the momo files...

Thanks to the excellent undercover work of Agent S and the comments section of this here blog, I learned that an old friend, Momo, is locked up in the pokey. I'm starting to appreciate the blog-o-universe. Thanks S.

I arranged an impromptu visit at the only place in the universe where I disgard my undercover agent credentials for my "associate pastor" creds. But, I forgot to look like a church guy (ie: wear a oxford shirt or something...ironed). The lady up front was fine with me, as long as my driver's license checked through. But once once past the double gate and wandering around the main inmate hallway, every guard stopped to ask if I was a minister. I guess I don't pass for a lawyer.

Anyway, Momo...the mother city's most famous homeless man and a part-time resident of the local jail, was back in. I never got a clear answer as to why he was in this time. Something involving an empty spray-paint can some cops found near him. And, of course, in Momo's eye's everyone else is at fault and he's 100% innocent. Plus, he has a short temper and zero tolerance for rules, so when cops approach him about anything it's rarely a positive outcome. Momo just starts cussing at them. But he wasn't too upset about being in jail. He's very use to it.

Legend has it that Momo use to sniff a lot of glue and paint. Therefore...he's just a little off. Not retarded or a mental case, he's whacked. Momo once worked jobs like everyone else. Supposedly he was once married and has a daughter and now grandkids somewhere in the mother city. Momo is tough. He's lived on the streets for mostly 15-20 years. He can survive any West Texas weather condition. He always knows where the food is (if you ever see him you'll know what I mean. But he's lost weight in recent years). Most homeless people operate in pairs or small groups but Momo is a solo act. He don't want nobody and unfortunately, nobody wants him.

I love Momo, even when he's a complete ass, which is about 98% of the time. So many of us "middle class" oriented Christ-followers somehow get into the trap of trying to "fix" homelessness. Or eliminate it. Well...the CEO could heal Momo's brain I suppose. But it's looking like Momo will never be the poster child for a Salvation Army program success story. He'll never work a 9-5 gig. He'll never have an apartment and pay bills, etc. He's happy just getting by in life. And writing hate mail to anyone who's ever pissed him off.

Momo's a pretty hardened character but I think I'm one of the chosen few who's witnessed his sensitive side. One night at the izzy food pantry, a mom came in with her young son. They obviously had nothing in life. The boy was poorly dressed for the cold outside, etc. Momo had found some toys in a dumpster earlier that day that he carried around in a plastic bag. He went up to the kid, when few were around, and gave him the whole bag and later said something like, "I didn't have much at his age either. Every kid needs something to play with."

Momo also gets a bad rap for being "lazy" and bossy. But once he volunteered to wash dishes for three hours in preparation for a giant food outreach we were cooking for that night. I've got pictures to prove this. He wore an apron and everything.

When most homeless are making a living flying a sign on a street corner and playing off your sympathies, Momo's standing on a street corner flipping you off as you drive by...until the cops arrest him. He really means well. He's a horrible panhandler because his only tactic is to scare you into giving to him. So he rarely makes much to get by. But somehow he survives just fine.

Today I mostly listened to him talk about this or that. He didn't think my "You look good in orange" joke was funny. Before I left, he wanted prayer. Prayers mostly for his brother who recently got out of prison. I thought that was a pretty selfless thing to pray about being that Momo's sitting in jail himself.

He's convinced he'll be in jail until February or March. Which I think that's a good thing since he'll be indoors all winter. I'm going to try and see him regularly and check in on his court date.

Momo, he acts like the bully of the streets...but I love him.