Downtown Bellingham, particularly along a brick wall on Magnolia, one can find curious creatures hanging about playing guitar, conversing and the such. It was on a Saturday afternoon I met Patrick.

After finishing a tune on his guitar, I introduced myself. Patrick and his friends seemed a little uneasy about me at first, but after further explanation that I was not a Cop, I was able to pose a few questions to Patrick.

Patrick has been living on and off the streets in Bellingham now for five odd years. When asked about his family and friends, he mentioned he had a father in Spokane but didn't really care about him(and vice versa) and didn't really have any friends except a few people on the street.

Patrick picked up the guitar close to a year ago and has used that to earn him a bit of money every now and then on street corners around the city. While talking with Patrick he took out a knife and a few others around him did as well to compare what they had. Living on the streets he said, "Everybody's got one". Patrick also mentioned he has a Myspace(who doesn't these days).

Soon enough, a few more people came up wondering what I was doing. I bid farewell to Patrick and was invited to a coffee house where I would meet a few more people with stories stories to tell, to whoever would listen. -Jefferson L. Morriss
All Photos Copyright Jefferson L. Morriss 2007