MARCH 21, 2025 ON MY CORNER ASK YOUR VENDOR Where is home for you? Norfolk, Virginia. — Michael Brown, #306 My home. In Ann Arbor, Michigan. — Shelley DeNeve, #22 Wherever I lay my head. — Tony Schohl, #9 Home is where I hang my hat. — Cindy Gere, #279 Wherever I don't feel negative vibes. It could be under a tree, in my own little world. — Terri Demar, #322 Home is a state of mind ... wherever I am comfortable in my mind is home to me. — Wayne Sparks, #615 My corner, Washington and Main St. — Roberto Isla Caballero, #347 Ann Arbor! — Mike Jones, #113 Ypsilanti and in the arms of my people — Jim Clark, #139 Home is where the heart is. — Eamonn Ofoighill, #531 Here, now. Home is a luxury to me these days. — Pedro Campos, #652 Happy St. Patrick's Day! St. Patrick’s Day is a very joyful holiday. One of the reasons St. Patrick’s Day is a good holiday is because green is one of my favorite colors. St. Patrick’s Day is also good because one of my favorite foods is corned beef sandwiches. I like to cook corned beef at home and make sandwiches with Thousand Island dressing. I also like corned beef sandwiches with mayonnaise or mustard. I remember going to a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Detroit. It was back in the 1990s. Me and a couple of friends went together. It was one My first day back TOMMY SPAGHETTI Groundcover vendor No. 669 Old Ann Arbor … Remember the old Cloverleaf? Fat Nic? The Cloverleaf was replaced by Dunkin, a national chain. Selling Groundcover from across the street (Federal Building), I see many familiar faces — but not Brian's, Nic's or George's. The Cloverleaf Restaurant moved to Saline with a new name and a completely different customer base. Nic (aka Fat Nic) passed almost ten years ago and George, Nic’s son, finally got out of downtown Ann Arbor. Brian, the Cloverleaf’s most reliable customer, owns a house around the corner on Fifth Avenue (or used to). Brian’s house was pretty close to the police station and served as a warm-up center for some of Ann Arbor’s indigent population. Brian would allow me to park in the driveway when I came to town. Free parking is like gold downtown. Brian could always be counted on for some poignant witticism.* I wonder where Brian spends his time now that the Cloverleaf has moved to Saline. “He walked into the restaurant and said, ‘George owns this?’ Then turned around and walked out. Hasn’t been back since.” Said George. New Ann Arbor has grown rapidly in the last eight years since I’ve been gone. New construction everywhere. Ann Arbor used to be a small town with a big university, now it's a big city with a big university. The streets are still lively during the day, I can tell by selling Groundcover. At night I don’t know because I’m in bed by nine or ten o'clock. Bed? I meant to say couch because I couch surfed last night at my friends’ house. Selling Groundover … It is truly amazing how supportive the local citizens are. I sold almost all of my copies in a relatively short amount of time. Most buyers gave me more than the cover price. I like to engage pedestrians with questions that might garner a sale, knowing that many pedestrians are just trying to walk from one place to another. Knowing that a percentage of customers are in a solipsistic** frame of mind. They don't want any interference from homeless newspaper salespeople. “Help me to be a winner today and buy my last paper.” The young woman turned around to fetch $2 out of her purse. She remarked, “I'm giving you this because I want all of us to be winners.” My reply, “Awesome! What's your name?” “I don't just give out my name.” “Then what's your number?” Ha Ha, a smile comes out. “I just hope you read the paper.” “Of course I'm going to read it.” “Well, some people buy this paper merely to support the vendor.” “Well, for me, it's both.” Gratitude equals attitude! I’m grateful to the young woman who made me a winner, grateful to Brenna and Ashley for allowing me to shower and sleep on a comfortable couch last night. Thank you to all for another day of breathing. Thank you for the sunshine. Thank you to Glenn for the conversation today. Thank you to whoever bought the coffee at Groundcover. Thank you thank you thank you. *Witticism = combination of witty and criticism **Solipsism = The philosophy theory that the self is the only thing that can be verified. DENISE SHEARER Groundcover vendor No. 485 of the happiest times. It was very joyful, colorful and musical. We ate out at a restaurant in downtown Detroit and I had my favorite corned beef sandwich. Good things happen during St. Patrick’s Day, like the weather gets better. Another reason I like St. Patrick’s Day so much is because it is a Christian holiday. The truth about homelessness is that people go through things that other people don’t pay attention to. How did these people get to this point, where they have nowhere to go, no food to eat? THEIR FAMILY HAS LEFT THEM. Now they have nothing and no one to help them. But you see, we are not different from anyone else, just less fortunate. Once we fall, it’s hard to get back up; it takes work — lots of work. Being human, you understand that we have a job to do, but you have to put in the work to get the job done. I love life, I want better. I need to see if we put in the work to stop the problem of homelessness, GROUNDCOVER NEWS The real truth about homelessness to be able to receive good news. But you still try as you might to help those who do want the help, though they’ll never know. Why? It’s because it takes work to make sure that the ones you care about know that you care. They are the ones — the ones you DEZZ CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 643 we would have a better way of life. We need to go back to the old days where we taught our children how to live for themselves — to know how to live, how to feed their family, how to pay bills, to feed themselves, know need help because if they don't get it when they need it, when they finally do, it will be too late. We need to make a difference now. We can by giving a person a chance to work, to really have a chance to start a new life. People are not as crazy as we think they are. We need to sit down, talk with them, so we all know that we are family. 3
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