One might not expect to hear recitations of Shakespeare in the lobby of Porchlight’s single room occupancy housing, but Mike Shepherd would catch skeptics off guard.
As students exhaust themselves with late nights at the library in the midst of midterm season, one UW-Madison undergraduate combats an entirely different source of stress.
As the days grow colder, the increasingly monotonous walk down State Street has been brightened for many by the clear, resounding sound of trumpet music.
A bleak October afternoon near the eastern corner of Capitol Square is made brighter by a red Badger baseball cap adorning the head of an otherwise unobtrusive newspaper salesman.
“Nickel, dime, quarter, penny,
The first joke is always free at Dynamite Dave’s comedy desk.
A somber look hangs from John Thomas’s face as he leans against a street lamp, selling copies of Street Pulse to pedestrians. I approach him, nervous he will turn down my requests for an interview as multiple people already had, but the notion delights him. A wide smile quickly chases the shadows away from his face as he divulges, with astounding honesty, the details of his past and present circumstances.
With each new blade of green grass that emerges from beneath thin layers of late snowfall, smiles slide onto faces with a bit more ease. However, the return of warm afternoons and whistling robins is a relief too often taken for granted. As sweaters are traded for T-shirts and winter boots for sneakers; as baseball gloves and Frisbees are pulled from storage shelves to relish in the magnificence of the surrounding world, now is also the season to recognize its fragility.
State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, declared his candidacy for the 6th Congressional District Thursday.
A state Assembly bill that would add political robocalls to the do-not-call list received a public hearing before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations Thursday.
Mike Sheperd has received affordable housing courtesy of Porchlight, Inc. since 1984 but laments the current lack of resources available to less fortunate homeless individuals.
Sophia Carter, whose name has been changed, reflects on how homelessness and adversity steeled her resolve.
Trumpeter David 'Arjuna' Meinert fills State Street with the melodious rhythm and blues he learned studying at UW-Madison.
Ásgeir, an Icelandic singer-songwriter who struck big in his native homeland, visited Wisconsin for the first time Oct. 11 to grace the Fredric March Play Circle Theater with his skill.
Mark Sperry, a former welder who is now homeless, sells newspapers while trying to find stable housing in Madison.
Earlie Wilson spoke of his past troubles and transition into a new life in Madison. He urged students to take full advantage of their educational opportunities at UW-Madison.
Eager for smiles, "Dynamite Dave" charms the sidewalks of State Street and is never short of jokes or reverence for the Lord.
John Thomas is a Street Pulse vendor who works in the Capitol Square and State Street neighborhood.
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Solutions by The State News
