Update on "Ragged Dave"- a Patriot fan in Seattle

link to "Consider Yourself . . ." from "Oliver"

 A Brown University connection with " Ragged Dave ".

Last year you published a letter I sent you on the plight of my homeless friend who spent a miserable night in the Harrington Hall shelter in Cranston ("No help for 'Ragged Dav ", Aug. 1, 2014. )  He now has a place to live ( precariously, of course ) in Seattle, Washington. He calls me a few times a month. 

Just before the Super Bowl he made it clear to me that he was no fan of the Seattle Seahawks. Dave hoped that the New England Patriots would win one more time. I told him to call me again right after the game. That night I watching the musical " Oliver " with a rather motherly neighbor.  I just checked the Superbowl score a few times, despairing of a Patriot victory by half-time. Right around 10 o'clock at night Dave calls. I was silent expecting bad news. Then he said "They won!." I will always associate this happy news with "Ragged Dave".

More happy news for Dave? He asked me to study his rich late aunt's will in Providence City Hall. I would love to tell him: "Consider yourself one of the family!". He is related to the Alpert family after which Brown University Medical School is named.

To: letters@providencejournal.com

An odd guest at Harrington Hall

Photos: Steve Ahlquist

I did not vote for Gina Raimondo-the best of the three pro-capitalist candidates. I wrote in MOTHER TERESA, inspired by own conscience, not by that registered Republican (and I hope not an Ayn Rand fan) Bishop Thomas Tobin.

But your first sentence here rings true: Her inauguration last week "left many with a sense of hopefulness for the future." Providence Journal front page yesterday: "Nobody should be homeless".

The governor, and other state officers, took a tour of Harrington Hall, R.I.'s largest shelter. In the photo Gina Raimondo has a softer than usual facial expression. No, she is not a Planned Parenthood battle ax.

Last year I wrote a letter of complaint to the Rhode Island Public Health Department about conditions at the Howard Ave. shelter in Cranston. A homeless friend of mine, described as "Ragged Dave", in a letter to the Providence Journal, had spent a nightmarish night there. Dave was tired of sleeping in his broken down Lincoln Town Car. Oddly enough he was once a millionaire, related to the Alpert family. Brown University Medical School is named after this family. His aunt's name was Gracie Alpert. She is survived by her husband, Wesley Alpert.

The R.I. Public Health Dept. says it will quickly respond to complaints via e-mail. But I never heard from them. I will blog this post.

(Comment on Warwick Beacon editorial, 1/13/15, "Atmosphere of unity offers opportunity of action")