Imported on 8-17-2026 to consolidate where records are being kept.
An evening effort from 5 until 6ish
Walking fair west with a serviceable shovel and 5 gallon bucket
Go south of copper, south of zia.
hello domingo at madeira
Erica's walking in the middle of the street
Her tent not far away
'you're late!' said with a smile
off to MATS tomorrow or jail, I hear
today she's scraping weeds out of the sidewalk
she brought her own gloves
Then I met Melvin
failing to warm his burrito over a small fire in the gutter
Do I have water to put out the fire? No, but I offer the shovel
After a quick negotiation, he joins the effort
With attention, repetition and encouragement, he does fine
I wander around the corner to la veta
hunting for aluminum cans in the growing shadows
A group of 4 sit on the wide concrete sidewalk and offer me an empty can
I check out a foot wound on a young woman and offer treatment advice
The conversation shifts from wounds to nutrition, money, housing and community
NMHRC, SOS, gateway on gibson, ACS, SSDI, compassion center, 400 grove st, State of the Heart, refuge, quirky books
I try to answer questions honestly and usefully while exploring motivations and obstacles
Yannie listens from afar and waits for me to finish with the group
the questions continued until a car pulls up
beans or clear
I take my cue to leave
Yannie, Melvin and I get to work on domingo between madeira and la veta
Y and I pick up loose garbage into 5 gallon buckets that still vaguely smell of pickles
Melvin follows with a big trash bag from NMHRC
Across the street, Erica makes steady, solo progress on the weeds
The sun is low
A bit past 6 as I look about and snap a pic
One hour never sounds like enough
I want to finish and head home before it gets too dark
Shane shouts hello
partially hidden by giant tumble weeds in the two towers' parking lot
He joins me by the fox office gate and we catch up
hair cuts, beards, moms, EMT/RN stories and drugs
The large wound on his hand looks terrible but better
"Find me next time"
I'll try
got to head off
Supplies go back in the office
I grab a few more fives to pay out the crew
Back on madeira
A police cruiser parked by central starts driving north
A few warning shouts ring out on the street
I look, smile tightly and nod at the dark blue suv
Hard to know if there's any response behind the tint
they don't stop
Yannie, Melvin and Erica are paid
Y goes back to being alone
M is bouncing with energy. I doubt he'll sleep tonight
E checks on a friend slumped over but still breathing
Then back to her tent with a quiet shih tzu named Baby
Continuing north on Madeira, still south of copper
a brief wave to Lewis, his son and an unknown 3rd
puppy Spike gets a few treats
Only Lewis speaks. Friendly but off tonight I'd say
I have to be done for today
back at Domingera next Tues at 9am