Time Out of Mind Page #4

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some money here?

Oh, yeah.

You get a job.

Or get on welfare

or Social Security

or disability or food stamps

or, um...

The purpose

of this evaluation is to see

what kinda services

you're eligible for.

You know... psychiatric,

substance abuse...

...whatever or what not.

Do you understand

what I'm saying?

Are you alright?

Uh, you're here because

I'm going to evaluate you

so I can help you out,

so I can see what services I can get you.

How I can take care of you.

I'm sorry, one second.

Let me just take care

of this sh*t.

Sorry.

Sh*t.

Boyfriend troubles.

you know what I'm saying?

Have a nice day...

Have a nice day?

You have a f***ed up day!

You ain't got no right

to talk to me this way.

I live here!

I live here like everybody

else does.

You ain't got no right to say

this thing to me.

Treat me the way you do.

Act like I'm gonna rat

on my boys here.

These men are my brothers.

You don't know that sh*t?

You don't live here with us,

that's why.

If you know what to say,

you don't know sh*t.

Don't matter what you say to me.

You don't know sh*t.

You got to learn to act, man!

You hear me?

Take care, Mr. Turner.

You got your nerve, man.

You got your goddamn nerve.

You give me some cigarette,

you think I'm gonna rat on people.

These are my people.

These are my brothers.

You sit up there, try to be like

the grand master

of this here place.

You ain't sh*t, Mike.

What do you want?

Hmm?

Do you want something?

Ah, you're the new guy.

Dixon Turner. Attorney at law.

I don't have anything.

I want to represent you.

I don't know what you want from me?

I'm just kidding.

I'm a jazz man.

You know, I'm a musician.

I play, I play good too.

Yeah. Yeah. Where you going?

I'm go... I'm going.

Oh, I'll walk with you. Come on.

Come on, I'll walk with you.

Done much walking

since you been reduced?

Hmm?

I'm not reduced.

Yeah, you reduced. Refined. Relocated.

Remitted. I don't know what that means.

Replaced.

I'm not reduced.

Whatever they call homelessness,

that's what you are.

I'm not homeless either.

Yeah, you're homeless.

What... what number are we?

Hmm? What number we got?

Listen, listen, George,

you got any children?

I got 2 sons...

...so they tell me.

Army, marines.

Good boys. Good boys.

And I got a daughter

uh, though she didn't make it.

Human Im... Immuno...

Immuno...

You know, HIV...

...took her.

Baby didn't stand a chance.

And I got another daughter.

Uh, they say between

1975 and 1976.

But you know how it is

being a musician on the road

makin' music.

White powder.

Cocaine, heroin.

And a few other things too.

Ended up right where

you thought you'd never be

but here I am.

Here I am.

So, hey, hey, listen to this.

Well, do you know

that every, um, human male...

That's a man, like you and me.

...makes enough sperm

in 2 weeks to impregnate

every ovulating woman

on this planet?

That's a fact, man.

I heard it once

from this, uh, doctor

I was hanging out with

on the... on the streets.

He... he was a meth head.

You know, tweaker.

Hmm.

He worked at Harlem and, uh,

did these, uh, tests

uh, tuberculosis tests

at the Harlem Hospital.

You know,

he let them inject him...

...for McDonald coupons.

Can you believe that?

But he... he...

he... he dead now.

So I don't see him anymore.

He was killed by this,

uh, transvestite

he was seein' on and off.

More often on, if you know

what I'm talkin' about.

A real doctor with a real MD

until he lost his license.

He was a... a brain...

brain man.

Every 2 weeks.

Every fertile female

on the planet.

You know, the only thing I...

I do for pleasure these days

is have myself a Coca Cola.

Coca Cola is my only...

Yeah.

Sometimes, Pepsi.

Hey, you know what, I... I...

I played for Bill Evans once.

You know... you know

who it is, don't you?

Bill Evans, jazz man.

I played for him once

uh, about 10 blocks from here.

He said, I played okay.

Can you believe that?

That's like Michelangelo sayin',

he sayin'

he admires your...

your paint job on the ceilin'.

I played okay.

Bill Evans.

Sh*t.

Damn, we're gonna

be here all day.

you are a citizen

of the United States?

What? No, uh,

not on my person.

I don't have it, no.

No, I'm sorry.

It's okay. Look, can you

get it and come back?

I don't know where it is.

Alright, what's your

social security number?

Okay, okay, uh...

930...

No.

05...

Sir, that's not right.

I think.

930?

9, no.

93005...

It's not correct...

The first digit can't be 9, sir.

093?

Oh, boy.

I think.

I... 093?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I can't.

I can't remember. I have a hard

time with... with numbers.

I... I have rem... remembering

problems sometimes...

That's okay.

It's okay, it's okay.

We need some documentation,

anyway.

You must get a new

social security card.

Where do I get that?

$3000 per person per month

per person

staying in the shelter.

I say,

Mr. Commissioner of Housing

Mr. Housing Commissioner

give me $800 rent,

and you can spend the rest

on p*ssy for all I care.

Get you a lot of p*ssy

with that kind of money.

Give me a little bit

of self-respect.

That's what I want.

That's all I want.

A place I can call my own.

Give me a nice place.

Give me some bleach.

I'll clean it up.

I'll clean up real neat,

and respectable-like.

Have some of my musician

friends over there.

Get us some jazz.

You wanna get cleaned up?

A shower?

I... I know this lady

up in the Bronx.

Opens her apartment up,

and you can take a shower

but then, it's gonna cost you.

The shelter's free.

The choice is yours.

Would you rather go up there,

or the shelter?

You hear?

I'm done.

Done?

That dude missed curfew.

You miss curfew, you're f***ed.

They make you sit out

in hallways.

They give your bed away

to somebody else.

Empty your locker.

It's your locker,

so you can lock it up.

But here's the thing,

you come back the next night

they make you sit in the hallway

till after midnight

then maybe, just maybe,

you get a bed.

They call that packing up,

if you know what I mean.

Packin' up.

It takes you seven days to get

your... get your locker back.

And now some of the case

workers, they really care.

They're good people, they're

trying to get us housing

but there's no housing

out there to be had

so they become desensitized.

Too many of us, you know.

Too many of us.

Think about it for a moment

from a taxpayer's point of view.

We get a mattress,

a bed, a locker.

Uh, shampoo, toothpaste.

It ain't right.

It ain't a square deal.

We didn't earn it.

It's a handout, not a hand-up.

Turner, leave that man alone.

Oh, sh*t.

He bothering you?

No, not at all.

He said no, not at all.

Go back to bed

and stop hanging out down here.

Go back to bed?

You need to kiss my ass.

Go back to bed.

Treat me like some

goddamned child.

You... you... you...

you watch yourself.

You're the child around here.

Go back to your bed.

Hey.

Hey.

He bothering you?

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