Day 21: More than 2 Blankets

I'm way behind.  Technically, it's Day 23.  I missed Day 21...and Day 22.   ::sigh:: Such is life.

Day 21 is an easy one.  And it'll start with a news flash. 

It's cold in Minnesota.

Like...real cold.

Nose-hair freezing, skin numbing, painfully cold.

And before you tell me that I should be used to it because I'm "from Michigan" and "lived in Montana"...well, you're wrong.  Simple as that.  Michigan doesn't have wind (or at least, not wind like this), and Montana...well, I lived in a valley, so unless I decided to climb a mountain, I was pretty much shielded from wind.  Plus, it's a dry cold (yes, this does make a difference), and temps are normally in the 30s and 40s in the winter.  That's damn near balmy.  Two nights ago, it was -36 with the windchill in Minnesota.  Go ahead...mull that one over.  Negative 36.  Brutal.

It was miserable to be outside.  Miserable to let the dog out. Miserable to stand outside in subzero temperatures to do your job.  Everyone was complaining...and what's not to complain about, really?

And then I met him.

Ivys Martinez.  Something tells me I'll remember that name for the rest of my life.

He's 23 years old, unemployed and homeless.

When I walked into the story planning meeting, I thought it would be easy.  It's cold outside. Let's talk to a warming shelter...only there weren't any.  So instead, I called around to see where homeless people go when it's cold.  The obvious one was the Salvation Army (they provide a free hot lunch at noon).  I got some video, asked the director to point out some chatty homeless people, did my interviews and was ready to leave...

When Ivys walks up to me.

"You got time for one more?"

You get asked this a lot in TV.  Usually in stories that involve children, but every now and again, someone will come up to you (once it becomes obvious that you're leaving) wanting to make their television debut.  Normally, I say no.  But for some reason, I decided to grant this guy's wish.  Brandon and I unpacked the gear, hooked a mic on him, and listened.

The interview started simple enough.  I said, "So what's your story Ivys?  Homeless? Unemployed?..."

He was both.

What happened over the next ten minutes was enough to bring me to tears (twice).

I asked, "So, what's your set up? Are you at the Dorothy Day House?"

"No, ma'am.  Outside."

"You slept outside last night?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"In these temperatures?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where?"

"On a park bench."

<silence>

"I've got two blankets though."


I nearly cried.  This man spent a night on a park bench, with nothing but two crappy blankets.  No hat, no gloves, no boots, no scarf.  Just a sweater, khakis, a trench coat....and despite it all, he found the silver lining.  He doesn't have much, but he has two blankets.  And he felt lucky for that.

Yes, he's made mistakes, he admits that.  He put his life on the wrong track...but no one, deserves to sleep on a park bench with 2 blankets, or 200 blankets in temperatures this frigidly cold.  No one.

He told me when he went to bed last night he wasn't sure he would wake up.  He wasn't sure he'd survive to see another day.  My heart just broke.

You'd have to experience these temperatures to truly understand how painful it is.  Exposed skin hurts almost instantly.  Even layered skin gets chilly within minutes.  You lose feeling in your fingers and toes after 10 minutes or so.  And this guy, spent all night out there.  Trying to sleep.  Trying to survive. Trying to get by.

Suddenly your five second jog into the office doesn't seem half bad.  Walking the dog around the block seems like a walk in the park.  It really put the whole thing into perspective for me, and I used that in my life shot.  I made no mistakes about saying how freezing it was, and how much pain I was in...but said, I was one of the lucky ones.  Because when I got off TV, I had a warm home to go to and more than two blankets.

Not everyone can say that.

Ivys can't.

Ivys - You gave me far more than just an interview that day.  You gave me perspective.  And you truly touched my heart.  You don't know this yet, but I'm going to stock up on warm goodies at WalMart and leave them at the front desk of the Salvation Army for you.

So the next time you come in for food, you'll have more than 2 blankets to keep you warm.

You touched my heart Ivys...

And I'm thankful for that.



**here's the link for Ivys' story: http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1936922.shtml?cat=10151
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*This is part of my New Year's Resolution: 365 Days of Thanks.  Every day I pick something new to be thankful for...and put it out on facebook for all to enjoy :)*
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