The official Dancing Deer Baking Company Blog

Monday, April 27, Raleigh, NC

I was travelling on Route 64 when I met Jim Stephanik. He has the look of what most people would recognize as and generalize in their imaginations, of a homeless person. Quite possibly he is but he does not represent the look of the families that I meet in shelters. He was standing in the shade under the Route 1 bridge over Route 64 on the way into Raleigh. He was riding a tricycle truck with “whatever he needs,” including the tools of his trade which is to make meters. He reported that he had travelled from Florence, SC and really had no idea how far that was but it had taken him quite a long time. And when I asked him about his home back in Florence he said he has a little cottage.

He was coming to visit a friend in the hospital who had been assaulted and badly beaten, apparently an incident on a bus from NYC. He’s been in the area for about a week. We both agreed it was rather hot weather for travelling by bicycle. But he prefers it to the bus. Sweat was dripping from his brow, as it was on mine. He was pedaling a mobile house on a thick wheeled tricycle. I was racing at warp speed on an expensive and very lightweight Trek to meet with a coalition of people who are trying to end homelessness in Raleigh.

I’d gotten a late start to the day’s destination. We’d spent the prior night well provisioned in a family housing shelter outside of which our RV was parked. He spends the nights in churches along the way. It appeared to me that he’d found it difficult to find churches every night. While we chatted he saved the end of the cigarette he was working on and put it back in the bag of Bugler tobacco and explained that it helps pass the time away. He preferred not to have his picture taken. But he had a time worn and interesting face which I’d have loved to draw at another point in time on a different sort of a day.