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Forty-two-years-old and living on the streets. It was his birthday, he said. To prove it, he even showed me his ID. "Happy birthday," I said.



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[She and her husband are homeless.]



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[Notice how the carpet hangs right over the For Rent sign.]



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There were all these people walking down the street with an orange, a banana or candies donated by charity. The homeless shelter was around the corner. Two blocks away was Pioneer Park. Day or night, dozens of homeless lie on its grass.




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Seeing me snapping, a tattooed rent-a-cop told me to put my camera away, so now you know, in post 9-11 America, it is no longer legal to take pictures of Funny Teeth in a bus station. Joking aside, I'm sure this kid and I share the same dentist.



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Joe, 30, is from Des Moines, where he mom still lives. He was a line cook at many restaurants, even top end ones, but was repeatedly fired for drinking. Hearing about Salt Lake City's low unemployment rate, he came here, but has been living on its streets. Someone stole his backpack, which had his birth certificate and social security card, and several teeth have been knocked out in a fight. He cheerfully showed me his scraped fist from another tussle, just that day. There's a new drug called "spice," he informed me, which combines herbs and chemicals, each perfectly legal, but in changing combination may land you in a hospital, or even kill you. With a high lasting up to 45 minutes, it only costs $2 per joint, making it super attractive among the empty pocketed. When Joe was in the emergency room a while back, a nurse said there had been at least one spice victim in there each day.



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He's from Billings, MT, spent 30 years there, but has also lived in Forth Worth, San Augustine and in Georgia. He complained of the homeless in Salt Lake City, "They take drugs, and steal from you! I don't do drugs."

"Sounds like you should get out of here!"

"No, man, there's trouble everywhere."

"The economy is tanking."

"That too!"



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