Homeless For The Holidays

Richard Craig says he chooses to be homeless, but he has a plan to get back on his feet. Back in Albuquerque, he had a successful window-washing business until his equipment was stolen.

Homeless for the holidays (By Patrick Yeagle): If you didn’t know better, you might think Richard Craig is a powerful businessman. An athletic, handsome man of 46, he’s dressed sharply from head to toe: black wingtip dress shoes, black dress slacks, a black turtleneck under a black diamond-knit sweater and a long black overcoat. He has a salt-and-pepper flat-top crew cut and fashionable stubble over tanned, weathered skin. He carries himself with confidence and seems to know everyone. Others come to his table to say hello. People passing on the street nod or wave to him as they would a well-connected member of the establishment.

But Craig is not a businessman – at least not at the moment. Right now, he’s homeless. Craig is one of hundreds of homeless people facing another winter on the streets. While he insists that he can handle it, he’s worried about those with less experience and less will to survive.

Even in the best circumstances, being homeless is mentally and emotionally draining. Homeless people interviewed by Illinois Times describe feeling invisible, lost, alone, hopeless and constantly afraid for their lives. Winter adds a physical element to the suffering, bringing new challenges and compounding the effects of homelessness on the human psyche.

This winter in particular will be challenging for Springfield’s homeless population. The Salvation Army – usually a linchpin in the battle against homelessness – doesn’t have any shelter to offer this year. The group is in the midst of renovating a new-to-them building at 221 N. 11th St., and their old facility was sold. Corps administrator Major Steve Woodard says the new facility is slated to open sometime in 2016.

That means 36 shelter beds will be out of commission this winter, putting further pressure on the Winter Warming Center, previously known as the Springfield Overflow Shelter. It’s a seasonal facility open from November to March each winter to supplement Springfield’s permanent shelters. Juan Huerta, director of the Office of Community Relations for the City of Springfield, says the other shelters expanded to absorb the people that the Salvation Army would have otherwise served. 

Rod Lane, executive director of Helping Hands of Springfield, says his organization recently expanded from 33 beds to 45 beds by moving to a new location. Still, he says there probably won’t be enough beds for everyone at some point. While demand isn’t high right now, it will likely grow as the weather worsens. Additionally, Helping Hands has not been paid in months by the State of Illinois because of the ongoing budget impasse, and Lane says his organization is running on reserves.

“If we do not get a state budget soon, we will absolutely, unequivocally shut down,” he said.

Huerta said he’s working to have the City of Springfield pay Helping Hands up front for operating the Winter Warming Center, instead of reimbursing them afterward. The temporary shelter opened on Nov. 1.

The lower number of available shelter beds may be somewhat mitigated by the current strong El Niño, which refers to warmer-than-usual surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon is projected to push air that is warmer and drier than usual into the upper Midwest this winter, which could mean fewer sub-zero days and less snow. Still, winter storms and cold snaps will undoubtedly happen, and one frigid night is enough to endanger the lives of those people who wind up on the street.

    

A day in the life:

Richard Craig usually wakes up before dawn. A local business owner lets Craig sleep under his shop’s awning, so Craig likes to move his suitcase and other belongings out of sight before the business opens.

Most homeless people prefer to sleep at one of the shelters, which offer protection from the weather. However, Craig is one of a handful of people who prefer to sleep outside. During the winter, Craig lines his sleeping bag with garbage bags to keep in heat. While that has kept him from freezing in previous winters, he says it causes him to sweat, which makes him even colder when he gets out of bed. He says he always sleeps on cardboard because “concrete drains your energy.”

Craig says he grew up in a family of itinerant fruit pickers, so he’s used to moving often and sleeping outside. He has lived in California, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and several other places. Back in Albuquerque, he had a successful window-washing business until his equipment was stolen. He says he actually chooses to be homeless now because being in a house reminds him that his ex-fiancée took their son, now nine years old, when they split up. He keeps in touch with them but doesn’t see them regularly. 

Several people have offered to let Craig stay with them when they find semi-permanent shelter like a cheap apartment or an abandoned building. He always turns them down, in part because he sees his homeless status as a calling to protect others on the street. 

“There are a lot of predators out here,” he said.

From 6:30 until about 10:30 each morning, Craig and dozens of other people head to the Washington Street Mission at 408 N. Fourth St., which offers hot coffee, laundry service, showers and biweekly clothing giveaways. Inside the mission, people sit at tables or walk around aimlessly, seemingly paying no attention to the woman playing hymns on an old piano. The small men’s room is constantly full, doubling as a changing room and a place to groom. 

Outside, people hide from the cold wind in the doorway while they smoke and socialize. A thin, goateed man who looks to be in his late 30s aggressively paces back and forth on the sidewalk, waving his arms and issuing a profanity-laced threat to “beat anyone’s ass” who messes with him. He finally calms down when someone gives him a cigarette.

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Saturday Evening Post Goes Retro for Mad Men Cover: Sharif Tarabay, the artist responsible for the March/April 2014 cover of The Saturday Evening Post, is thrilled. Because while he has in the past done Norman Rockwell-inspired work, this is the first time such an illustration has adorned the latter’s eponymous publication: “I’ve done many illustrations inspired by Rockwell’s classic covers throughout my career,” says the painter. “To illustrate a cover for The Saturday Evening Post based on one of Rockwell’s paintings - Window Washer – is a thrill and a highlight of my career.” That original Rockwell illustration, which appeared in the September 17, 1960 issue and below the great Tarabay treatment, with a certain familiar face very cleverly transposed into the window washer position. More Norman Rockwell window cleaning blogs here.

 

The Mole & Jersey Show Episode 14: We have an interview with Wagga from WCM TV, and Window Cleaning Magazine. We talk about consistancy and of course our FAIL of the week is awesome! Watch and Share the show, and hey...Subscribe would you?

The Segments:

4:05 Marketing Madness...Professional or not? 

11:34 The Chop Chop...Wagga

18:05 Fail of the Week

22:41 Top 5....Employee Problems
The Mole & jersey Show Episode 15 below with a newer host!.. click the picture.

‘I get food and I get a shower. . . but it’s very hard to find a bed for the night’ - There are meals for homeless people in Dublin, but getting a bed is more difficult. At five minutes to four on a rain-sodden afternoon, Tomas’s search for a bed begins. There’s a freephone number to call to get your name down on the list for an emergency bed. The operators come on only from about 4.30pm, he says, but it’s best to call early. The automated voice tells him he is 18th in the queue. He waits, holding the mobile phone by his ear. And waits. After an hour and 17 minutes the line goes dead. There’s no sound. Maybe there was a problem with his phone?
He walks across the city to go to his English class, just off Bolton Street. It’s a free programme run in an adult education centre twice a week. When he came to Ireland from Slovakia seven years ago he couldn’t believe so many foreigners didn’t bother to learn the language. Being able to communicate is important if he’s going to get a job, he says. Back home he worked as a professional window cleaner and got all the necessary qualifications for using safety harnesses on tall buildings. Then his friend in Naas told him the wages in Ireland were many times better. It seemed like a good idea. His relationship with his long-term girlfriend had broken up. She was living with another man. The hardest part was leaving his three-year-old son behind, not knowing when he would see him again.
Social insurance stamps - He doesn’t get social welfare, because the officials say he’s not entitled to it. Tomas says he worked for about 2½ years in Dublin doing painting, plastering and window cleaning. It was mostly for cash, so he wasn’t getting social insurance stamps. At 10.30pm he tries the number again. He get through quickly this time. But the voice at the end of the line says all the emergency beds are full. There is a sleeping bag available, he’s told, if he wants to keep warm on the street, But it’s not so much the cold as the wet that’s the problem. The rain is now hurtling down in sheets. Flood warnings are in operation in parts of the city.
He puts his backpack on and walks in the direction of St James’s Hospital. Why doesn’t he go home? It’s complicated, he says.  He doesn’t want to have to answer all the intrusive questions. He also feels ashamed of where he is now. Once he gets a job and is back on his feet he might return. At the hospital’s accident and emergency unit he sits in the corner, watching the television. His wet clothes are sticking to him.
Tomas doesn’t take drugs. He drinks sometimes but only to help catch some sleep if he doesn’t have a bed. Most nights he generally gets a bed but increasingly there are too few to go around. He’s about to nod off when a nurse asks him if he’s here to see a doctor. When he says he isn’t, he’s asked to leave. It’s just after three in the morning. After about four years on the streets you begin to see the city differently. You recognise all the other homeless people. You see the city is a place where men and women struggle to survive. He lists off names and where he used to see the people. Sixteen in all. One had epilepsy, another was a heavy drinker. The list goes on.
The rain has eased off by now. He heads down towards Merchant’s Quay, where Merchant’s Quay Ireland serves breakfast to homeless people in three or four hours’ time.  Then he’ll head on to Trust, located in a basement near the Iveagh Buildings,where’ll he have a shower and hopefully get some fresh runners. It’s one good thing about being a homeless person in Dublin, Tomas says. You don’t go hungry. There’s always somewhere to eat. But getting a bed is another matter. Tomas’s name has been changed, at his request

The Snowden Files by Luke Harding – review: We live in a new world, and a scary one: this is a riveting read that unravels the mysteries behind the Snowden revelationsHarding writes that in the immediate aftermath of Snowden's revelations, construction crews appeared during the night outside the offices of the Guardian and the homes of its reporters, "taxi drivers" got mysteriously lost, "window cleaners" began loitering outside meeting rooms. Those trying to report the story found their lives inconvenienced – and occasionally they got a little scared – but it hardly put them off what they were doing.

Well-known Winslow singer, window cleaner and retained firefighter Paul French is one half of the tribute act, along with Mike Gethin. The evening is being organised by the WinslowAnglo-French Twinning Association (WAFTA) to raise money for the next visit by their counterparts from Cours La Ville in 2015. The two towns take it in turns to host each other, and this year it is Winslow’s turn to go to France. Seating for the tribute night will be cabaret style, on tables of six to eight people. There will also be a disco. The £12 ticket price includes a fish and chip supper freshly cooked on the premises by Little Horwood company Howe and Co.

Lone Wolf Management secures Rising Star Award from the Cheltenham branch of the Federation of Small Businesses only 18 months after formation: A company which now has five divisions only 18 months after starting up has been presented with a special business award. Lone Wolf Management received the Rising Star Award from the Cheltenham branch of the Federation of Small Businesses. Managing director Gil Collins, whose Cheltenham based company’s activities include security, window cleaning and catering, was presented with the accolade by Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood. Gil said: It is marvellous to receive this award, my staff and I are very proud to be honoured in this way.”
His aim was to support Gloucestershire businesses by purchasing locally and employing local people wherever possible. FSB branch chairman Tim Calway said he was delighted with Lone Wolf’s success and its support for local businesses. Martin Horwood said: “Economists and planners at national level are always telling us that small businesses are the ones that drive economic growth but it’s great to see the FSB celebrating this here on the ground in Cheltenham. “They’re taking practical steps to raise the profile of rising stars like Lone Wolf Management and encouraging their success.” The Gloucester Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo together with Harrison Clark Rickerbys solicitors are promoting county products and services through the Made in Gloucestershire campaign.

Linda cleans up with her first business: Linda Richardson is all set to clean up with her local business - despite starting up in 2009 at the heart of the banking crash. Since Linda, a 45 year old mother of one child, launched Connect Cleaning Services in Melling she has steadily built up her company and now she is planning to expand and take on more staff. She said: “This is my first business - I’d never run a business before. In fact, before I started up I was a housewife. ”But my circumstances changed very suddenly and I thought I didn’t want just to sit back - so I thought I’d give it a go.“
Her business now includes house-cleaning and maid service, commercial and office cleaning and window, upholstery and carpet cleaning services. ”My business partner, Dean Boyle, and I did the preparatory work and we launched Connect Cleaning Services at the height of the recession. But we had a good business idea, we had a good work ethic and we’ve built up the business’ reputation over time.“ She pointed out that word of mouth is crucially important to the business. ”I have to be patient - it hasn’t all happened at once. “We have built up the business, built up our reputation and now I’m ready to go further and build on what we have achieved so far. ”It’s a lot about building up a good reputation - which is exactly what we have done. “We are getting calls for new business all the time. We are very ambitious for this business. We are working hard and we are making it work.”
Linda added: “We now want to provide employment opportunities for more local people. Currently we employ four and we will be taking more on. We really want to build this business and take on more people and boost the local economy.” Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson met Linda and explained how impressed he was with her business. He said: “Linda really is an inspiration. ”She set up her business and is really making it a success. “We know how small local businesses are struggling to survive and compete so it is good to hear about a small local business, set up by first-time entrepreneurs, who have managed not just to make a go of it, but to make it a local success story.”

Walmart launches eco-friendly household cleaners: Walmart has introduced a four-product line of all-natural household cleaning products under its private-label Great Value brand. The line, Great Value Naturals, was introduced in late 2013 in 2,000 Walmart stores across the U.S., and includes a liquid laundry detergent, a multi-surface cleaner, a glass and window cleaner, and an automatic dishwasher gel, packaged in recyclable materials.
“The launch of Great Value Naturals is an important step in making green cleaning habits an affordable option for millions of consumers,” says Alberto Dominguez, Walmart Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager. “Many consumers have the perception that all-natural cleaners are more expensive and don’t work as well as traditional cleaning products. Great Value Naturals addresses those concerns by combining affordability, performance, and care for the environment.”

The products are made from plant-based, all-natural Evolve cleaning technology from Agaia, Inc. and are 100-percent chemical- and toxin-free, biodegradable, and non-allergenic. The technology is said to effectively capture and break down soils, grease, grime, and odor-causing bacteria without leaving harmful residues or irritants behind on the skin, surfaces, or the environment. 

Concerns over toxic substances — the new term seems to be "chemicals of concern" - in our everyday lives have been around since Rachel Carson penned "Silent Spring" more than a half-century ago. But getting the most problematic chemicals out of products and supply chains has been slow-going, especially as government regulation of such chemicals has been timid. Regulation by the marketplace is another matter. Over the past year, big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target have approached the issue head-on, pushing suppliers to disclose ingredients or simply vowing to phase out use of some chemicals in the products they sell.
Wal-Mart announced a policy to require manufacturers of cosmetics and cleaning products to disclose ingredients in their products and remove priority hazardous chemicals. The company said it would start with 10 priority chemicals, although it isn't yet disclosing which ones, and some critics both praised the policy and pointed to its flaws. Target, for its part, announced a partnership with UL's GoodGuide to establish sustainability standards for some 7,500 products, focusing on personal care and household cleaning products — "direct-exposure chemical products" with a strong focus on toxic or otherwise problematic ingredients. 

XENIA — Remember the old joke about the housekeeper who always says “I don’t do windows…” You don’t have to worry about that when you contact one of the newest businesses in Xenia. “We’re dependable and reliable,” Shane Hartley, owner of the local Fish Window Cleaning location, said. “And, we’re year round.” Hartley, a former police officer in Athens, Ohio, and an US Army vet with 27 years under his belt, said that when he returned from Afghanistan in 2012, he began looking for a business he could own and operate. “I was looking for a different franchise,” he added. “I worked through FranChoice and they matched me up with three potential franchises. “Fish looked to be the best of the three because of three things: the simplicity of its system, the low overhead, and a very needed service.” “The franchises are independently owned and operated,” Hartley said. “We’re licensed, bonded and fully insured. We’re glad to give free estimates for both commercial and residential customers.”
Along with the window cleaning, the Roseville, Ohio native said Fish also cleans gutters and performs light power-washing on soffits and siding. “And, really, we can clean anything glass,” Hartley continued. “We’ve done chandeliers, not to mention other light fixtures.” To prepare for the new business, Hartley completed multiple weeks of training in the Xenia area and at Fish Window Cleaning headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. He is currently hiring and accepting applications. “I am committed to providing quality service and 100 percent satisfaction that FISH customers have come to expect,” said Hartley. “I look forward to meeting my residential and commercial neighbors and becoming the top, reliable provider for window cleaning needs. “So far, I’ve found everyone extremely friendly and I’ve met some great people,” he continued. “I have not had a single business turn me away and not let me write a free estimate.” Hartley is providing his services for commercial and residential customers in East Dayton, Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering and Xenia. “My region is pretty much from I-75 east, to Fairborn in the north and south almost to where I-75 and I-675 come together,” he said. Hartley said he currently has a staff of two and is looking to expand. “I am hiring,” he said. “I’ve posted all over. I need two additional employees for going on runs, and I also need a salesperson.”

MANCHESTER — Peter Thurston, owner of the local Fish Window Cleaning, was presented with the Soaring Eagle Award at the annual Fish Window Cleaning Convention in St. Louis, Mo. Thurston received the award for his success in taking over an existing franchise and increasing the franchise’s performance in sales, profitability and operational excellence. Thurston took over the business in 2011, and his office provides service to commercial and residential customers in Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Bedford, Derry, Londonderry, Merrimack, Windham, and Hudson, N.H.

20mph limits: Are Bristol's new zones making a difference? Between condolences, one resident says: "The hill is treated like a drag race going up and people do not appreciate their speed going down". Another adds: "Sadly, most cars travelling up or down Ashley Hill do not adhere to the 20 mph speed limit." Jason Hook, 46, from Southmead who runs a window cleaning business agrees. His job sees him travel around the city all day. He said: "It is just ridiculous. It makes my day longer, adds time and adds cost to everything. It's wasting my time and causing congestion. And I can't put my prices up because people are still suffering from the recession."

Mouldy: Why won't council do anything about our damp homes? Mrs Shepherd is not the only one with damp problems on the small estate. About 25 of the 70 homes have all suffered from them for more than a decade. They are portable homes which bolt together in two halves and which can be transported on the back of a lorry. They are slightly smaller than the popular old pre-fabs in which most of the residents used to live. Retired window cleaner John Emery (pictured left) and his wife Janet have had a catalogue of problems. Their problems began when they discovered a gas pipe in their front bedroom wardrobe was mouldy and dripping with condensation.

Erie Heat Wave 48 Degrees: The big change in temperatures seemed to change the collective mood of Erie residents. While you wouldn't normally think of 48 degrees as a heat wave, after the February weather Erie has experienced, that's exactly what people were calling it. The average high and low temperature for the month, according to the National Weather Service is 16.7 degrees that's nearly 11 degrees below normal.  Erie has seen three sub zero temperature days including -7 degrees on Monday morning, and collected nearly two feet of new snow for the month. And we saw a couple of window washers out too.  They normally have to use an anti-freeze in their window washing water, but not today. "Yeah, yeah...everybody's been calling it a heat wave, I'm not from here, they say Erie weather is so funny, but it's a great day," said Mark Hodge of Candia Window Washers.

Chasing his dream: The lack of support for independent filmmakers in Qatar is an obstacle, according to Klim. Five years back, Alex Klim moved to Doha from Vienna to pursue an exciting proposition in the telecommunications field. Like most Western expats in Qatar, the Austrian enjoyed a well-heeled lifestyle and comforts that could silence all complaints. Living on the 22nd floor of a West Bay high-rise has helped Klim with his next project — The Doha Spiderman. It’s an action documentary that looks into a day in the life of a rope access technician, or a window cleaner. “When I saw them cleaning glasses of my apartment from the outside using suction mounts, I was worried for them. I tracked them for a day and mounted GoPro cameras on their helmets,” he says. It’s finding and telling such stories that has made Klim fall in love with Qatar.

Russians and their vodka: In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to curb drinking with a number of reforms, including reducing the supply of vodka, increasing its price, and prosecuting people who showed up to work inebriated. This was well intentioned, but like other attempts at prohibition, it did more harm than good. People turned instead to drugs and unregulated alcohols like cologne, antiseptics, and samogon — a homemade concoction made by distilling anything from sugar, window-cleaners, and even stolen aircraft de-icing fluids. As can be expected with de-icing fluid, drinkers of the poison would often hallucinate, go blind, or die. The anti-alcohol campaign was officially abandoned in 1988.

In her brightly painted studio, composer Elena Kats-Chernin is all too aware of the importance of beginnings. Over the years she has come to trust that divine intervention - or the mysterious workings of the subconscious - will come to her rescue in the process of creating. Sitting at her piano, scribbling away, she has had many moments of frustration with pages ripped and discarded as she works away through all that is wrong to discover what feels right. ''Composing is like cleaning a window,'' she says. ''You have to remove all the dirt and grease before you can see.''

“Window walls have already been around in their current form for 20 to 30 years and we expect that they will have a 30- to 35-year lifespan.” Click to enlarge.

Degrading condo windows expected to trigger major wave of replacements: University of Waterloo professor John Straube says buyers of glass condos should consider cost lifespan of window walls and cost to replace. That million-dollar condo view comes with a hidden price tag as degrading windows in older buildings are expected to trigger a major wave of replacements which could cost owners upwards of $100,000, a university professor says.

“Window walls have already been around in their current form for 20 to 30 years and we expect that they will have a 30- to 35-year lifespan,” says University of Waterloo professor John Straube, who divides his time between the civil engineering and architecture departments. “Over the entire face of a large condo, they could cost $100,000 (a unit)” to replace, said Straube, noting the figure is a projection because “we don’t actually have that much experience. “What we do know is that’s what it has cost to replace glass in limited buildings to date.”

The adhesive, gaskets and sealants used to install window walls eventually degrade due to temperature changes and exposure to the sun, allowing moisture and water to get in. The glass wall’s aluminum frame becomes pitted and disfigured over time due to corrosion.

Girl who fell to her death from window of Bradford house named as Amrita Kaur - A 22-month-old girl who died after falling from the window of a house with her mother has been named by police. Amrita Kaur died on Tuesday morning after she was found unconscious outside a house in Delamere Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire Police said. Her 36-year-old mother was also injured in the incident and was later arrested on suspicion of her daughter's murder. Amrita and her mother were discovered in the back garden of the end-terrace house by a neighbour who called police and paramedics.
They appeared to have fallen from a first-floor window. Both were taken to hospital but Amrita died soon afterwards. People living in the quiet, residential street described their shock at what happened in the house many thought was empty. According to reports, neighbour Mohammed Yaseen raised the alarm after he was alerted by the woman banging on a bin before he and a local window cleaner tried to help with first aid.

Josefat "Joe" Gawron passed away at his home in Monroe on Saturday, February 15, 2014. He was 88. Son of the late Maria Szubala Gawron and Petro Gawron, he was born in Trembowla, Ternopil, Ukraine on May 26, 1925. 

Joe was a retired Window Cleaner for Arcade Window Cleaners in New York, NY. He was the widower of Maria Tychan Gawron. He is survived by his sons, Dmytro Gawron and his wife, Olga of Monroe and Wasyl Gawron and his wife, Pat of the Bronx; three grandchildren, Marc Gawron, Adrienne Fil and William Gawron; and two great grandchildren, Markian Fil and Maksym Fil.

Australian fathers who murder their sons and daughters: The children had presents for Robert Farquharson on the fateful 2005 day. Saucepans, as well as a framed photo of the three boys. It was Father’s Day and it had been a big afternoon for Farquharson, a window cleaner, and his three boys, Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and Bailey, 2. According to a detailed account in The Australian Book of Family Murders, they had visited Geelong, 35 minutes away from their home in Winchelsea, where he had purchased presents for the boys. They dropped in on their aunt and ate KFC for dinner before they headed home. Farquharson has always claimed he does not remember what happened next, except that he had a coughing fit and blacked out.

But courts have convicted him twice, in 2007 and 2010, for murdering his children that evening. He steered his car off the Princes Highway into a dark, deep dam. All of his children drowned. He survived. The smoking gun in the Farquharson case was a witness who said he told him he resented his ex-wife and had said he wanted to take the most important thing away from her — the children. “You wiped out your entire family in one act,” ruled Justice Philip Cummins in the first trial. “Only the two parents remained: you, because you had always intended to save yourself, and their mother, because you intended her to live a life of suffering.” Farquharson has also lost a High Court appeal bid. He is serving a minimum sentence of 33 years behind bars.

Window cleaner gave false details: A window cleaner lied to police and gave a false name when he was caught behind the wheel while banned on New Year’s Eve. Christopher Johnstone, 32, of Wilton Parade, North Shore, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance. He was sentenced to do 180 hours unpaid work for the community, banned from the road for 16 months and ordered to pay £60 victims’ surcharge by District Judge Sam Goozee sitting at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court. Harold Smith, prosecuting, said police stopped Johnstone as he drove a Peugeot on Park Road, Blackpool on December 31 at 11.25pm. Robert Castle, defending, said Johnstone had been impulsive and stupid because he wanted to assist his sister.

Thinking Of Window Washer Jimmy At Christmas

Thinking of Jimmy the window washer at Christmas.

When I was ten years old I used to put the New York Times Sunday newspaper together at a small store on Union Street where I grew up. My mother would get up at 4 a.m. and drive me there. It seemed like an endless amount of sections that I had to piece together. I would put up a small table that was about six feet long and line up everything and then started hammering away. It was a lot of work for $10 and it took me about three hours to get it all done. When I was done, I’d have breakfast with the owner of the store and then walk to meet my parents at church.

One day I noticed some guy washing windows outside at a diner that opened at 6 a.m. He had a bucket of water, a sponge and a squeegee. I didn’t pay much attention to it until I kept seeing him every Sunday washing the same windows. I wondered why anyone would need their store-front windows washed so much. It wasn’t like we lived in a dust bowl. Then, one weekday afternoon after school, I was going to the diner to get their three bean soup. It was the best soup I ever had. I asked Charlie, the owner, what the guy was doing washing his windows all of the time. He replied, “That’s Jimmy. He lives on the street and I give him meals for washing the windows.” It was the first time I heard of a trade out and the first time I ever heard of someone giving a damn about someone on the streets. Trying to understand it all when you’re a ten-year-old from a good home and has a bed to sleep in is difficult.

People talk about Christmas as a time for being thoughtful and giving but that’s just once a year. I have friends that refuse to celebrate it because they think the whole concept of caring about people once every twelve months is bogus. As I get older, and in looking back, I can understand their argument. After midnight on Christmas all of the poor people that we act like we care about suddenly turn back into pumpkins. It just doesn’t seem right.

One Sunday in the winter, I saw Jimmy mixing rubbing alcohol with the water in the bucket. I thought he was going freeze as he sat outside the diner on a ladder trying to reach the tippy-top of the big window that was on the right side of the restaurant. He knew me from my family and I stopped to ask him why he put rubbing alcohol in with the water. He explained that it was to make sure the water wouldn’t freeze. It was a trick he learned from another window washer who actually made a living at doing it.

I was done early that day and had time to kill before church, so I went into the diner to get a breakfast sandwich. They used to make theirs with scrambled eggs, provolone cheese and roasted peppers. It was 75 cents and delicious. I sat at the counter and told Charlie to make another one for Jimmy for when he was done. He told me that he already got free food for doing the windows. I asked him to pay Jimmy some cash so he could have a meal for later as well. After all, I had a ten spot in my pocket. When you’re a little kid it’s a great feeling and I always thought money was a dumb concept anyway. I left before Jimmy finished and said goodbye to him on my way out.

The next Sunday, I didn’t see the window washer when I was done. I didn’t think much of it and went on my way. The Sunday after that I didn’t see him again and this time walked into the diner to ask Charlie what happened to him. Charlie said that Jimmy just didn’t show up anymore. I thought he moved onto another town. I always thought to myself, “If you’re going to be homeless why not be homeless somewhere where it’s warm?” Why do homeless people stay in cold cities in the winter? I never understood it and I still don’t.

Later on I found out, through the usual newspaper stand gossip, that Jimmy died of pneumonia at the local hospital. He never made it out of the city and the whole thing made me feel pretty damn bad. I was upset that I didn’t try and do more, I was mad that he had to sit in the freezing weather and wash windows in order to eat, but most of all, I was just sad at the fact that I would no longer be able to say hello to him on my way to church. Life is funny like that. We get so used to our routines that, when they suddenly have a wrench thrown into the works, we feel lost.

To this day I think about him around the holidays. I really don’t know why. Maybe Christmas, more than anything, isn’t so much a time for gifts, but a time to reminisce about what’s important in our own lives. It’s an occasion to be humble, gracious and most of all, thankful for the friends and family we have and the memories and experiences that have made us who we are.

I think Jimmy stated it best and made a good analogy for life when he said, “You have to keep stirring the bucket or it’ll start to freeze up and then it’s useless.”

George Williams, Window Washer, Gets Send-Off

To the grassy blanket of souls buried Thursday at the Camden County potter’s field, George Williams lent some panache.

A friend in life, death - Window washer, others buried in potter's field: To the grassy blanket of souls buried Thursday at the Camden County potter’s field, George Williams lent some panache. The singing window washer who was found dead March 11 was laid to rest by the county along with six other indigents at Lakewood Memorial Park in Gloucester Township. But while the other graves were mostly devoid of color or sentiment, No. 2044 was graced with a floral tribute to Williams containing an inset photo of the 69-year-old from a Courier-Post story earlier this month reporting his death. It shows Williams in front of a colorful Haddon Township wall mural with the tools of his trade: a bike with a black bag slung over its handlebars and a white bucket of soapy water. See initial story here.

But along with county workers and representatives of the medical examiner’s office, there were also guests in attendance at Williams’ grave, including musician friend Bill Roccia of Mount Ephraim and Audubon florist Renee Mettinger. The latter has overseen unsolicited donations from businesses and residents that followed publication of the Courier-Post story. The funds will buy a grave plaque for Williams expected to be placed in the next two months. “No human being should be a number,” Mettinger said. “And I’m very thankful that the county has done this.” Williams was known by business owners along White and Black Horse pikes from Pennsauken to Deptford. According to the story, he supported himself with window washing but lived in an abandoned Audubon house. According to Roccia, he died of natural causes.

Friends and acquaintances said Williams claimed to be a long-ago member of the singing group “The Tymes,” whose major hit was 1963’s “So Much in Love.” But the newspaper reported in its April 6 story that the only George Williams known to have been a member of the group died in 2004. At graveside Thursday, Roccia carried an iPad loaded with songs, including one he wrote called “Don’t Know Why.” The sparkling harmony on the song, Roccia says, is George’s. “I met him a few years ago when I was riding my motorcycle and I saw him working,” recalls Roccia, 57. “He would come over my house and we’d grab the guitars and make up songs.” The Rev. Vincent McDonald of Immanuel Baptist Church of Maple Shade donated his time to conduct Thursday’s service at the site, behind a complex of athletic fields. Seven mounds of brown dirt were piled in neat formation. In front of six of them was a plain, blue-gray casket; the other casket was covered with a flower print. All of them were donated by P&J Cooper Funeral Supplies in Barrington.

 The potter’s field contains the remains of about 2,600 people from Camden and Gloucester counties whose bodies were never claimed. McDonald quoted Matthew 10:42 and evoked the essence of Williams’ life when he said, “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Because of the friends he made, Williams’ cup was fuller than the others who went to their graves Thursday at a cost to the county of about $250, according to spokesman Dan Keashen. But Williams also had Roccia and Mettinger. To the latter, the sound of two geese squawking overheard was a fitting backdrop for George Williams’ burial. “It just reminded me of what a free spirit he was,” Mettinger said.

The Gloucester-Camden-Salem Medical Examiner's Office buries the bodies of seven people who remained unclaimed by family members on April 26, 2012. Pictured here is a photo of George Williams next to his casket. A small ceremony, performed by Rev. Vincent McDonald of Immanuel Baptist Church of Maple Shade, was held at Potter's Field for Stephen Cohen, Arthur B. Doughty, John Gaughan Jr., Michael McGovern, Charles Rudder, Colista Saleh and Williams.

Regional medical examiner's office buries seven unclaimed bodies: Rev. Vincent McDonald’s heart broke Thursday as he walked toward the seven open graves at Potter’s Field in Camden County, where he would officiate the mass funeral service for Gloucester, Camden and Salem County indigents whose remains were claimed by next of kin. McDonald, pastor of Maple Shade’s Immanuel Baptist Church, realized quickly that his morning funeral service for seven would be before more caskets than there were mourners. “As a pastor, it’s usually such a time to give care to the family. To not have any family around is shocking,” said McDonald, whose Potter’s Field burial service was the first he has ever officiated.

The regional medical examiner’s office holds two burials a year in which about a half-dozen indigents are buried at Potter’s Field, a graveyard behind the Gloucester Township Lions Football Fields. Children who play there don’t notice the grave markers under their feet during pick-up soccer, Frisbee and football games. The seven unclaimed bodies of Michael McGovern, Charles Rudder, Colista Saleh, Arthur Dougherty, John Gaughan Jr., Stephen Cohen, and George Williams — a well-known Camden County window washer — were laid to rest among the more than 2,000 other recorded individuals buried there. The bodies, which have gone unclaimed by next of kin for several months, were strangers to each other, all being buried alone.

Each person interred in the open field behind the Gloucester Township Lions Football Field had a favorite food, a history and someone who recognized their lives as precious, McDonald told those who gathered. “I don’t know all of the days of these lives here,” McDonald said in his 10-minute service, before praying over each casket. “Every one of these lives is one that had days of laughter, had someone in their life who knew their laugh and could pick out it. Each one of these individuals all had personal aspects that were cherished by others ... these are personal lives here that we stand here to remember.”

Only workers with the Gloucester-Camden-Salem Medical Examiner’s Office and Camden County’s public works department, plus a few of Williams’ friends, showed for the short service. “I do truly believe — even though my heart breaks that they don’t have family around them — that what we did in this moment was real,” McDonald said. Of the seven plots, only Williams’ site will have a plaque that marks his grave. The others will get military gravesite markers, flat white stone with a number carved in it. “I always saw him as a just another street person washing windows,” said Bill Roccia, of Mt. Ephraim, who stood beside his daughter Kate looks at Williams’ casket. “Then, I saw him one day, and decided this man had a story, and I wanted to know what it was.”

The Roccias, and a handful of others, were the only attendees not affiliated with the medical examiner’s office. While the small crowd of friends stood around Williams’ casket, the other six caskets sat alone beside the designated graves and the mounds of dirt that would cover them over. “For a minute, I wished I knew all of them,” said Roccia, who played a song on his iPad that he and Williams had recorded together. “They weren’t as lucky as George to have touched so many lives.”

Call For Administrator As Free-spirited Window Washer Mourned

George Williams, seen in Westmont in 2005, washed the storefront windows of businesses in South Jersey for over 20 years and was friends with many of the business owners. He had a passion for music and often sang as he worked. Click to enlarge.

Free-spirited mystery man mourned: Audubon — For more than 20 years, George Williams made his living by washing windows — riding his bicycle from wherever he was living to shopping centers and homes stretching from Pennsauken to Deptford. He was a free spirit whose life was pretty much a mystery to the people he met, providing them with clean windows, songs that came from the heart and conversation that revealed a simple yet deep outlook on life. And when Williams died last month, he left a void in the lives of those he touched.

Williams, who would have turned 70 this July according to one of his longtime customers, Renee Mettinger of Deptford, was found dead March 11 in the abandoned Audubon house where he’d been living. He had been ill for some time and died of natural causes, said his friend Bill Roccia of Mount Ephraim. It is unclear whether Williams had permission to live in the abandoned home. But although he appeared to have no family, he was proud of the fact that he supported himself with his window-washing and never had to beg or live on the streets.

The cycling entrepreneur’s body is at the Camden County Coroner’s Office waiting to be claimed. If no family members step forward by 30 days after his death, Williams will most likely be buried in a Potter’s Field area of Lakewood Memorial Park, a county-owned site in the Lakeland complex in Blackwood, county spokesman Dan Keashen said. Williams would be buried with a headstone that is numbered, but would bear no name — unless someone steps in to become administrator for the window-washer, Keashen said. “It wouldn’t be unprecedented,” Keashen noted.

Local shopkeepers and others who befriended the longtime fixture along the White and Black Horse pikes may want to do just that. “I just can’t accept having him disappear as an ‘indigent person,’ ” said Mettinger, who owns and operates Flowers by Renee on Merchant Street in Audubon. Mettinger used to read the Bible with Williams when he’d come to wash her windows. She knows he was a Jehovah’s Witness and thinks maybe there could be a memorial service conducted by someone representing that faith.

In the meantime, she misses the man who washed her store windows and serenaded her for at least five years. “We don’t truly know who George was, or where he came from. But he was a special person,” Mettinger said. “He was simple, joyful and had the voice of an angel.” Williams claimed to be a member of The Tymes, part of the Delaware Valley music phenomenon that came to be known as the Philadelphia Sound in the late 1950s, 1960s and even into the 1970s. The Tymes had one major chart-topper in 1963, “So Much In Love,” and also scored that year with a cover of “Wonderful, Wonderful,” made famous by Johnny Mathis.

But the only George Williams known for certain to have been a member of the group was its lead singer, who was living in Maple Shade when he died of cancer in 2004. There was a George Hilliard in the group, who disappeared from the music scene and was not a part of The Tymes when it reorganized in the 1970s.

Roccia, a computer technician for the Camden City School District, believes there were two George Williams with The Tymes. He first spotted the bicyclist about 15 years ago when Williams was washing windows in his neighborhood. “One day, I passed him as I was riding my motorcycle. He was going in the other direction and it hit me like a ton of bricks that this guy had a story,” Roccia said. Roccia gave Williams a ride to Camden one day when the window-washer needed to get his bicycle repaired. The two bonded over music — Roccia is a drummer and guitarist who has recorded a few songs, and Williams also played guitar.

“One day when I was videotaping a history of Philadelphia music, I suggested we get George over to talk about his memories. He came to my house in a red velvet tuxedo,” Roccia recalled. “The guy was deep,” Roccia added. “When he was asked what Philadelphia was like in the ’50s, he said, ‘The rain tasted different back then.’ ” Roccia said the video about the Philly Sound was never completed.

Roccia said Williams knew “everything about everything.” He believes his buddy once sang backup for Chubby Checker on his Twist recordings, and also wrote the first song that Nancy Sinatra recorded long before her boots started walkin’. But he remained reticent about that time in his life, saying he was a window-washer now, Roccia said.

When Williams took ill last fall, Mettinger took him to Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden. At his request, she brought him a Bible and some sugar when he complained he had none to put in his tea. Later, he was moved to a nursing home on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, where he was clearly unhappy. “In his mind, he was in a prison,” Roccia said. Williams left the nursing home in late fall. “He wanted to get back to work. He wanted to get on his bike and be out in the world and free, washing windows,” Mettinger said. “He’d say to me, ‘Renee, there are a lot of people that are sick and they need to be laying in this bed.’ He was amazing, so selfless. I hold a deep respect for him.”

It was Roccia who went to Williams’ home and found his body after no one had seen the window-washer for a few days. It appeared that Williams, who was in bed, died in his sleep. Roccia thinks Williams may have a sister in Philadelphia, but no one can confirm it. Mettinger can’t bear the thought of her friend ending up in a numbered grave. “In my mind and in my heart, nobody should be a number. My desire is to try to put something together, including a stone that would have his name on it,” she said.

Keashen said that if the body remains unclaimed, anyone can apply at the county surrogate’s office to be administrator for Williams. Any number of people could chip in to have the stone engraved and schedule a service at the Lakeland cemetery, which is open to the public. They could also arrange to have him buried elsewhere if they’d like, Keashen said. “His life is, to a large degree, shrouded in mystery. But anyone can step in. It doesn’t have to be next of kin,” he said.

Mettinger hopes others who cared about Williams will join in giving him the farewell he deserves. “George was a rich person — not the way most of us think about being rich, but George was rich,” she said. “To me, George isn’t gone. He’s still alive within all of us. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet and know George,” Mettinger said.

A Homeless Window Cleaner

Living rough: Richard Dipple, 63, sleeps on a bench in Richmond Green

Homeless window cleaner tells his story of life on Richmond's streets: Dealing with the sense of loss left by a friend’s death is hard enough, but for one long-term Richmond resident the experience was made even worse when it led him to a life on the streets. Richard Dipple, 63, had until a month ago had been living in The Terrace in Richmond Hill when a cruel twist of fate left him without a home and living on a park bench in Richmond Green. Yet despite his misfortune Mr Dipple remains upbeat.

He said: “I’m quite happy, I’ve always lived outdoors [though] I miss my old house I was living in and my nice little bed. “I’m quite happy living out on the streets, I keep myself wrapped up and try to stay warm and sleep a bit early in the day and then can stay up all night. I’ve always managed to look after myself.”

Mr Dipple, who was wrapped in a blanket and abandoned at Hornchurch Cottage Homes orphanage as a baby, gets up early every morning to shave before heading to his job as a window cleaner. The former grounds caretaker had been living in a basement flat in Richmond Hill as a sort of groundsman for the sprawling properties which are located in the heart of Richmond. But he was forced to revert to living on the streets after his benefactor, and friend of more than 20 years, died.

He said: “I lived in Richmond Hill on the Terrace for 22 years and I had a nice little basement flat room leading on to a garden. I looked after a large garden and also had to look after the communal parts with sweeping etc for the tenants. “The lady I worked for, I worked for her for 20-odd years and she gave me a room. She was really sweet and lovely to me.”

But, despite his turn in fortune, Mr Dipple insisted he could not complain about his circumstances and thanked the residents living around Richmond Green for looking out for him for the past few weeks and their kind offers of tea, sandwiches and bread. He said: “I’ve known Richmond and this green for years but I never realised what fine, kind people all these people are. They are wonderful people..”

Could you help Mr Dipple? Contact the newsroom on 020 8744 4274.

R.I.P. Tippy Tom? Ex Homeless Window Washer

This is one very and surprising news; the most searched hottest trend on Google today is the keyword “Tippy Tom Died“. The fact that Google trend reflects the most searched online information on a certain topic proves that the news of Tippy tom’s death is a burning issue. Enough in importance to have been placed on the top spot. The question now is, which many are obviously wondering, who is Tippy Tom? He does not sound familiar in any remotely possible way too.
Tippy Tom is a 45 year old homeless New Yorker who has been on the streets for over two decades. He came in to public notice after getting featured on the Opie and Anthony Show. The man is a gay and is also reported to have been tested HIV positive. It is reported that before fate turned her back on him, Tom had been a well settled, successful business man with a family of a wife and a kid. His business of window washing was quite flourishing. However, he had a problem with gambling and that could have been the reason that he had ultimately landed on the streets.

So, this is the sad story of homeless Tippy Tom’s life. Whether he is dead or not is something that still needs verification. As of now, news pouring in from various ends say that Tippy Tom had passed away on the 6th of May. It has been quite sometime that the matter came to be noticed, it seems. Only in days to come will we be sure if Tippy Tom’s death is for real or he is just another victim of ‘internet hoax’ series, that has been sparked off recently.