R and R (Rest and Relaxation)

It is a gorgeous day weather wise, with sunny skies and a light, gentle breeze. I missed a couple of days because the library in Beverly Hills, which I frequent, was closed on Sunday, April 16th, 2006 for the Easter holiday. I stayed in a hotel on Friday of last week for one night, that was all I could afford and rested by watching a couple of films on cable. I met a screenwriter from Texas on Thursday of last week. He knows the current president and his father, the former president of the United States, from growing up in Texas. We talked for a few hours about current events and before saying our good-byes, I gave him my blog address. He is the first person to comment on the blog. The second person is the editor of Variety magazine. After reading an article in the April 17th issue of Variety, I emailed him. The article was on a documentary on the state of the homeless in the "Skid Row" area, an area downtown. A major recording star disguised himself as a homeless person for a period of nine days. The documentary is being produced by an entertainment company here in Los Angeles(http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117941547?categoryid=16&cs=1&s=h&p=0). I went to a soup kitchen in Beverly Hills at an Episcopalian/Angelican church. Outside were representatives from the P.A.T.H. (People Assisting The Homeless) program. After taking a survey, I was handed a bagged lunch. The P.A.T.H. program has two shelters to my knowledge. I have stayed at both of them. The organization is run by a non-profit agency, I think, which receives funding from both private and public sources. At one facility, they run a free beauty salon. Basically, the client stays in the shelter for a period of months and saves his or her money, in the hopes of getting housing. The program also offers referrals to the Department of Public Social Services and various other city-run programs.