The Road to an Island of Solace

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Guest writer was homeless and out and about around the Conejo Valley at the time he wrote this. He has since regained his footing and is doing great.

Today after wrestling with the cold all night inside my van, I woke up tired at the crack of light.  I grow more and more impatient with my homelessness.  My tears again are a simple reminder that I’m still alive. My schedule will first take me to McDonald’s, where I will enjoy a dollar coffee, free Wi-Fi and where I’ll wait until I have to go to work.  I have little money, and less gasoline to keep my 4-wheel home moving.  My on-going battle with a head-cold has left me congested, and my energy level has yet to return to normal.

Lately the cold, wet weather has interfered with what work I am blessed with, and as a result at times I sometimes feel miserable.  In a number of stories that I’ve written recently, I’ve expressed a increasing level of unhappiness with my life, and my homelessness.  I’m reminded of Viggo Mortensen from the movie “The Road”, a post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.  Like Viggo, I want a clear course but have no map that will lead me to any island of solace.

An older gentleman sitting a few tables away glances over, and kindly asks me

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Watching the Sun Set Down the Camarillo Grade by John B. Mueller

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Photographer John B. Mueller took this great shot of the sunset looking down the Camarillo grade. I've tried capturing this shot while driving down the grade but have never been successful. John did it right by actually getting out of the car at Camarillo Grove Park, climbing the hills and waiting for the right moment. Kudos and thanks to him for sharing it! Visit his website at www.johnbmueller.com and his Facebook page to see more of his work.

Speaking of Camarillo. Here are some upcoming Camarillo events, things to do in Camarillo, fitness and sports activities in Camarillo and kids fun and activities in Camarillo.

Spring is Around the Corner Here in Ventura County!

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We are nearing that transition period between winter and summer, otherwise known as SPRING! Spring begins on March 20th and this latest work of Camarillo artist Chuck Trunks he calls "To My Surprise" captures some of the spirit of that transition. See his other work on Conejo Valley Guide by clicking here.

And with the coming of spring of course we have a lot of fun things to do around Ventura County. Here are some links for you to explore:

EASTER FUN

EARTH DAY (APRIL 22ND) EVENTS

FRESH PRODUCE AT 2 DOZEN LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS

LACE UP FOR AN UPCOMING 5K OR 10K!

UPCOMING EVENTS WITH A COST OF $0

Over 3.2 Million Californians Seek Food Assistance in the CalFresh Program

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Guest post by formerly homeless Conejo Valley resident, Lon V.

According to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), at the end of 2010, more than 3,200,000 Californians participated in the federally funded California CalFresh program.  The Calfresh program, formerly known as Food Stamps and federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), can add healthy and nutritious food to your table.

The food stamp benefits are given to you in the form on an ATM type debit card that the state CalFresh program funds, typically once per month.  You then utilize the card and associated PIN number to pay for your groceries at your favorite grocery stores.  You may only purchase unprepared food products; no paper products, pet products, certainly no alcohol or tobacco products.  You also cannot purchase deli products that are already prepared or products that you may open and eat immediately.

If you think about it, that does somewhat limit your possible food choices, especially if you’re homeless and you don’t have the means to cook anything.  Moreover, the homeless population cannot store many foods; therefore, you will often only buy what you plan to prepare and eat immediately.  Fresh foods will not last outdoors without spoiling, and you certainly cannot store any refrigerated products, so those are rarely purchased unless you intend to consume them right away.

The food stamp program, which dates back to the early 1960′s, does have a number of inherent shortcomings.  The first is the restriction on buying healthy, ready-to-ea

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Stunning Local Beach Photos by John B. Mueller of Camarillo

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John B. Mueller is a Camarillo based photographer whose work I have admired for several years. Here he has captured some beautiful images at a local spot he refers to as 42 Step Beach (in reference to the number of stairs it takes to get there). Check out his website at www.johnbmueller.com and his Facebook page to see more of his work.

We Are Halfway Into Febewary, Febrewary or February? How Do You Pronounce It?

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I'll admit. Out of convenience I've pretty much always pronounced February as Feb-ew-air-ee. Pretty much most people I know pronounce it that way. But technically it should be pronounced Feb-rew-air-ee.

This discrepancy between pronunciation and how the word is spelled has always bothered me, but since everyone else says Feb-ew-air-ee too like me (except for a few really anal retentive friends), I've ignored that nagging feeling.

But today is a new day. We are living and breathing February right now and I am committing to saying it correctly from this day forward, no matter how obnoxious I sound to others and how difficult it is to say.

One of the problems I think people have with pronouncing Feb-rew-air-ee is that they place a 3rd "r" in there, making it sound almost like the Scooby Doo "ruh roh" sound "Feb-ru-rare-ree" which of course is incorrect. It's actually not that hard to pronounce Feb-rew-air-ee if you make a mental note not to sound like Scooby Doo.

According to Charles Harrington Elster in his The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations. "The traditional and cultivated pronunciation, FEB-roo-ER-ee, is hard to say, and so most people say FEB-yoo-ER-ee because it is easier and because so many others do, not because it is right." and "As far as this book is concerned, however, the -yoo- variant may now be standard, but it is still beastly."

OUCH! I guess we better pronounce it right so as not be considered beastly! And the following should help us all in our quest for proper pronunciation of our favorite short month, FEBRUARY! (No, this is not me. I still screw it up.)

Living As One of The Invisible Homeless in Ventura County

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Guest post by (now) formerly homeless Conejo Valley resident, Lon V.

The Invisible Homeless

I frequently post about my own personal experiences while living as one of the invisible homeless in America.  My blog posts on the subject of homelessness are therapeutic for me and allow me to share my day to day experiences and insight on what’s sadly a growing trend in America.  As I’ve written before, the stress on living homeless can be deafening at times, and sometimes overwhelming both physically or emotionally.  I also believe often my stress level is reflected in my writings with posts specific to my day to day activities.  However sometimes, my posts are simply more level headed, offering my insight on today’s social issues that may effect myself and many Americans.  Ultimately, I concluded that that whatever topic I write about, as long as I am true to the subject and my writing; that’s the best I could really hope to do.

When I finally become comfortable and settle into a unique style of my own, I will decide on what my blog is really going to be consistently about.  Clearly my name in on the blogs header and my life as an invisible homeless man in America has caught the interest of many people. I thought to myself, perhaps I’m not so invisible anymore.  It’s amazing, I’ve received so many positive and encouraging emails from absolute, complete strangers.  Furthermore, I’ve forged several new wonderful and inspiring relationships with local leaders, and re-discovered family members who are now following my blog more closely.

The most remarkable relationships that I’ve been blessed with so far while being homeless  have come from two people, that I’ve been so fortunate to re-discover.  One is my older sister, Debbie, who lives in Florida.  The second is my brothers ex-fiancee’ Tina, and my nephew, Ben, who both reside in South Carolina.  Why are these two relationships, perhaps more remarkable to me than the others at this time in my life?  Well first, because they’re family members, and it’s truly heart warming to me that these two are so interested in me, and understanding of the  obvious challenges that are ahead of me.  Second, like the good lord above, these two wonderful people don’t judge me or have any preconceptions about my circumstances.  They’re both keeping an eye on my well being as best they can, and they offer friendly, common sense guidance, whenever I ask for it.  They don’t push their opinions on me, they listen and ultimately offer constructive criticism if needed.  It

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