Bus Story: More on Dave
Waiting for the bus in Westwood I ran into Peet's Coffee tonight to get a cheese plate then thought, maybe I'll run into Dave tonight, so I ran back in and picked up a sandwich. Hopped on the bus and at the very next stop Dave got on! I waved him over to the seat next to me in the fourth row.
One by one, people in the front got up and moved to the back. I guess he didn't smell so good but honestly it didn't bother me. He called his odor "temperamental" which made me laugh really hard. Someone opened a window and a stocky guy with a mustache offered him some aftershave (no idea why he was carrying aftershave, but Dave dutifully splashed it on his face and opened his jacket to get some on his t-shirt.)
I handed him the sandwich. He took a few bites then said it was hard for him to eat cold food, it's too hard to bite through. Noted.
He shared a few other details about his life and I realized there's a really interesting guy underneath the off-putting exterior.
Dave grew up in Santa Monica. He's 63.
He doesn't remember where he went to grade school.
His parents are dead. He has a brother named Alex he sees regularly. Both were in the military. When I probed him about what happened when he was in service he got quiet.
He has kids which he called "crazy fuckers" which also made me laugh given that Dave lives on a bench.
As the bus reached our stop I told him I wouldn't ask about his time in the military, but I would like to hear the story about what came after. He said okay, next time. It would give me something to look forward to.
As I walked him around the corner to his spot on Ventura Dave's brother was setting a paper bag on Dave's bench.
"I brought you some fruit," Alex said. I peeked inside and sure enough, there were a half dozen pieces of fruit and a big vitamin water. So Dave has people in his life who look after him, at least a little bit.
The 240 pulled up and since I'd already let 2 other buses pass by walking with Dave who can't do more than a slow shuffle I said goodbye and ran to catch it. It was only when I got on that I realized I'd missed an opportunity to ask Alex about Dave -- how he wound up homeless, why, if he has family he still stays on the street -- but I know Dave will tell me the whole story in time. And it will give me something to look forward to.