Dying Comes Easy, It’s the Living that is Hard
by “Buzzy” Melvin Bryant

At the beginning of life when I was safe and secure within my mother’s womb, I really didn’t know that the majority of my life I would be without a house or home.  A human being walking through life not living, but just existing.  Born in Savannah, Georgia on August 17th, 1947 and moving to Cleveland at a very early age, I was really not aware this would be my plight.  At a very early age in life, I got fascinated with being out in the streets.  As I went back and forth to the corner store for my mother, I saw what was known as the “street life,” and was drawn to the women and men who participated in the street nightlife.

Soon I started sneaking out at night when everyone in the house was asleep—getting introduced to what was known as the “FAST LANE,” the nightlife of the street hustlers.  Because things weren’t happening to people in a violent way, especially to small children, I was adopted by these people and ran errands for them and learned the survival techniques that would save my life later on when I became homeless.  As I grew up, I began living out in the streets more and more. Although I had a home to go to, I spent many nights at a time on the streets, continuously worrying about my mother who was a very spiritual woman.  If it wasn’t for her prayers I would have met my demise a long time ago.

Time passed, my values changed, life became such a confusing game suddenly I wanted the finer things in life and I knew it would take a lot of hard work and sacrifice.  So I started to go to school more and concentrate on getting my high school diploma, but I had gotten addicted to the street life. While I did graduate, I still continued to live out in the streets.  Trying as hard as I could to be a productive member of society, I went to computer school and started to earn a degree or two at college.

But upon graduation from these schools of higher learning, I got involved with a young lady who became pregnant and had a child for me.  Trying to become more responsible only led me back to the way of the streets. Tiring of the regimentation of going back and forth to work, of being a part of mainstream society, I became homeless and have been that way for quite some time now.  I guess if I were to calculate the years it would be at least 25 years or better that I have been a person who lives out in the streets.

It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Grapevine that I even thought about turning my life around.  I enjoy meeting people and interacting with the public, and I am doing something that I really like.  It is a shame that others have in a sense put a bad name on the real meaning and purpose of the Grapevine.  I would like to clarify the fact that I am not a panhandler who is looking for a handout.  I am a businessperson who sells the Grapevine as a means of supporting myself, just like a person who is an auto mechanic, bus driver, secretary, etc..  I am a salesman in my own business of selling Grapevines to get away from being a homeless person.

It is my hope that as I begin to increase my network of circulation that this will be the last year of being homeless and to finally accept responsibilities as a person who has some intelligent God-Given-Talent!!!

In closing, I would like to impart these words of wisdom. Being homeless is not a crime, the crime is that we live in the best country on the face of this planet.  Despite all of the imperfections that America has, it is still basically a country where if a person really wants to succeed and really has something tangible in life, it is possible.  So the crime is that we the homeless can’t be too complacent.  We must take advantage of the opportunities that come our way and start doing something for ourselves.  If we would exert the same energies toward obtaining a home as we do for surviving the cruelties we face as homeless people, we could get somewhere.

If the people who look down on the homeless would also take that energy to do something that would make a difference and get people somewhere they could call home then life would begin to be much better.   But as things are going now, it seems that neither those with homes or those who are homeless want to meet on a common ground.  Until then I believe that either something really good must happen to a homeless person to get them to get back in the flow of society or something really tragic!!!  If this doesn’t happen, then I guess homeless people can do your crying for the living and hustling their butter and their lard.  ‘Cause dying comes easy, it’s the living that’s hard.  From morning light to the setting sun, if you are homeless America, our day has just begun.

Stay healthy America, and remember, the only way homelessness can really leave America is if we as Americans start sticking Together as Americans and help those less fortunate than ourselves.