i real wouldn't wanna be without (not including family, friends or pets cos that goes without saying)
1 - my guitar 2 - black eyeliner 3 - scarves 4 - my ciggies 5 - skanky coffee 6 - my tree 7 - rain 8 - bangles (if i don't jingle i can't find myself when i get lost lol) 9 - manky boots 10 - my shaggy hair (i'd have nowhere to hide) 11 - peanuts 12 - candles 13 - my bottles of 'JD' 14 - my nail file (hey what? i'm a musician i'm allowed lol) 15 - my 'bear'
although johnny is not my real name i've been called 'johnny' by all my guys and everyone who knows me for about 20 years now (yes there's a reason but this boy's saying nothing lol) - that taken along with the fact i've been playing guitar for as long as when i first discovered i had fingers and am very rare seen without a guitar slung on my back real just kinda decided it for me i guess - so although i'm an indie boy and not a country boy (although i am often found to be sitting under my tree lol) those are the two main reasons i have the username 'johnnybgoode' as taken from the song lyrics posted below :-)
Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans Way back up in the woods among the evergreens There stood an old cabin made of earth and wood Where lived a country boy named Johnny B Goode Who'd never ever learned to read or write so well But he could play a guitar just like a ringin' a bell
He used to carry his guitar in a gurny sack Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track Old engineers in the train would see him him sittin' in the shade Strummin' with the rhythm that the drivers made The people passed him by they would stop and say Oh my but that little country boy could play
His mother told him someday you will be a man And you will be the leader of a big old band Many people comin' from miles around To hear you play your music when the sun goes down Maybe some day your name will be in lights Sayin' "Johnny B Goode tonight"
Homeless people in our communities are a fact of life, especially in big cities. Many of us don't know how to interpret this situation or what we can do to help. We may vacillate between feeling guilty, as if we are personally responsible, and feeling angry, as if being homeless is entirely on their shoulders. The situation is, of course, far more complex than either scenario. Still, not knowing how to respond, we may fall into the habit of not responding at all. We may look over their heads and not make eye contact, or look down at the ground as we pass, falling into a habit of ignoring them. Each time we do this, we disconnect ourselves from a large portion of the human family, and it doesn't feel right.
Most of us know in our hearts that the homeless and the poor are not so very different from ourselves. They may be the victims of poor planning or an unavoidable crisis. Some of them are mentally ill, some are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and some are choosing to be homeless for reasons we may never fully understand. We can imagine that, given their lives, we would likely have ended up in the same place. This does not mean that we are meant to rescue them as they are on their own learning path, but it does remind us that we can treat them as equals, because that is what they are. Even if we aren't able to offer food, shelter or money, we can offer a blessing as we pass. We can look them in the eye and acknowledge our shared humanness, even if we don't know how to help them. This simple act of kindness and silent or spoken blessings can be helpful to those living on the street.
If you want to help with information, you can learn about the services in your area and share the locations of food banks, shelters, and other resources. As parents, perhaps you would like to plan ahead, talking with your children about how as a family you would like to handle these situations. Whatever you decide to do, you will feel much better when you make a conscious choice not to simply look away.
