Changing Every Day

It's been interesting for me to see a changing dynamic between Jon@than and @lejandro lately. For most of the time I've known them, @lejandro acted like the big brother, the one in charge. Jon@than often played the clown, the fuck-up. He would get messed up on drugs or alcohol or both and get into trouble.


But since low season has hit, I've seen more of the meaning of the word hustler. Hustlers will do whatever they can to get by. If it means selling their bodies, they do it. But the low season means less clients, less of a market for sex. So what is there to do? Ah yes, drugs. People always want drugs and they need to get them from someone. I don't know if this is something they were involved with before and I'm only just seeing more of now. Or if it's intensified with the low season. But the interesting thing is that it seems to have given Jon@than some grounding. It may sound silly, but now it's like he has a job, he has to buy and sell and keep track of money, make connections, keep a cell phone so he can be reached. He's earning enough to pay to stay in a hotel. His wardrobe has expanded a bit and he's dressing slicker for the part. He's also spending time in gay and straight clubs. I see a new confidence in him, a bit more of a sense of purpose. It's not just about hanging out on the corner with his buddies; there's work to be done too.

Of course I'm scared for him. I've known too many guys get caught up in that world and it's a deadend; it often ends badly with jail time. But the unfortunate reality is what options does he really have? No family, very little education, no job experience in a country where the minimum wage is $5 per day and a college educated newspaper reporter might make $600 per month. And there seems to be more of a system in place, at least at the lower levels, where the police are bought off and the dealers are allowed to function safely without threat of being arrested. Of course, there are never any guarantees.

I still have hope for him. I want his story to be a happy ending where instead of a deadend, it's something temporary that opens doors for him and gives him opportunities for better work. And tonight that was validated. I was hanging out with an acquaintance who owns a cafe here who's thinking of using it as a bar on the weekends. He said he was looking for some young guys to promote the place to bring people in and he thought Jon@than would be perfect for it. The nice thing is that the cafe owner knows what Jon@than does primarily but wants to give him a chance. He asked me to talk to him and see what he thinks and sort of facilitate the whole thing (because I speak Spanish and because he knows I know him). I hope it works out.

And so the sun sets on another day in paradise.

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