He wanted a cart of his own, so he could then start his own little route. Fran figured if he did this he would be able to help other people on the street that needed food and clothes and things. For the most part, Fran had a good idea, but he would soon find out that it was more work than its worth. Fran and Gilbert left for him to go get a shopping cart. After Gilbert found one and Gilbert showed Fran some of the good places to get plastic bottles. Then they both went to where they could get aluminum cans and a place to get cardboard and the last thing, glass bottles. And since Gilbert had all this experience in this field and he then taught Fran the ropes and before they knew it, it was lunch time. So Fran and Gilbert went to where Fran told Gilbert to wait by the two shopping carts. When Fran came out 30 minutes later, and he had his bagged dinner and he gave the bag of dinner to Gilbert for him to eat lunch. And they walked away back to pushing their carts. Now Gilbert wasn't going to help him start his own route from the old route he used to follow. He taught Fran that the glass bottles and aluminum cans being real heavy go inside the cart while plastic bottles go in plastic bags hanging around the outside of the cart, and then cardboard goes on the bottom. And it was 4 pm when Fran and Gilbert were finished. They both had their carts full and they headed toward the recycling company. And they got there ten minutes before they close. Now Fran was very excited since this was his first load. And the guy at the recycling center told them, "Plastic in this can, glass in this can, aluminum cans in this one, and cardboard over here." So FRan put the items in each can and then the man weighed them. Glass was ten cents a pound and Fran had 15 lbs for a total of $1.50. Then came the cardboard, it was $90 per ton. Fran had 50 lbs, for a total of one dollar. Plastic was sixty cents a lb. and Fran had three pounds for a total of $1.80. Last but not least, aluminum cans were $1.20 a pound and Fran had six pounds to for a total of $7.20. Fran added everything up and he came up with a grand total of $11.50 for a whole day's work. Fran didn't like that at all, mainly because he would make that in the morning and noon time just asking for change. As for Gilbert, he made $18, total. And FRan asked him why he made more. Gilbert told him that it was becuase he had picked the items that pay the most and collected less of the other three. Fran said that both their carts were filled the same, and Gilbert said that they weren't really, because when he met Fran, he already had a bag on the bottom part of the cart, and a bag that had the aluminum cans that he had smashed earlier. And when they went together collecting, he also made sure not to take any cardboard and didn't get too much plastic because you can't crush it too well. Gilbert said he took enough glass to make the difference, and that's the main secret. The other secret is going to the trash bins that you find 10 to 20 cans daily, and before they get dumped, don't go to the ones you find or or two that's a waste of time because most likely you won't fie any cans for one or two days, but in the place where you find a lot of glass and aluminum, that's where you'll get hte most. He also told Fran that he only mae mooney just to eat and get his bottle of whiskey. Fran replied that he already got food and a place to stay, so he wnted to make moeny to help others. Plus, to make sure he made enough to get his big bottle of wine.

    Gilbert told him, "Well maybe you have to make a bigger schedule. For example, you can eat breakfast, then go and collect money at the places you do and then you can have lunch. Then go on your route to the trash bins you can get the most out of , that way you make $10-$15 asking for money and then $12-$15 recycling, and all together, you'd be making $22-$30 a day. Now that's not bad for a homeless guy. Besides, all the regular people make only $40 a day, but they spend the equivalent of $60 a day, so little by little they are falling into a big hole. Now us on the other hand, we are richer than any of them hardworking people that hold a 40 hour a week job, and the best part about it is we don't have a real work day. If we don't have to go to work or get fired, if we just don't show up and also, we don't have any big stress trying to keep a big house, car, water, gas, electricity, telephones, beepers, t.v., sofas, bedroom sets, clothes, new styles, yearly just spending money all year round. that's a large overhead. WE don't have any over head at all, we live off the land, and we don't spend on all the holidays that cost money just to be popular, like having a New Year party, Valentine's day candy, flowers and toys, President's Day dinners, Easter Sunday, candy, food, and clothes, Memorial Day and Cinco de Mayo Holiday, 4th of July fireworks and dinner, Labor Day party, Halloween candy and costumes, Thanksgiving Turkey day, and last but not least, the most expensive holiday of all, Christmas. WE have more than the worker robots that do a 40 hour a week job just to live another day. You could say we're real luck because we're stress free and we don't have a worry in the world."Fran told Gilbert, "I guess you're right. I am lucky and I didn't really realize it. When I went to jail, I didn't knwo I could lose my wife, my family, my house and all the things you mentioned.Even my dignity, but now I can get a whole new start and someday be back in the mainstream making money, but not owning aything I could lose again. Also, I figure I can invest my money all around the world and not count on just this country. Only I will also help a lot of poor people if "God" lets me. And I would do things differently the next time around. "Then Fran and Gilbert left the recycling center and they both parted ways only to meet each other at the recycling center at teh same time everyday. And things went on like that for a couple of weeks and before breakfast every single day, Fran would go and give Ruth and her kids food and money along with a few other people. Fran wished he could do more, but he was limited to only a certain amount of things that he could do. And then one day, he showed up at the recycling center only to find out that Gilbert didn't show up. But Fran missed but didn't really give it much thought. Then anotehr week went by and still no Gilbert. Now Fran was concerned so he decided to go looking for him. Fran started to go through parts of town that he had never gone to before,a nd he had to cover a lot of streets, alleys and back roads, in all directions. It was hard since it got him further and further away from his regular route and routine. But after ten days, of looking he found Gilbert's cart next to a building, in an alley, and on the ground, twenty feet away from the cart was a white, almost gone painted outline of a person on the ground. Then Fran went and asked some of the people around the area if they knew what had happened in the alley; almost everyone said no, but one person stopped and answered Fran's questions and told him that it was trouble on what happened... That a homeless guy that was very friendly had been killed about seven days ago, someone went and smashed his skull in. The cops said that they couldn't i.d. his face, but someone i.d'd him as "Gilbert," by the clothes he wears and the cart he was pushing. Fran told the man that itwas probably Gilbert since he had not shown up to meet with him in over a week. That's when Gilbert show up and the man told Fran that Gilbert wasn't the first. The police said that there has been atleast six deads like this in the past four months, and that the police have no leads up to now as to who it is dong the killings, but that a bat is used and that it's always left near the body. The next morning he went and did his regular routine and after lunch, he took his cart to the recycle center and then went home. He took Gilbert's cart to the recycle center and then went back home. Fran bought six bottles of wine so he didn't have to go the store every single day. He then threw away all the old plastic bags and newpapers Gilbert had in the cart, and he took a small little bag that had some paper work at the top, and to Fran's surprise, there was a bag with some money and map. It was a paper bag with some money and a map. It was a route that he followed every day as to where he collected the most alluminum cans and glass bottles. Then Fran went back into his little room to count the money. After seperating all of the money and countng it, he hd counted $26,000, and it really shocked Fran that all this money was sitting in the alley for some seven days with no one wanting to touch anything that belonged to a homeless man or person. So Fran thought to himself that robbery was not the reason Gilbert was killed, but now Fran had to do something witht he money and he had a plan. He took the money and went to Ruth with her kids and another family, and had a talk with both of them. He told them that they were going to have a delicious breakfast, all together for them to put on their best clothes.

     Fran took both families to eat at the place where he eats, and he gave the owner some money that he had. He gave him $1,000 and at first the restaurant owner didn't want to take it. But Fran told him that he wouldn't eat there again, so the owner accepted it, and everyone ate there. And the restaurant owner told them that they could come back the next day, but Fran told him that he would be there like regular, but that the two families would be too far way to come. Then they all took off and caught a bus in the direction that was toward where he found Gilbert's cart. He had seen a small apartment that said, "A bachelor's apartment for $235 per month," so Fran figured that he would get he apartment for both families to say in for one year, since winter would soon be upon them. Fran got the apartment and paid $3,400 with all of the extras like last month deposit and security deposit, and he also paid $600 for utilities that would be extra for a year's time of gas, water, and electricity. Then both families stayed there in the empty one room ws 18'x25' with a 10'x15' bathroom. The kitchen was a small section of the room with just a sink, stove and refrigerator, so out of $26,000, Fran gave $1,000 to the restaurant, and $4,000 for the apartment. He had only $21,000 left and he then went to the thrift store and gave the lady $2,000 to take some items he had on a list to the two families; on the list was one sofa, a kitchen table, with six seats, one tv stand, one tv, two bunk beds, some lamps, curtains, clothes, dishes, pots and pans. All together, everything needed came out to about $600 worth. The rest was so the lady could give needy people if she saw any. And now Fran had only $19,000 left. He then went to the store close to the place that he rented for the families and he opened up an account for the families to receive $60 of food weekly for one year which came up to $3,000. So now Fran had $16,000 left. He headed down to the homeless mission that took care of him for 6 months and he went straight to the administrator and put down $10,000 cash on her desk to help other people. Then he went to the rescue mission that Gilbert mentions and gve them only $5,000 and he kept $1,000 for himself so he could help others as he saw them in need. And now Fran stopped for a moment to say a few words to Gilbert, in memory of him and he knew Gilbert would be proud to knwo that the money he worked all his life for would now be used to help other people. And that as something that would have made his life worth while. Then after that he headed back toward the apartment that he had gotten for the families. He told them that he would stop by every other day after 5pm to see how they were doing and then Fran started to leave and Ruth stopped him and thanked him for everything. And now some of the people in the apartment complex now wnt her to take care of their kids while they are at work since they heard from Fran telling the manager that the lady needed work to keep busy and now three people came by to let her take care of the kids. And Fran was happy to hear the good news that the families would survive pretty good without his help anyways. Now he could help others with more ease. So Fran went back to his and did his regular routine. In the morning, he got up nd ate breakfast, then started hs route. And in the alley, behind a big hotel. Fran got to search through the trash, then two guys came out and asked what did he think he was doing in the trash bin. Fran answered that he was getting aluminum cans, and the guys told him to get out of the trash bin, and Fran did. Fran asked what the problem was.

    The guy said, "I thought we got rid of our problem when that guy "Gilbert" was killed, now we have you. Where do you guys come from?" Fran replied, "I was just getting cans. I hope it didn't bother you and if it did, i'm sorry." the guys said, "Well, it's not that easy. We'll make an example of you so that no one else comes back here again." So they grabbed Fran and started beating him up. And Fran fought back fiercely and got his hits in, but still got the worst end of the deal. AFter they gave Fran a good beating, they threw him into the trash bin. Fran, while in a lot of pain, since it was the second one in a month, stopped to think that maybe these guys were responsible for his friend, Gilbert's death. But then he realized that it couldn't be possible since they didn't kill hiim. So Fran layed in the trash bin for about an hour until he got the strength to climb out and he headed back home and got there late at night, only to take his clothes off and then Fran grabbed a bottle and he started drinking to killt he pain. As he drank, he started to go back in thoughts and it seemed funny to him that he would always go back in thought after he experienced a real bad beating. But Fran guessed it made him feel better to go back in memories and think about good things, and Cheryl, to Fran ws something to remember that was good. He remembered one evening in particular; it was a warm saturday night, nd Fran was invited to to go a aprty with Cheryl and her parents an hour and a half away so Cheryl's mother knew that he ws her boyfriend, but she didn' tknwo how close of a boyfriend, and when they got to the party, Cheryl's momm had pretty much guess or she thought that something sexual might be going on. But Cheryl's mom ws the type of mother that understood that life only comes around once in a lifetime, and she enjoyed the fact that her daughter was very happy. And all that mattered to her, and just about everyone could tell that Cheryl and Fran were an item since it showed by how close the tow of them danced and hugged, and on occasion, they would kiss. As teenagers, in a time when the biggest law that existed was (if you killed someone you would go to jail for life and now you could go to jail for life for just taking a small item) life was really great, no sexual hangups and they party all night long, and since it was an over-nighter for Fran, he then could be with Cheryl til bed time and then he'll see her in the morning and Fran wasn't ready for what was to come at 1 in the morning. Everyone started to leave or go to bed, and Fran just stood there waiting next to Cheryl, wondering where they would sleep so they stayed up talking for about an hour more. Then, her aunt came in to the living room and told them both to go into the bedroom and go to sleep. When Fran and Cheryl got in the room, both of Sheryl's parents were getting naked and then Cheryl did, also. Fran joined in and Sheryl's mom told Fran and Cheryl to sleep in the second bed, while Sheryl's mom and dad went to sleep in the first bed. This felt good to Fran. It was his first time sleeping with a girl all night long. It was like being with a wife at such a young age. At first Fran and Cheryl just hugged and whispered for about 30 minutes, and they kissed every now and then, while waiting for her parents to fall asleep- but her parents were waiting for Fran and Cheryl to fall asleep. Cheryl's parents tired of waiting and begun to kiss, that led to moving around and then Cheryl and Fran stopped to just watch them for a while. Then they got busy, Fran and Cheryl started to do the same thing and they were having sex in front of her mother and it felt very strange, but yet very exciting to be having sex with people not getting mad about when you can and cannot do it. Or, you have to wait until you can get married. But how could something that feels so good be bad? And Fran watched Cheryl's parents having sex while they were busy too, and it was the best over-nighter he ever had. Then, in the morning, they all got up and showered, (Fran and Cheryl together) ate breakfast, and headed back home. For two years Cheryl and Fran were together, but like all good things, it had to come to an end. During an evening that Fran was invited over to dinner, he was told that they were leaving the state to return to Indiana, where the rest of their family was at, and that they wouldn't be back. It was Cheryl's grandmother, she was very sick, and needed to be taken care of. Cheryl's dad already had a job lined up to start in two months and that they would be leaving in less than 30 days. Fran and Cheryl spent as much time together, as they could for the next 30 days, and when Cheryl left, they both wrote each other for about a year. The letters were sweet and long, at first, but little by little, the letters slowed down and Fran had already found another girlfriend. She started to help Fran forget about Cheryl by taking her place. Josie was very beautiful, and just the right size. She was very loving and willing to do everything that Cheryl did. Fran then became attached to Josie and totally forgot about Cheryl.

    But the only catch with Josie was that she was a girl from the neighborhood. He knew that it wasn't a good thing for him in the long run because a girl that joins a neighborhood has to go through an initiation, and it's not just a small thing. Even though Fran wasn't from the 'hood, he knew all the guys and girls from the 'hood, and they told him what the girls had to do to get into the gang. The girls would have to have sex with the leader of the gang, and three others who she wanted. Then she had to give head to all the rest of the guys in the gang, and then she would have to fight three girls to see her abilities. And for the gangs, the entire neighborhood, there wasn't an age limit as to when they could join. And the same rules still apply today, all the girls that join that are under the age they are told that they can never tell anyone that she had sex with anyone from the hood, to always blame it on someone else, and if a girl gets caught by her parents and she blames someone else, then she's free to have sex with anyone she wants any time. So Fran knew that Josie had already done all this, and he wasn't too happy that all the guys had probably had sex with Josie, or were still having sex with her, but he figured he would join in on the fun too! So Fran invited Josie to the drive-in with some other couples from Josie's hood. At the drive-in the guys didn't spend any time playing around. Girl's mouths were on their penises as soon as they parked and Josie was not new to this. She pulled out Fran's penis and went to work. Within minutes, the guys were on top of the girls, putting it in, and Fran then put it in Josie. She loved having sex. One of the other guys wanted her to give him head, and she did, so Fran went on to the next girl and put his penis in her, and when the movie was over, they all went to a friend's house and they partied. They had beer, sex and music, and those were the perks of being in the hood. Fran didn't join the hood, but everyone kept asking him to join. Fran still didn't join, but some of the guys said that he was scared. Fran said he was not scared, he just did not want to join. The guys told Fran to go with them and prove that he was not scared. He asked what they wanted him to do, and they told him that he was to take the gun and for him to just shoot at the house that they say and that would be it. So Fran said ok to it, and when they parked in front of a house, they told him to shoot that one. Fran picked up the gun and pointed it in the direction of the house and started shooting. He fired nine rounds, he hit two trees, the car in the driveway, a trash can, the side wall, the ground and the neighbor's flower pot from the house he was supposed to shoot at. Not one shot hit the intended house. One of the guys took away the gun and told Fran that he was the worst shot he ever saw, but atleast he did it. Fran looked around and replied, “I call get better.” They all jumped in the car and took off quickly. The guy told Fran, “If we got you any closer to the house, you would have been inside.”

    Fran said, “Well, I've never shot a gun before. I closed my eyes.” The guy said, “Well, I'll hand you the gun if 15 guys were coming at us, you would probably hit nine of them and the rest would run” Then suddenly one of the other guys yelled out, “Hey, Guy, that was Spooky back there on the bike, I've been wanting to fuck him up. Make a u-turn.” The driver asked, “What do you want me to do guys?” One Guy replied, “Hit him with the car and when he falls down, we'll stop and beat the fuck out of him. And then we can go to my place, and we can do my sister, all six of us. And the driver hit him, and knocked him on the ground. The bike was run over, the guy tried to get away by crawling, but everyone started to kick him and punch him until he wasn't moving. And then they jumped in the car and took off. One of the guys noticed that people were looking at them and he was concerned, so he told the driver to take off, but to go through the alley five blocks away. The guy got a rag and cleaned the finger prints off the gun and put in it a paper bag. And when the driver got in the alley, he told him to stop by the dumpster, and he tossed the bag in and they left. Then they got on the freeway and headed toward one of the homeboy's house to do his sister since she did not join the girls from the neighborhood. Things didn't quite go as planned, mainly because shortly after getting on the freeway, a California highway patrol officer showed up right behind them. The driver told everyone to just look straight, but for no one to look back. The temptation was too great. Fran looked and the C.H.P. car turned on his lights and then the driver put the pedal to the metal and switched lanes all the way to the left. They were now going 90 miles per hour and it was scary for a thirteen year-old- like Fran, but it was very exciting at the same time. As they zig-zagged through traffic, getting close to an exit, but on the left lane, the driver swiveled from the left lane across four lanes, barely missing the front ends of other cars, only to make it off the exit ramp at almost 120 miles per hour. It was too quick for the C.H.P. to do the same thing, but he did manage to get over to the shoulder of the freeway from what Fran saw and then the C.H.P. put it in reverse really quickly, and came forward on the off ramp. They had made it quite a ways by then. As they passed red lights like crazy, barely missing cross traffic, they passed some sheriff's vehicles that had blocked off their ability to turn right or left so they kept going straight as all the police cars came up behind them. But they were still quite a way back. Then the unexpected happened. It started to get foggy little by little. The fog got thicker but at 120 miles an hour, that fog got really thick, ten times faster. But the driver said he knew the streets, but at that speed, he couldn't estimate the next cross street. He couldn't see the cops through the mirror, and asked if anyone else could see them so that he could slow down and make a right turn at the next big cross street. Everyone looked back and said no. They didn't see any cop cars, so the driver slowed to 60 miles per hour and said, “I'll turn on Avalon St., and that should put us close to home.” But as they approached the intersection, more cop cars with their lights flashing, it was four cars blocking the right and left turns so the driver floored it and went zooming across the intersection. More cop cars started their pursuit and the driver said, “That street looked very familiar. Did anyone see the name of that street?” Then everyone started to say different street names.