I am getting damp and moldy, or at least the contents and interior of my car are. With low temperatures and all this rain things are getting damp and staying damp. Earlier in the year dampness caused by moisture in my breath as I slept at night would clear up and dry up from the sun heating the car interior, especially quickly on hot days. Even a damp towel (from showering) dried draped over the steering wheel. The good old days – of sun and warmth. These days it is damp and staying damp, to the point that I put a canvas brief case into the trunk one evening and by the time I removed the following morning it had a little patch of mold. Puts a whole new concept into “old and moldy”. Even my bedding has a certain dampness, fortunately not to the point (yet) where it fails to keep me warm.

I mentioned this dampness problem to a nodding acquaintance of mine stating that I really needed to find a warm parking garage where I could sit and read for several hours with all the doors wide open to air out and dry out the cars’ interior. He pointed out that the air conditioner works as a dehumidifier and I should run it on the next long drive I had to make. Then that 15 minutes a week should serve to keep things much drier. Failing finding the hoped for garage it looks like I will be driving around in the cold winter temperatures with my air conditioner blasting cold, cold air. ‘Shiver’

I do shiver in sympathy, or is that shudder, to think of what this damp weather is/will extract from those living on the streets – eve those fortunate to find some type of shelter from the driving rain.

So the next time you are complaining about getting wet from all the rain, be thankful that you have a place to dry out. A place or opportunity that far too many members of our society currently lack. For some of us the fact is that those old jokes about all this rain causing you to grow moss or mold – is happening. While we homeless would love/dream of a “shelter allowance” that was adequate enough to actually pay for shelter, these cold, wet, damp days many would settle for a place to dry out and sleep in dry conditions. But given the willful blindness of the ideologues in power, (many) local politicians and the public… well “pigs will fly” come to mind. Until people begin to open their eyes and see the reality of our streets and demand changes the homeless ranks will continue to grow.