After that night at Jack in the Box, I thought I'd never see him again. He looked much worse in daylight. His body resembled a skeleton and his eyes looked hollow, like death. He didn't recognize me, not even after I mentioned Amber, Dillon and S5T. None of their names seemed to register a response. I didn't know what else to do. I felt uncomfortable. I wanted to ask him about the painting, but I felt incredibly guilty for even thinking about it.
I asked him if he was hungry and offered to buy him lunch, but he just stared right through me. One of his friends, another homeless guy, came up and put his arm around his shoulder and asked him if I was bothering him. Stan gave him the same hollow look that he gave me. His friend explained that Stan was a little strung out. Then he asked me for some change. Normally, I don't give out money to addicts, but I felt all fucked up, so I gave him a couple of bucks. He walked off and I took off, too. Halfway home, I turned around and bought Stan some food and left it there with him.
Stan loved to paint. When we first met, he told me he wanted to be an art instructor. He could have done that, but he made a critical mistake when he turned sixteen. He told his parents he was gay and they kicked him out of the house. Imagine if he hadn't told his parents. They would have never kicked him out and he could have gone off to art school. Instead, he was shoved out on the streets to fend for himself.
Janine is still at her parents. So I'm over here at Annie's thinking about all of this.
Talk show guests for tomorrow, Monday October 4th
Conan O'Brien: Darrell Hammond, Ben McKenzie, Switchfoot (R)
Craig Kilborn: Peter Berg, Eve, Snow Patrol, guest host Aisha Tyler
Daily Show: Bishop Desmond Tutu
David Letterman: Gov. Howard Dean, Franz Ferdinand
Ellen DeGeneres: John Travolta, Mase
Jay Leno: David Arquette, swimmer Michael Phelps, Cake
Jimmy Kimmel: John Goodman, Sean Faris, Korn
Last Call: Stephen Colbert, Method Man
Regis and Kelly: Claire Danes, Carson Kressley, herpetologist Austin Stevens
The View: Alyssa Milano, fashion expert Kim Douglas
Tony Danza: Jim Belushi, Jennifer Esposito, Five for Fighting
