He was sitting outside Coffee and Chocolate when I noticed him. Two years without him and we continually asked within our circle of friends, “I wonder how Greg is.” He struggles with mental illness, taking conversations to abstract places and concepts that would push us to pay attention, not because we had to, but because we wanted to. One of the last conversations I had with him before he moved away was about the entanglement of super heroes in the world as it sat then, and how God is showing us ways to fight against evil. Confused, enthralled, and knowing he enjoyed the company as much as we did.
As of 2022, Knoxville saw a fifty percent increase in homelessness from the previous year. Around 1,178 people are without a steady home, with around 373 without shelter. Don’t mistake my placing of the stats warrants any moral high ground. The reason is to show the number of lost conversations by way of stigmas and unallocated resources readily available. Having made friends with the houseless has offered a array of perspectives: Some chaotic, ambiguous, but most grounding and valuable. Greg has always been a beautiful mixture.
I had first met him before I spent my time in downtown, and a bit before living downtown. It was nearing Christmas, and I had an old Nikon D40x, gifted to me by my now mother-in-law. I asked him if I could take his photo, he obliged, and then asked if he wanted food. “No, I already ate. Thank you,” he said, with a slight smile and nod. I didn’t know his name and didn’t run into him again for over a year. When I did, he had changed to what the much better and meaningful photograph shows. A man me and many others have felt as almost essential to the overall feeling of community in our little city. I’ve learned throughout the years, anyone, offered enough interest and comfort to share, will give a story that builds safety and happiness in a community.
As mentioned, Greg moved away for awhile, and just as he arrived, he came back, unannounced, stoic and as happy to see us and we were him. His life, known only because we’ve asked, is fulfilled and he brings that joy he’s found to others. Having been a man wearing a suit daily, working in a demanding job, to someone who loves enough to help us understand what it truly means to be happy, comfortable, and, in all the ways we need, giving.