Journal 1 Intro-Ch. 4

Scratch Beginnings: April 23, 2010

The book of Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard has many different twists and turns. He has a few different assumptions when he is starting the book off. He assumes that it is possible to become a self-made man starting out with only $25 and the clothes on his back. He also assumes that many people are getting lazy; they are not trying and giving themselves the ability to succeed. He did not expect to have amenities that were indeed available at the shelter. Lastly he assumes that this will be a difficult experience but possible.

One of the most surprising things about the book was a police officer by the name of Sergeant Mendoza or Sarg by many of the residents. He is surprisingly caring for them, as he wants to make sure that they do not have alcohol of drugs on the premises, he also wants to help them get out of the shelter and onto a new life. His presence at the shelter also keeps many of the men at the shelter honest, as they know he will not shy away from taking them down to jail. Another surprising aspect of this book is how friendly the people of the homeless shelter are. Many try to help him out and give him advice on what to do when he is kicked from the shelter. One of the guys, Marco, after only two days wanted to become roommates with him.

Another interesting part of this book is that he his mostly enjoying himself through this experience. He makes it seem not that bad of a struggle. One example would be at the end of many chapters, he states many different things that are looking up for him. At the end of chapter two he states that he has a plan that he is going to put into action, and he cannot wait to start it.

One of the most important parts of the book is his experience with the fat woman who owns a baby cloths store. During the course of his work with her, she treats him and his coworkers like crap, giving him the picture that they are thought as useless people. After being dismissed from work and an hour wait for the van he heads back into the store to ask if he could use the phone. After being denied he goes on a rant calling out all of the mistreatment that she placed on them. After this rant he decides to change the way he is going about his journey. He decides that he will not keep a low profile, but be himself and say what he is thinking.

The author states that he will not use any source in his book, he is just going to tell it as he experiences it. This technique gives the book an interesting point of view, as many research projects do not give a personal experience. This gives the reader a much better idea of what being homeless is. The information will also not be distorted, as it is a first hand experience, he not taking it from one source and putting it into his book.

One striking difference to that which most people are used to is the lack of longer term personal and financial planning. Unlike many of our lives, the people in the book hold jobs for a few days or sometimes one day. The same is true with the living situation where we see Adam and Marco deciding to live together after knowing each other for a matter of days. Most college students typically do not make such a decision for example after knowing each other for months or years. This short-term mentality is also evident in their budgeting. Instead of planning for future years we see them planning for future days or weeks.