Grave Endings

Several homeless mentions in Grave Endings by Rochelle Krich. In describing a neighborhood in Hollywood the author writes that "...the LAPD would periodically chase the street people away, but without conviction, the way you half-heatedly swat at flies..." and "You know the flies will be back the minute you stop waving your hand, and they know that you know that after a while you'll get tired of waving."

She continues saying even though the undesirables "trickle back, along with the homeless..." "the area has improved."

I am not sure if that is true of Long Beach. Not being out there 24/7 anymore I have less knowledge of the street living scene. When I visit the library Main branch, I see about 1/2 dozen people who were homeless and hanging 'round Lincoln Park in 2004 (forward) and a few dozen new faces. A common sight around the railings separating the lower library level from the promenade and the park is carts. They might be baby buggies or the type sold for grocery shopping hauling. Sometimes there are large suitcases chained to the railings ~ all left unattended.

There is a sheltered area to the left of the Main Entrance and railed area where I would often see a group of homeless hanging out. They would leave packs there unattended or were "campers". It seemed those homeless got "waved away" to return later only the faces were different. The downtown promenade area has been swept clean of homeless due to the area's redevelopment. The regulars at the Transit Mall ~ those who sat or slept on bus benches are gone also and very few other homeless can be seen there ~ waved away with the fountain area homeless, perhaps.

Flies die quickly, to be replaced by new ones. Not so homeless people. Some do die, some become homed, others leave town, but like those flies, newcomers quickly fill the roster.

The novel features Rachel's Tent. One service it provides is temporary shelter for abused and homeless women. A character giving a tour of the place says "We try to help homeless women achieve independent living and regain their dignity."

The wealthy gentleman who funded Rachel's Tent was motivated because his unwed mother put him in foster care. He later found out she "died, hungry and homeless."

The star of this murder mystery novel is Molly, a reporter who does a Crime Digest. Thus the chapters start with a short crime report that have nothing to do with the story. Some of these remind me of the crime digests reported by the Beach Comber. Nothing funny about crime, but some of the fictional reports are told in the manner of the Beach Comber ~ with humor.
The last report was of a man who asked two men for directions to a homeless shelter. The men then followed him and beat him with his own crutches. That is hardly fiction when beating homeless for sport is all too common in real life, often leading to death of the defenseless homeless person.