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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentines Day Schmaltz

In honor of Valentines Day, I thought I'd share the story of my own knight in shining armor.

In 1994, I ended up penniless and homeless in London. I'm not going to get into the events that led me there, that's a horrifying story of mistakes and stupidity for another day. Suffice it to say that homeless and penniless is where I was. I had recently received my official vendor card for selling the Big Issue [pops], although I was admittedly crap at it and wasn't selling many.


That's not a scary picture at all, is it?
One night in January, 1995 I had gone to the Royal George on Tottenham Court Road in central London to meet up with some friends. I was standing near the bar with my friend Dave, and I just sort of fell into conversation with a guy nearby who I'd assumed was friends with Dave. I thought he was cute, but didn't think much more about it.

The next week, I returned to the Royal George and saw this guy again. He was on a date with an American girl, but he couldn't understand her New York accent, and she couldn't understand his West London accent. So I offered my services as a translater. I know, I'm all heart.

His date eventually got annoyed and left (according to the details Rob just filled in for me, she sounds like a bit of a drama queen), and I dragged Rob, with some friends of mine, to rock night at a club called the Astoria just down the road. It was unfortunately so loud in there we couldn't really talk so we wrote notes back and forth on one of my copies of the Big Issue (and you have no idea how much I wish I still had it.)

Well apart from a few bumps in the road, we started seeing each other, and when Rob found out that I was homeless, he gallantly purchased every single copy of the Big Issue I had, and found me a place to stay with some of his friends in Watford. He even helped me find a job, which had been impossible to do previously without having an address.

I really owe everything I have now to Rob. He picked me up when I was at my lowest, and helped get me back on my feet. He was unbelievably generous and kind, overlooking the homelessness, which the majority of people would not have been able to do. He saw that I was worth something, even though to the rest of the world, it appeared that I wasn't worth anything. And for that I'm eternally grateful.

And with that, I wish you all a Happy Valentines Day!

Barf bags available at the exits for a small fee.

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