Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Warning!!!! Not Your Usual Morning Post

Good morning, everyone. I do see a vacation myself in the near future...before it gets too hot.  I don't travel, but totally love sleeping in...not having to get dressed if I don't want to...and not having to go anywhere that isn't fun.  Thanks all of you for your concern.  Now, I just have to figure when.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."--Mother Theresa

This is not your usual post from. Hopefully, no one finds this too strange or upsetting.  I mean, I usually try to keep this blog upbeat...aside from my occasional rants.  But, today, there is a story that has to be told.  It don't know why it has been gnawing at me so, but I just knew this is what I had to talk about...the forgotten ones....the drug addicted, the mentally ill, and the homeless who inhabit a hellish labyrinth of abandoned subway stations, tunnels, and old waterworks beneath the city streets...the "Mole People".  


It is very easy to forget that they are there  until one day you are passing near a subway grate and find yourself gagging over an overwhelming stench of urine and feces.  Then, you remember them...the thousands of homeless men and women who "choose" to live underground rather than in a city shelter system which is far more dangerous than the dark labyrinth they now call home. But they choose to live there with the rats, in the dark and gloomy stations because they trust their underground communities far more than they trust the society that lives above.  

While it is true that many are drug addicted or mentally ill, who, ravaged by illness, live like animals, others are actually very intelligent and enterprising people who have college degrees. In fact, there are a few sizable communities...complete with a 'mayor', elaborate social structures, and some even have electricity.  There are cooking and laundry facilities, teachers, nurses, and you will even find children scampering around. Some never come up to see the light of day (the real mole people)  while others (runners) come up during the day and beg for money. Others come up in the wee hours of the morning to raid the restaurant dumpsters, taking their loot back to the underground to share with their neighbors.  Amazingly, some don't even look homeless. 

What was my purpose for writing this?  As I said, I really don't know. Yes, I did walk by that subway grate yesterday, and yes I did begin to gag, but,I think, in part, I am writing this to acknowledge their existence. According to one mole man, he is content with "just being, and not being seen"...but I think, deep down we all want to know that someone knows that we are here, that in some little way, our lives meant something to someone....that someone remembers us, that someone remembers we were here.  Thank you for letting me share.


"Just to be remembered is good enough for me.  Lots of people are forgotten."--Sadie Frost




10 comments:

  1. It's important for everyone's reality to be acknowledged as part of the human experience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Like the moon, Mary, you can't always be shining and bright. I don't trust people who only blog the upbeat and new-agey life is just lightness and beauty. B.S.! Especially working with the community you do who are haunted souls fighting for survival and some just giving up. It's extremely important to avoid burn-out you take breaks for yourself and to find nurturing. I have my masters in counseling and when I worked with the community one of the only things that kept me sane was my supervisor and other counselors who could relate to my experiences. Know you're not alone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i think i watched a documentary about this before, thank you for reminding us, they are somebodies children, parents, brothers , sisters etc.

    ReplyDelete
  4. They have their community and they know of their existence...just because we don't think of them much up here doesn't mean that no one cares...they care...they mean something to each other in their own community...I'm sure they are happy in their own way...it's just different from ours...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your concern for these people. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for posting this x x x take your break soon and just be :) x x x blessings on your week

    ReplyDelete
  7. "deep down we all want to know that someone knows that we are here, that in some little way, our lives meant something to someone....that someone remembers us, that someone remembers we were here" - wow! I wonder -- is that why blogging is such a popular activity?

    ReplyDelete
  8. ~this is a post that makes you think and reflect upon what we all {or most} see on a day to day basis and acknowledges the existence of a human being...i too agree somewhere deep down everyone wants to be seen or appreciated or aclnowledged...thank you for sharing your thoughts always...your heart is so big! warm wishes and brightest blessings

    ReplyDelete
  9. So sad that people live this way.
    It's good you brought this story to life.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Mary! This is one issue that always breaks my heart. I can't help but think that just like anything else, it could happen to anyone whether by choice or by fate. (You may want to read a post I wrote on this subject back on February 17th) Thank you for sharing your views and thank you for stopping by my Blog :0) Have a nice Wednesday XO

    ReplyDelete