeless were considered insignificant as the town grew. As far as I was concerned, they added to the character.
There was another man who taught me about the wild foods in town. I already had an interest in plants and herbs, but hadn’t really foraged. He first showed me where the rosemary, sage and wild onion grew, then we moved on to other wild foods. I liked this guy a lot. His story was that he had been a nuclear physicist, making very good money with a wife and family. One day he had an awakening and quit his job. Apparently, his wife freaked out and had him committed for a while, where they did all sorts of intervention that basically fried his brain. His wife eventually left him taking all his money and property, his children had no contact with him, and he was left homeless and confused. I could tell the guy was still brilliant, but couldn’t access it consistently anymore. He lived completely off the land and tried to teach anyone who was interested how to do the same. He was one of the gentlest and most knowledgeable men I had ever met. He taught with a patience and expectation of your complete intelligence that is rare. He was my favorite of all the “characters” there.