Have you ever been Homeless ?

Gary O' said:
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It was towards the end of hostilities. The “war” was officially over but the Khmer Rouge controlled the western part of Cambodia and they were still in uniform acting as pirates along the road, what was left of it – deep, deep bomb craters that only a sturdy four-wheel-drive vehicle could manoeuvrer. The Khmer Rouge stood with their Kalashnikovs at each end of every damned bridge along the road. I was on my way from Thailand to the magnificent Angkor Wat/Angkor Tom near Siem Reap. All vehicles on the road (there weren't very many) were stopped by the Khmer Rouge and they extorted sums of money at gunpoint for use of “their” bridges, occasionally demanding money at the beginning of the bridge and again leaving it at the other end. There were a couple of dicey moments that I’d rather not think about.
 

Gary O' said:
..... Anyway, I had an experience in a not so good area of Houston ...
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Speaking of Houston a funny thing happened to me in NYC that I think you will enjoy hearing about:

I picked up a hitch-hiker from New York City once and he spent one night in my house. We exchanged addresses "just in case". So there I was in NYC with no place to stay so I figured I'd look up that guy to see if he could return the favour. The address he gave me was on Houston Street but I didn't know my around the place so I asked someone. "Houston Street? Never heard of it". I asked several people and although they were all very friendly and eager to help me out (something I never expected in that city) no one knew the street. Anyway, I was getting frustrated so after asking 3 or 4 people I pulled out a city map and pointed to it on the map .... "Oh!!! You mean House-ton Street!" It was my pronunciation that was the problem. It is spelt the same way so how could I know they pronounced it like that? 🤪
 

Verisure said:
Speaking of Houston a funny thing happened to me in NYC that I think you will enjoy hearing about:

I picked up a hitch-hiker from New York City once and he spent one night in my house. We exchanged addresses "just in case". So there I was in NYC with no place to stay so I figured I'd look up that guy to see if he could return the favour. The address he gave me was on Houston Street but I didn't know my around the place so I asked someone. "Houston Street? Never heard of it". I asked several people and although they were all very friendly and eager to help me out (something I never expected in that city) no one knew the street. Anyway, I was getting frustrated so after asking 3 or 4 people I pulled out a city map and pointed to it on the map .... "Oh!!! You mean House-ton Street!" It was my pronunciation that was the problem. It is spelt the same way so how could I know they pronounced it like that? 🤪
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...and did the H/hiker put you up ? :D
 
Verisure said:
Speaking of Houston a funny thing happened to me in NYC that I think you will enjoy hearing about:

I picked up a hitch-hiker from New York City once and he spent one night in my house. We exchanged addresses "just in case". So there I was in NYC with no place to stay so I figured I'd look up that guy to see if he could return the favour. The address he gave me was on Houston Street but I didn't know my around the place so I asked someone. "Houston Street? Never heard of it". I asked several people and although they were all very friendly and eager to help me out (something I never expected in that city) no one knew the street. Anyway, I was getting frustrated so after asking 3 or 4 people I pulled out a city map and pointed to it on the map .... "Oh!!! You mean House-ton Street!" It was my pronunciation that was the problem. It is spelt the same way so how could I know they pronounced it like that? 🤪
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That reminds me of when I lived in Houston. A few weeks after I moved there and got somewhat settled in, I went to a pizzeria and ordered a pizza pie, which is what we called pizza in NY. The Asian guy at the counter told me, "We no serve pie." I tried to order it a few more times but never did get my pizza. I was totally baffled.

And why is it that in NY, they have Texas weenies (hotdogs), but in Texas, they have Coney Island hot dogs? The grass is always greener... :ROFLMAO:
 
Irwin said:
That reminds me of when I lived in Houston. A few weeks after I moved there and got somewhat settled in, I went to a pizzeria and ordered a pizza pie, which is what we called pizza in NY. The Asian guy at the counter told me, "We no serve pie." I tried to order it a few more times but never did get my pizza. I was totally baffled.

And why is it that in NY, they have Texas weenies (hotdogs), but in Texas, they have Coney Island hot dogs? The grass is always greener... :ROFLMAO:
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Oh My Gosh..finally I learn something which has been baffling me for decades...

In Italy..and all of Europe and for this we include the UK..Pizza is called Pizza... there's no Pie in it at all...so when as a youngster and even since..I listen to Dean Martin Sing.. it used to confuse the heck outta me... I thought the writer just added 'pie' to make it rhyme...:unsure::LOL:

In Napoli where love is king
When boy meets girl
Here's what they say
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing, "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scusa me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore
When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore (that's amore)
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore (that's amore)
Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing, "Vita bella" (vita bella, vita bella)
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
Lucky fella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scusami, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore (amore)
That's amore
 
hollydolly said:
...and did the H/hiker put you up ? :D
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No. :( The buggar was homeless! The address was for a carpenter's shop where he did menial jobs and slept on one of the tables. So, the first night I slept on one of the other tables but it was hard stuff so the next night I got a cheap hotel and invited him to sleep on the sofa. I was only there the two nights because I had a flight to catch to Luxembourg.
 
hollydolly said:
Oh My Gosh..finally I learn something which has been baffling me for decades...

In Italy..and all of Europe and for this we include the UK..Pizza is called Pizza...
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Actually .... Europe does call it Pizza but in the UK it is pronounced Pit-za rather than Peet-za. That is partly because the "i" in English is pronounced aye whereas on the continent the "i" is pronounced ee. Now you're going to ask why then in the US it is pronounced the same as in Europe? Uhhhh .... because they don't really speak English very well in the US? :)
 
Verisure said:
Actually .... Europe does call it Pizza but in the UK it is pronounced Pit-za rather than Peet-za. That is partly because the "i" in English is pronounced aye whereas on the continent the "i" is pronounced ee. Now you're going to ask why then in the US it is pronounced the same as in Europe? Uhhhh .... because they don't really speak English very well in the US? :)
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yes I said we call it Pizza... what we don't call it is Pizza PIE
 
Verisure said:
Actually .... Europe does call it Pizza but in the UK it is pronounced Pit-za rather than Peet-za. That is partly because the "i" in English is pronounced aye whereas on the continent the "i" is pronounced ee. Now you're going to ask why then in the US it is pronounced the same as in Europe? Uhhhh .... because they don't really speak English very well in the US? :)
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...and actually in the UK we do call it Peet-za it's never been pronounced Pitza ... it's Pita bread that we call Pit-a :)
 
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Irwin said:
That reminds me of when I lived in Houston. A few weeks after I moved there and got somewhat settled in, I went to a pizzeria and ordered a pizza pie, which is what we called pizza in NY. The Asian guy at the counter told me, "We no serve pie." I tried to order it a few more times but never did get my pizza. I was totally baffled.

And why is it that in NY, they have Texas weenies (hotdogs), but in Texas, they have Coney Island hot dogs? The grass is always greener... :ROFLMAO:
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Good thing you didn't ask him where the nearest beach was.
 
hollydolly said:
...and actually in the UK wedo call it Peet-za it's never been pronounced Pitza ... it's Pita bread that we call Pit-a :)
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I hope you're not going to tell me that you've never heard an Englishman pronounce it "Pit-za".

EDIT: Maybe the ones who call it pit-za are the same ones who say "beefburger" rather than hamburger.
 
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hollydolly said:
Never in my life have I hear a Brit call it Pit-ZA... never... ...and we call it a Beefburger because it's made from beef..not Ham....
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Well, I've heard Brits say "pit-za" so there it is ... ... and ham has nothing to do with it. The "Hamburger" originated in Germany, in the city of ... you can imagine ... Hamburg. The word "Hamburger" itself means someone or something from Hamburg, in the same way, one might say "Londoner" in English. So, calling it a beefburger is a misconception from the very outset.
 
Verisure said:
Well, I've heard Brits say "pit-za" so there it is ... ... and ham has nothing to do with it. The "Hamburger" originated in Germany, in the city of ... you can imagine ... Hamburg. The word "Hamburger" itself means someone or something from Hamburg, in the same way, one might say "Londoner" in English. So, calling it a beefburger is a misconception from the very outset.
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*sigh* :rolleyes:
 
To answer the OP's question, no, I've never been homeless or even close. Have always been fortunate enough to have family and friends with safety nets to catch me when I started to slip. I've paid it back and forward.

I feel for those we are experiencing housing insecurity. It must be agonizing, particularly among people in our age group.
 
StarSong said:
To answer the OP's question, no, I've never been homeless or even close. Have always been fortunate enough to have family and friends with safety nets to catch me when I started to slip. I've paid it back and forward.

I feel for those we are experiencing housing insecurity. It must be agonizing, particularly among people in our age group.
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I suppose the majority of people have security with their living arrangements. As the years roll on, more and more people are starting to be placed into a precarious situation. Not knowing if their rental accommodation will be sold leading to higher rents or eviction.
 
Bretrick said:
I suppose the majority of people have security with their living arrangements. As the years roll on, more and more people are starting to be placed into a precarious situation. Not knowing if their rental accommodation will be sold leading to higher rents or eviction.
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I've seen enough documentary films about the US where evictions are as common as blowflies.
 
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