#36b: Where Are You From? Part 2.
The continuing saga of "Starflower" and "Richie".
In Part 1, we met two travelers named “Starflower” and “Richie,” who regaled me with stories about their backgrounds, life on the road, and vigilante mission of saving women from abusive relationships and putting opioid dealers out of business.
Early that afternoon, I ran into Starflower again.
She: “Who…are…you?” Her tone again implied I had miraculous powers. “You keep showing up!”
Me: “Yeah, I live here.”
She: “You know how I keep coming back to this town?” She seemed to be asking herself as much as me.
Me: “I thought you said you never lived here.”
She: “Yeah but I’ve been here. Someone just told me that the building over there goes down like 7 stories and there used to be a coal mine and there’s a diamond down there like no other in the world.”
Me: “I don’t know about the diamond but there used to be healing waters in town.”
She: “I think that’s what’s pulling me back.”
Me: “Well, the healing waters are right up a block by the old laundromat.”
She: “No, the diamond. I just want to know where the diamond is.”
Later that afternoon, the plot thickened. Seeing they were back in the same place, I went over to see how their plans were going to get to Florida.
Me: “How did you get here, anyway? Hitchhike?”
He: “Took a train.”
She: “We travel everywhere. We just got back.”
Me: “Back? So, you mean you are from here?”
She: “I told you. We’re from everywhere.”
He: “I just want to get out of here.”
Me: “Well, I’d buy you train tickets as far as New York. Get you started back to Florida.”
She: “We want to take the bus.”
Me: “Why? I don’t even know where the bus station is any more.”
She looked at me like that was a poor excuse. For something. I really had forgotten where the bus station was since it'd been a long time since I or anyone I knew had taken a bus out of here. Everyone takes the train.
Me: “Well, if you want, I’ll take you to where I think the bus leaves from. It’s up at Exit 3, right?”
He: “I have no idea.”
Me: “Well, I’m not giving you cash but I’ll take you where I think the station is. And buy you tickets.”
He: “I don’t want cash.”
She: “We just want to get out of here.”
It turned out the bus station wasn’t where it used to be, but some innocent bystander gave us a clue. We eventually found the gas station/convenience store where buses pick up people to take them to places no one really wants to go. On the way, Richie explained that they had been sent North by authorities of some sort to pursue their mission of rescuing abused women and putting dealers out of business and preferably in jail.
She: “I’ll go in and see when the bus leaves.”
When she hadn’t come back out in a few minutes I began to wonder whether she was smoking a cigarette or worse in the bathroom. Meanwhile, I looked in the rear-view and saw Richie starting to nod off.
Me: “What’s taking her so long?”
He: “I got no idea you can ask her about it. I’m not…”
Starflower finally came back and told me they needed to go to the train station, like it was something I should have known. (Which I did.)
She: “You can use cash if you have two forms of ID.”
Me: “But didn’t you say you don’t have an ID?”
S: “I got papers.”
Me: “What kind of papers? OK let’s worry about that later.”
As soon as I pulled out, they started talking again.
He: “And yes, on top of everything, I smoke crack and I drink.”
Me: “You smoke crack now? I thought you didn’t smoke crack.”
She: “Right,” (Like I wasn’t hearing right.) “Just cigarettes.”
He: “Mind if I smoke in the car?” Richie asked.
Me: “Cigarettes or crack? You guys are f-ing with me.”
She: “No, we’re not. Just cigarettes and coke.”
Me: “How do you have enough money for cigarettes and coke?”
She: “No, we have nothing.”
He: “I got some free coke. Now who do you think is giving me the free coke?”
Me. “I have no f-ing idea.”
He: “The person you might have just mentioned.”
Me: “But it was actually fentanyl. Well, I guess, maybe it was crack. Can you snort crack? You were sure acting more wired than zoned out."”
He: “I don’t know. You can snort anything. I feel like sh-t.”
Me: “By the way, you’ve missed the daily train to NY.”
She: “Yes. Tomorrow’s there’s a train. 1PM.”
Me: “You know the train schedule?”
She: “Yeah. It’ll take us south.”
Me: “OK, I’ll give you money for as far as New York.”
He: “Right. I don’t want cash.”
Me: “‘Cause you’ll spend it on something else? Smart.”
He: “I don’t want cash. I want what I need to get to get there. I want to go back to…” [mumbles] “That’s really what I want.”
Me: “You got quite a road ahead of you.”
She: “As long as it’s not here. We’ll sleep on the train.”
Me: “So that guy’s giving it to you because he’s trying to get you addicted?” For some idiotic reason I had decided to get back to my continuing education in the local drug trade.
He: “Right. Correct, I’m sweating. I thought it was crack.”
She: “Me too. Would have been better than fentanyl.”
Me: “So you’re doing it, too. You guys are crack heads?”
She. “No, David.” [Suddenly we were on a first-name basis] “You’re not listening. Pure cocaine is fine, I need alcohol.”
He: “I need to get away from this.”
She: “If it was cocaine I would do it. Crack’s evil.”
He: “It’s f-ing disgusting. Waking up with withdrawal like I never had. And they’re just handing it out so we’re stuck in this town.”
She: “I’m ADHD spectrum. Cocaine makes us functioning. Pure cocaine.”
By now Richie was floridly trying to convince anyone who would listen—mainly himself—that dealers and abusers should be shot. Starflower and I both laughed. I rolled my eyes and said, “Hey you better keep him under control!”
She: “I’m trying! He’s fighting for all these women who are with all these men.”
Me: “Where do you want to go in Florida anyway?”
He: “Fort Myers.”
Me: “Why? Spring training’s over.”
He laughed. We were fellow citizens of Red Sox Nation.
Me: “I don’t know where in Florida the train will take you. Orlando, maybe. You gotta buy those tickets in New York, I think. Must cost hundreds. I ain’t buying them for you.”
He: “We’ll go anywhere in Florida.”
She: “It’ll just be like $20 each.”
Me: “C’mon. No way. I’m sure it’ll costs hundreds. You gonna hop a freight car ‘til Jacksonville? It’s going to cost $70 or so just to get to New York City.”
She: “No, like $20 will get us to Burlington.” (This is the first I’d heard of Burlington.)
Me: “Burlington? That’s in the opposite direction.”
She: “Babe, correct me if I’m wrong but if he gets us to Burlington they will get us to Florida.”
Me: “They who?”
She: “The police.”
Me: “The police??? Why?”
She: “Because we actually work with people there so they’ll pay for us to get out of there. To get back. Do our work. We just got our mail two days ago. They said If you need to get home anywhere we’ll pay for it.”
He: “OK. Let’s do it. Get the f— out of here. I’m sorry I don’t mean to be…”
Me: “That’s OK. But I still don’t get where you’re going. Or why.'‘
She: “I don’t think you want to pay the hundreds to get us to Florida so we’ll go to Burlington.”
Me: “I don’t. But why Burlington?”
Richie had started mumbling about the world’s problems. “I’m not going to stop. I’m not going to tolerate scumbags selling that goddam sh-t that’s killing people. Get these f-ing weirdos the f— incarcerated. I don’t get it. It’s so obvious.”
Me: “OK. Here’s the deal. The train to Burlington is at the end of the day. You don’t want me to give you cash. You’ll get in trouble with cash.”
He: “If you want me to take cash for some reason tell me now and I’ll take $20 in cash.” (Like he was doing me a favor.)
Me: “$20 in cash is not going to get both of you to Burlington.”
He: “I know that…”
Me: “I’d like to get you to Burlington.” (Anyplace but here, I was thinking.)
He: “No we’ll take tickets to Burlington but I’ll take 20 in cash, too.”
Me: “Let’s get the tickets first.”
She: “The tickets cost only 20 something dollars.”
Me: “Sounds about right.”
He: “$17.” Suddenly he knew all about the train, too I was thinking? Jeez.
She: “As long as he has a social security card and two forms of ID and I have my paperwork.”
Me: “You have paperwork? What paperwork?”
He: “They don’t check.”
Me: “OK, they usually don’t check but they say you have to have it.”
She: “Right.”
Me: “But if he starts ranting and raving you’ll need it.”
He: “I start ranting and raving?”
Me: “I’m giving you a hard time.”
She: “We’ve done it before, they don’t check IDs.”
As I pulled into the Co-op parking lot, Starflower swiveled her head and said, “How the hell did we end up back here?'“
For some reason Richie said to shut the f—- up but I couldn’t tell if he meant me or Starflower.
Me: “Don’t tell me to shut the fuck up,” I laughed. “I’m the one helping you. Tell yourself to shut the fuck up. Anyway, the train station is right down there.”
He: “I would rather you give me $20.”
Me: “Did you already use those gift cards I gave you?”
She: “I gave one to her. She’s good people.” She indicated Suzanne who was standing by the entrance. Suzanne can cadge cash and gift cards with the best of them.
Me: “So I’ll get you another $20 Gift Card for food. That you can have on the train.”
He: “We need beer.”
She: “And cigarettes.”
He: “Can’t buy them with Co-op gift cards.”
I pulled into a parking spot and turned to them. “So here’s the deal. I gotta go do some things. I can buy the tickets online and come back in a couple of hours when the train’s leaving. Meet you there. Make sure you get on.”
He: “Thanks, man. Sorry I’m an asshole.”
Me: “You’re not an asshole you’re just dealing with some weird drug shit. And I’m putting some boundaries on it.”
She: “That’s appropriate. Thank you.”
Me: “You’re both coming off something. I’m beginning to think it is crack.”
She: “We could punch each other in the face.” She looked eager, like it’d be fun to punch him in the face and it would help prove my point.
Me: “Don’t go doing that. I gotta get back to my day job (any day job) so I’ll go online and get two tickets and meet you here before the train leaves.”
A few hours later, when Starflower saw me coming down the street, she yelled, “I told you he’d show up, Richie!”
He was surprised. We walked down to the train station and he promptly put his pack on the ground, lay down, and closed his eyes.
She went over to a couple of policemen across the way, which I found rather curious, but I was determined to stick around until I saw them get on the train. When I mentioned to Richie that she was talking to some cops, he suggested I go see what it was about. It seemed weird to have him be telling me what to do, but I was too interested to stand on ceremony.
As soon as I got close, the two officers told me to stand back like they were going to arrest her. I was about to tell them she was OK when she said to them, “It’s OK. He’s with me.” A thought I found troubling on many levels and in many dimensions.
Obviously in Starflower’s short time in town, her reputation as a Narcan EMT, hassler of abusers, and general well-spirited visitor had become well known to the authorities, whereas I was just some guy hanging out at the train station wearing well-worn jeans, a fading Stolichnaya Vodka t-shirt, and clogs without socks (my typical outfit.)
Clearly, I was the one just passing through.
You can't make this shit up, and yet somehow it makes sense in an alternate universe. I worked in this environment for 15 years and the circular conversation brings it all back. Thanks for the memories.