Homeless Mini Book

HOMELESS 21 LESSONS LEARNED WHILE LIVING ON THE STREET

Some surprising truths the homeless can teach us about what to do (and not do) in life

LEE SILBER

Surprisingly Sound Advice on Life From The Least Likely Group of People

I was homeless and living on the streets of San Diego . . . by choice. To research my new novel, The Homeless Hero I decided to leave the comfort of my beach house to live on the beach. With only a pack on my back and forty bucks in my pocket I set out to This is what I looked like (and was forced to do) after just a experience what life would be like if I lost few days of living on the streets. everything—much like the main character I started out with $40 in cash in my book. (and no credit or debit card) to last the week. It didn’t last as long as I had hoped so I turned It was horrifying. I lasted less than a week, to other (legal) means to make money—including collecting but what I learned will last a lifetime. While cans and turning them in for we look to those who have made it for ad- cash. I was surprised to learn I vice about what to do, you will ﬁnd that could earn enough to eat like a kind (albiet at Burger King) from knowing what not to do can be just as help- a day of rummaging through ful. I want to share some of the surprising trash cans. lessons I learned that changed me forever and how these insights can help you, too.

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1. Burn The Ships

The story goes that Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez wanted total commitment from his soldiers as they went into battle on the shores of the Yucatan, so he burned the ships they arrived on so it would be win or die. The mental- ity of many of the people I met on the streets was there was no choice, they had to work hard to survive. That meant doing what needed to be done no matter how distasteful or demanding it was. Many of us believe we couldn’t possibly work any harder and that we are doing all we can, but I bet we could be doing even more if we had no choice—if our lives (and those of our families) were on the line. How can we cre- Thomas “Big Mac” MacDonald ate a “burn the ships” sense of urgency, purpose, and com- is the main character in The mitment towards what we want to achieve? Imagine what we Homeless Hero. I wrote him could accomplish if our backs were really against the wall? as a former NFL lineman who loses everything in a divorce Would you want to go up against someone who refused to and ends up living in his van fail because there was no other option? By the way, against all in a makeshift homeless camp odds (and a much larger Army) Cortez led his men to victory. I named Mariner Beach Park. You wouldn’t think a profes- sional athlete could end up 2. Lighten The Load on the streets, but it happens more than you think (former

49er Terry Tautolo is just one In my new novel I wrote that one of my characters (“Shaggy”) example) which goes to show liked to wear layers of clothing because his body was also almost anyone (after some bad his closet. (Many homeless women dress down and wear big breaks and a few bad choices) could ﬁnd themselves homeless. and baggy clothes to deter men’s advances, but I digress.) My main character was forced to downsize his life after a divorce left him with an old VW van and little else. What if we were

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forced to only take the things we absolutely needed to survive, how much stuﬀ would we leave behind? A lot. If we were to simplify our lives to just the items that we use every day and need to survive, the things that make us feel good and bring us joy, and the tools we need for work and to earn a living, wouldn’t we be able to be more focused, organized, and free? We spend a lot of time and money on things we don’t really need and then have to spend more time and money to store and maintain them. Most homeless people are down to just the bare necessities (or less) which is not the goal for us, but we could sell oﬀ some things that no longer serve our needs and use the money to do something more meaningful.

There is a hierarchy among the homeless and living in a 3. Ahhhh, The Simple Pleasures car is seen as a life of luxury (compared to sleeping under When I was down to my last couple of dollars I bought a break- a freeway overpass or on the fast burrito and a cup of coffee from McDonald’s and it was beach, which is what I did.) I figured I would make my main glorious. I savored every sip and every bite. When I was flush character’s car a VW van and with cash—I probably wouldn’t be eating fast food—I’d have have it customized to include just wolfed down the burrito and complained about the awful a place to eat, sleep, and safely coffee. When we have it all we take a lot for granted. When I store his stuff. In the story he forced myself to go with next to nothing I always knew I would also builds an outhouse and an outdoor shower which made be able to go back to my life of luxury in a few days. Still, I sense since he was a contractor found it difficult to sleep at night (I slept under a dinghy on after his playing days ended, the beach but the sand was freezing and things kept crawl- but before his life changed for ing all over me.) Finding a civilized place to go to the bath- the worse. room was always a challenge. I also never had enough clean water to drink. Still, when I found a full newspaper to read, a hot cup of coffee to drink, or a clean bathroom to use I was

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thrilled beyond belief. I know this will sound so cliche’, but we should try to be more thankful for what we have and learn to appreciate and savor the simple things in life that bring us joy.

4. The Life You Choose

When we hear that something bad has happened to someone we always want to know why and how it happened. The reason is we’re wondering if it could happen to us and if it could, how will we avoid the same fate. Aw come on, you know it’s true. I’ll admit that I spend a lot of time talking to people on the streets and after getting to know them I always had to ask, “So how did you end up here (homeless)?” Most were more While writing The Homeless Hero I envisioned the homeless than willing to tell me their life story, but few were willing to camp in the story as an aban- admit that what led them to a life on the streets was a few doned RV park. So I spent some bad choices. Later in this report I will explain that quite a few time visiting a place called De people blamed others for their fate rather than face the truth Anza Cove. The circumstances that they were responsible for what happened to them. That’s surrounding the real park were a little too close to what I was why I was surprised when “Larry” admitted that he now knows writing so I changed the name (and regrets) the decisions he made in his twenties were the (and locale) a little to be more reason he lost everything—his wife, children, and a promising like Mariner’s Point (pictured career. We talked at length about how what we choose to do here.) The fact is, this is a favorite spot for the homeless to (or not do) today has an impact on where we will be tomorrow. congregate and much like what In order to make it through the day “Larry” said he has to let go my character Jeﬀrey Wiener of the past and make better choices going forward so he has (the activist) did to help out and less regret to fret over. Good advice. We can’t change the past oﬀer free food, that happens here, too. and the choices we made, we can make better decisions today—and even if we make a bad choice today, not compound it with another. (“Larry” is now sober and has a steady job.)

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5. I Bet You Can’t Hit Me With a Quarter

Everyone wants to know what people holding signs on busy street corners make. I know I did. The good ones make between $200 and $300 a day . . . tax free. I tried my hand at it and let me tell you, it is a master class in sales and marketing. First of all, you want to look like you really need help, but not be so scary that people won’t roll down their window. (As an aside, one scam run by some savvy homeless people is to throw a perfectly good hamburger in the trash and then wait until a “mark” walks by and pull it out and eat it. Many times that will earn them a few bucks from sympathetic passers by.) I felt a little like a fraud because as badly as I looked, I wasn’t really My other main character, broke or homeless. I ﬁgured I could clean up as a panhandler. Abby MacDonald, turned out So I made my clever sign that read, “I bet you can’t hit me with to be my favorite. She is only a quarter.” I went to a busy street corner (location, location, twelve-years-old, but is forced location) and people pelted me with money. They obviously to grow up fast. She lives with her mother but rides her bike to thought it was a clever way to ask for help. After a short while visit her father regularly. When (and much success) a man named Red (who was an veteran the “residents” of the park start of war) claimed I was in his spot. He asked for all the quarters I disappearing at a rapid rate, she earned at his corner and he demanded my sign. I didn’t argue. is determined to ﬁnd out what’s going on. Since she is such a I gladly gave him both and thanked him for his service to our big part of the book, I wrote the country. There are (too) many heroes without a home, and in novel to appeal to all ages (thus the case of Red, he was a hero without his right arm and one there is no profanity or awk- of his eyes. (I made Red a character in my book and after it ward scenes.) was completed I went looking for him at “his corner” but he wasn’t there. Someone said he passed away a while ago. I wish I would have gotten to know him better—and shared my re- spect for himwhen I made him a hero in my book.)

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6. The Magic of Music

One of the places I liked to hang out was near Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. It was only a mile from my home, but I felt like I was miles away. The reason I gravitated to this area was the music—several talented people played a variety of instru- ments in front of the surf shop on the corner. Since I play bass and drums I felt I would be able to befriend other musicians and learn more about their lives. It worked, but not in the way I thought it would. I quickly realized how powerful music is. Think about it, when you hear a certain song it can change your mood or take you back in time. At first I just listened to the amazingly talented group of guys jamming to some of my This woman is a master can favorite songs. Listening is great, but playing music is even collector. I met her when I was better, it has healing powers. I ended up jamming alongside also out searching for recycling, these great guys on an upside down bucket with two sticks but she seemed to beat me to for hours on end and loved every minute of it. (I even got a tip, all the good spots and picked the place clean. I think one of which was a bottled water and a granola bar.) Listening to one the many misnomers about the of the guitarists (Johnny) I was struck at how talented he was. I homeless is they are lazy. Let me wondered why he hadn’t he made it in the music business. He tell you something, you can’t be was one of only a few people I told the truth to, that I wasn’t lazy and last on the streets. Your survival is a full-time job. really homeless but just researching a book. I came clean with Johnny because I wanted to try and help him out—get him some real gigs. He was that good. That’s when he told me the truth, he didn’t want any part of that life. He was homeless by choice and had been for many years. He liked the lifestyle. Stupid me, I kept telling him, with your chops you could easily find work in the field. He told me to let it go and leave him alone. He was happy where he was. I think I get it now.

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7. Bartering is Big Business

When you don’t have money how can you buy the things you want and need? In the world of the homeless, you trade. This could be donating your blood for cash or bartering a bike for beers. (I never asked where the bikes were “acquired” from. I didn’t want to hear the answer.) I should mention that when a person is desperate (and blames the world for their plight in life) they can justify doing just about anything—and do. It’s also true there is a hierarchy within the homeless community based on what you have. Those who live in their cars for example are envied by those who sleep on the street. So posses- sions do matter—and some people will try to take what you If this guy looks familiar, chanc- have if you let your guard down. That aside, many more are es are you were a fan of The willing to trade for the things they desire. It got me to think- Rockford Files. I based a key ing, other than eBay, what if we could trade the things we no character in my book (Ritchie longer use for the things we would currently ﬁnd useful? It Goldman) on this guest star of the popular 1970s television se- would be a win / win for both parties. ries. I loved writing the reporter’s part so much I could see myself 8. No Shame basing an entire book on him.

What would you do if you didn’t care what others thought about you? Interesting question isn’t it? I mean, we have to keep up appearances and all, right? We can’t quite do whatever we want because we might embarrass ourselves or others—and bring shame on family and friends. When you are homeless, you have no shame. It was a little diﬀerent for me because my biggest fear at ﬁrst was that someone I know might recognize me and tell everyone I was destitute and had

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ﬁnally destroyed my life. (I’m sure many would not be surprised.) However, after the ﬁrst day I didn’t care what people thought of me. The people I met on the streets certainly didn’t care that I was disgustingly dirty. (Did I mention I slept under a boat in the sand?) I realized that I regularly cared way too much about what people thought of me. I’m a people pleaser and let’s be honest, you can’t please everyone—which means it’s a hard life doing whatever it takes to make sure everyone else is happy. If we didn’t worry so much about what others think about us, life might be a little easier. In addition to the question of what would you do if you didn’t care what others thought about you, is one that is equally telling. How much of what you do and own is to impress others? Being temporarily Every good story (and especially homeless put a lot of things into perspective for me. I have a thriller like mine) needs a built a brand and I live it—I walk the talk. Yet, I’d like to able to villian. My antagonist is a man admit something that might be embarrassing but at the same named Donald McCallister (but time help others. So I’d like to tell the world that . . . Okay, I’m he insists everyone call him “The Don”.) He’s a developer who not going to go that far, but I will admit that my grammar not wants to eradicated the home- so good—see what I mean? Yet I have a way with words (“some less so he can build homes and have not way”) and have never let that hold me back. (Spell hotels by the water. I don’t want check and proof readers do help.) Don’t worry so much about to spoil the plot of the book but I will say, if people with big bucks what others think and do more of what makes you happy. turned their attention to solving the homeless problem they 9. The Mother of Invention could have an immediate and lasting inpact on the lives of so Certainly you have seen transients pushing all kinds of creative many people. (Pictured above is Donald Sterling.) contraptions around—if you live in an urban area. Some of these are marvels of modern engineering, others works of art. The same goes for some of the innovative ways a person with

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nothing can create a “home” out of scraps of cardboard, wood, and various other random items. Too often we throw money at problems instead of ﬁnding clever ways to solve problems. Being resourceful is another form of creativity—and a neces- sity for many on the job. Fortunately, I learned this valuable skill from my father, the master at making something from nothing. I wouldn’t say homeless people have gone green, but they do know how to repurpose items thrown in the trash and turn them into treasure. I saw several examples of this while wandering around during the day. (I had help. I ran into a person I recognized from high school while researching my book who was now living between two buildings by the beach and he took me to see some of the most interesting dwellings in This is where I live and went a nearby canyon—a place I would not have found or gone to homeless. It’s a beautiful place otherwise.) People turned large pipes, empty dumpsters, and that is visited by tourists from abandoned vehicles (and even an old boat) into safe and dry all over the world. My guess is places to stay. The most interesting was built by a carpenter not many notice just how many homeless people live in the who lost everything in a divorce (part of the inspiration for my parks along the beach and bay. character) who constructed three micro homes (and counting) The empty piece of property out of scrap wood. His own little place was amazing inside and pictured in the top right corner out and was all done with materials he (said he) found lying of this photo is Mariner’s Point. I imagined in my book that a around. It was inspiring—and I started thinking of new ways developer would love to get his to reuse and repurpose things in my own life. In fact, my 17th hands on something situated book (Bored Games) was based on ﬁnding creative ways to so perfectly. Thankfully, in real have fun with kids without having to buy anything new. life it’s owned by the city of San Diego . . . for now. 10. The Dollar Menu

I like a latte as much as the next guy, but when I was living on

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less than ten dollars a day, a small black coffee was all I could afford. When I got back to the real world I realized how much money I wasted every day by spending without thinking. I started a spending log to track my frivolous daily expenses for a month and I was applauded. The next month I used what I learned from being homeless and was able to cut that number in half. You would think that a displaced and destitute person would be bad at managing money, but you would be wrong. Homeless people understand the value of dollar better than anyone and know how to stretch a buck by finding the best deals. (I would add that some of the people I met had a higher net worth than some of the people who seem to have it all—a big home, nice car, and fancy clothes, but are deeply in debt.) My main character built a One of the ways I earned cash was collecting cans. It was a custom home just like the one dirty and difficult task (plus I had to haul them over a mile to pictured above in the Bird Rock collect the cash) but when I got my $10.76 I was thrilled. I also area of La Jolla, but lost it in was more aware of the value of a dollar. Now I’m more frugal the divorce, his ex-wife and kids still lived there. The opening and smarter with money—and it feels good. scene in the book has Thomas hiding in the bushes just to get a 11. Live For Today, Plan For Tomorrow glimpse at his young son which he is no longer allowed to see. When you lose everything, something went wrong—and in (To avoid detection he has to cover himself in dirt and hide most cases you are partly to blame. That’s a hard thing to live in a hole when he is spotted by with and it creates a lot of regret. The only saving grace is that his ex-wife.) I made this all up, when you are in survival mode you are just focused on today. but the reality is this could easily The past is painful and the future is uncertain, so living in happen to a homeless father. the present and dealing with pressing problems (how to eat, where to sleep, and avoiding the dangers of the streets) is all you can think about. I think a lot of us would be better off by

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being more in the moment. Instead of beating ourselves up for past mistakes and worrying about the future, we should be grateful for what we have and enjoy our good fortune. Sure, someone will always have more than you (and that’s what we tend to focus on, getting more good stuﬀ and achieving more success) but people will also always have less than you, too. I know I realized that pretty quickly and it stuck with me. As sad as this sounds, there were more than a few people who left behind small children (or had them taken away) when they became homeless. We have more than we think we do and the best way to appreciate that fact is live for today (and plan for tomorrow.)

12. Laughter is the Best Medicine This is what I pictured Big Mac’s young son (Alex) would look like. There is a scene in the book Time ﬂies when you’re having fun, so you can imagine how that takes place at the Island slowly time passes when you’re desperate and distressed. Yet Marina which is based on the I found a lot of laughter and joy from some of the people I Hyatt Islandia Hotel and Marina on Mission Bay. met on the streets of San Diego. There was one guy I met who would have killed it at a comedy club with his routine about being homeless. He told me it was better to make light of his situation because if he didn’t laugh he would cry. One of his many one-liners went like this: “When I ask a person for a buck or two they usually refuse and say, ‘You’re just going to spend it on drugs and booze.’ So this one time I said, ‘Hey, it’s Friday night and you’re out on the town, what else are you gonna spend it on?’” I also found the best way to break the ice or dif- fuse a dangerous situation when I was an outsider looking in was through humor. In fact, my street name was Sir Laughs a

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Lot. How about that? Granted, my plight wasn’t nearly as bad as those I met, but I found telling jokes (and laughing loudly at other people’s jokes) was how I was able to (safely) meet so many people who are very cautious about outsiders like me.

13. When Hope is All you Have

You would think the homeless have lost all hope of a better life, but in many cases it is hope that keeps them going. I think this is true of many of us who have at one point or another suffered a setback. We believe it will all work out in the long run, things happen for a reason, and we are never given more than we can handle. This is sure put to the test for people without anything to hang their hats on—literally. Many of you This was once Scripps Hospital in La Jolla (a long time ago.) (and me) have probably wondered a time or two if we could Today it’s been converted to have ended up a broke and beaten down bag lady or vargant. condominiums. In between it Believe me, when you really think about it some people are was a think tank for a defense a lack of a few paychecks, a bad breakup, or a major illness contractor and I worked there as a janitor while in high school. (and mounting medical bills) away from ending up with next They didn’t like us wandering to nothing. When I think back to what has helped me achieve around and specifically told us success and a certain degree of financial security, it was that to stay away from the base- I was always a man with a plan. Having specific goals and the ment because it was once the morgue. That stuck with me belief I could make them a reality helped me make it through and this is the place I pictured the down times because I had hope—and hope is one of the in my head as I wrote the scenes most important and powerful things in life. It keeps us mov- where the people from the aprk ing forward no matter how hard things get. Conversely, when were kidnapped and taken to be a person loses all hope it’s hard to help them or get them to used for drug testing (against their will.) help themselves. I have offered to teach goal setting at homeless shelters and I have “hope” this will come to fruition.

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14. The Blame Game

Who would want to admit that catastrophic failure was their own fault? Most people would prefer to blame others. I listened to some wild conspiracy theories and heard people rail against the rich, and I wondered, is this helping anyone? If I did believe just a fraction of what I was being told I would have to say that yes, all of these people were victims in some way. (As an aside, one common denominator I discovered was that a lot of the homeless did come from broken homes and if I believe their stories, bad parenting. So they blame their circumstances on that fact. Of course many other people we know are well adjusted and people despite having a horrible Eight players from the San upbringing. These people overcame their parents—or lack of a Diego Chargers 1994 Super parent—to become better parents themselves. Sadly, some of Bowl team have died—not just those I met on the streets with family trauma in their past now in my book, but in real life. The have no contact with their own kids.) Is it counterproductive life expectancy for a former NFL player is below the aver- to spend time and energy blaming him or her for our prob- age—and for those who live in lems or would it make more sense to instead go after what the streets it’s even shorter. we want and deserve despite whatever happened to us in the past? Our past does not have to determine our future.

15. Stranger Danger

Are we too trusting, complacent, and unaware of the dangers surrounding us. I think so. If I haven’t mentioned this yet, I was scared out of my mind when I left my home to become homeless—and for good reason, danger lurked around every corner. I had to be hyper vigilant and always felt like I was on high

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alert. They say knowledge is power, it can also make a person paranoid. I heard such horror stories of violence within the homeless community I almost gave up the idea of learning ﬁrst hand what my main character would go through for my new novel. I feared for my life. The only good thing to come out it was how much more I am aware of my surroundings and seeing potential problems before they happened. Since my “adventure” I have had several close calls but averted tragedy each time. It’s no way to live to always be worried about what might happen next, but it does help to say “what if?” when we are about to do something even remotely dangerous. We should hope for the best, but also plan for the worst.

16. Helping Helps This is Mike Webster, the former Steeler center who had a long and illustrious career in the I found that many of the people I met would have given me NFL, but ended up broke and the shirt off their back. Yes, they wore several shirts and I homeless. His family said he doubt I would have wanted one, but that’s not the point. Ev- suffered irreparable damage to his brain during his playing eryone wants to feel like they have something to offer others. days which led to his downfall. It makes them feel worth something. At first I didn’t get it, I A good many people living on always offered something to someone I met and was willing the streets are suffering from to talk. Then I met the most interesting person. First of all, he a variety of mental illnesses (including PTSD) and need help somehow figured out I wasn’t who I claimed to be—one of which isn’t there or they are them. How he guessed this he wouldn’t say, so I came clean unwilling to seek it. In my book I (so to speak) and told him the truth. He was thrilled and al- made my characters act (some- lowed me to “shadow” him for a day as long as I named a char- what) normal, but in reality, I acter after him in my novel. So I did. “Shaggy” is a real person met a great many people who were extremely disturbed and as well as a featured character in my book. (In the book when sometimes scary. I said, “Happy hour lasts all day,” that line came from the real

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Shaggy. At first I tried to keep pace with him as we put vodka in our morning coffee, switching to vodka and orange juice for “brunch”, then used cranberry juice as a mixer during the rest of the day, eventually just drinking it straight at night—which is where I got off the crazy train.) Despite being quite drunk most of the day, Shaggy was energized to show me around the “neighborhood” and introduce me to the most interesting people. He didn’t say this, but I think helping me with my problem helped take his mind off his own troubles. If we are having a tough time maybe the best thing we could do is find a way to help someone else through theirs, or volunteer to do something that makes a difference.

17. The Real Wiener Many homeless people will only go to a shelter when they are desperate for a number of rea- There is help for the homeless and so many wonderful sons. Before I go on I should give and caring people who have dedicated their lives to this a spoiler alert because in my plight. My character “Jeffrey Wiener” (an activist for the book the city eventually creates homeless) is loosely based on a real person. He’s tireless in homes for the homeless. Since I was writing fiction I wasn’t his efforts to raise money and make things better for constrained by the limits of real- homeless teens. With so much offered to those who truly ity and I imagined a homeless need it, one would think we could get everyone off the village with amenities like a free street. The problem is not ev-eryone who needs help is laundryman, a recycling center, a job training program, and willing to ask for or accept it. I can relate. I realized I am like more. If only . . . that. I will often say, “Nah, I’ll be fine. Thank you, but no.” I didn’t realize that the person offering to help would get just as much out of it as I would. Instead, I let my pride get in the way. It didn’t want to appear weak. I didn’t want to be a burden. I’ve changed, and now I want to ask for your help. If you buy a copy of my novel, The Homeless Hero,

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you will not only be helping me, but a portion of the proceeds will go to the foundation my activist friend started. You can buy the book directly from me at www.leesilber.com.

18. Freedom Isn’t Always Free

What do you value most? When you don’t have many posses- sions your priorities change. Many drifters value their freedom above all else. They see hurried people trudging off to work in the morning and laugh at them. They believe they are better off. You could argue in some ways they are. They do what they want, when they want, and “work” with who they want. Is there a price to pay for that freedom, uh, yeah. But they willingly pay that price. What are we willing to give up to have This is a picture of an actual hotel for the homeless in Los more free time and freedom? When someone says, “Your Angeles. money or your life?” they may not be robbing you at gunpoint. We pay for things like our cars and clothes with our lives. In order to earn the money to afford these necessities or niceties we have to give up our time which is in essence our life. When we go to work we are trading our time / life for money. We then spend that money on the things we want and need. When we have to work long hours to live the “good life” but don’t have the time to enjoy it, we may be missing the point.

19. It Can’t Happen to Me

A great many people I met were surprised to ﬁnd themselves in such dire ﬁnancial circumstances. They often admitted they never thought it could happen to them—but it did. Don’t ever underestimate the value of a good job.

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20. The Homeless Community

Birds of a feather flock together and if you hang out with tur- keys, it’s easy to become one. (We should try to soar with the eagles.) It’s good to be around people who “get it” and get us. They are in the same boat so we can complain and commiser- ate without sounding like a whiner. They also won’t be judge- mental because they are no better or better off. Is this helping anyone? Maybe a little, but it’s best to balance who you hang out with by finding those who inspire you to be better with those who are no better than you.

21. A Changed Man This is the stretch of beach in front of my house and near As you can see I am a changed man after my self-imposed where my novel takes place. I’ll homeless experience. In addition to sharing my insights and admit I took a lot for granted ideas about what I learned, I want to help the homeless in my until I experienced the horrors hometown and I need your help. All you have to do is buy a of homelessness. I hope this mini book made an impact on copy of The Homeless Hero and I will donate a portion of the you and you will do something proceeds to a charity that specializes in helping homeless small to help someone else in teens in my hometown. You can get your signed copy directly need. You don’t need to save the from me (which helps me make the biggest donation) or buy world, but you can make a difference in your world. My good the book from Amazon (which allows me to donate a percent- friend Sunshine Smith always age of my royalties to charity.) carried bottled waters and energy bars in her car to pass on www.leesilber.com/books.html to panhandlers—in lieu of cash. www.amazon.com Little things like that matter. I know, because it mattered to me when I was famished and dehydrated.

LEE SILBER • BEST SELLING AUTHOR / KEYNOTE SPEAKER / THOUGHT LEADER • www.leesilber.com 18

About The Author

Lee Silber is the best selling author of 21 books and the winner of ten awards for literary excellence. Lee is also an award-win- ning speaker and is available for presentations to groups large and small. Lee can be contacted at [email protected]

About The Book

Thomas “Big Mac” MacDonald lost everything in the divorce— his home, his NFL pension, and his dignity—everything but his prized, classic, VW van. It would be enough to drive anyone to drink, but that’s only the half of it. The “residents” of You should buy this book the beach park where Thomas and dozens of other homeless because it’s a great story with San Diegans sleep in their cars are strangely disappearing at a interesting and compelling rapid rate. characters, all set against a backdrop of beaches and bays. With the help of his 12-year-old daughter, Big Mac begins re- However, if that isn’t enough to get you to order a copy (or building his life and clearing his name. But when the two get three) I want you to know I am sucked into solving the mystery surrounding the park, Thom- donating a portion of the pro- as realizes he has a lot to lose—but he puts it all on the line to ceeds to help the homeless. So, do the right thing. If he succeeds, he’s a hero. If he fails, he’s a you can read an enjoyable book and do something to help the footnote—another former football player who died before his others. Signed books are avail- time. You’ll have to read the book to ﬁnd out. able directly from me at www. leesilber.com/books. You can Available in paperback and Kindle from Amazon.com. also get a copy for your Kindle ($3.49) or a paperback ($11.00) from Amazon.com. Thanks for your support.

LEE SILBER • BEST SELLING AUTHOR / KEYNOTE SPEAKER / THOUGHT LEADER • www.leesilber.com