"You'll have to excuse me, I'm kind of a history buff, still learning though. But, if you look at how we live today, compared to how we lived yesterday, the contrast is just... Wow. I can't even imagine going to the bathroom and not having a toilet, you know? An outhouse, what's that? I mean I've seen those down south, but they're not common. Now a days we can access anything through TV or the internet -- we just get on our computers or smart phones and can look up anything. It's a common thing. You couldn't do that ten-twenty years ago. Only the rich could do that shit. I only go there because it's funny how you get so used to certain things, you take so much for granted. Somewhere along the way you have to realize none of that shit matters."

"I'm 20, I just graduated from high school. Well, I guess that was two years ago now. I'm just working right now, but I want to go back to school, or go into the Army. If I go to school I want to study culinary arts. I like cooking and I love food -- I want to do it because it's fun. When you're grown you want to be doing something fun with your life, not some nine-to-five. That would get boring."

"I been here all my life. Grew up in the projects, until they tore that down. But what got me out on the streets was I had an accident about 5 years ago. Ain't no body want to take me because I have seizures. Yup, been here all my life, 52 years. Ever heard of Saint Andrews Hall? How about an old rock star named Iggy Pop? One night I was at a gas station and he came out of his bus, didn't know where he was, and asked me for directions to Saint Andrews. After I told him he gave me a back stage pass and fifty dollars."

"I've had a hard life. My mom was on drugs, my father wasn't there. My aunt raised me. She was a bit jealous of my mother, so she didn't treat me too well. My mother was so pretty, so I guess she was just jealous of her sister."

"The most important thing in life is God. Respecting his orders is the righteous thing to do. But the real important thing in life is to love one another."

"I'm living alone right now. Really roughing it -- staying in vacant lots or vacant houses. I ain't got me no heater yet either, so I been pretty cold. I collect bottles and albums in the day. At least I got this bike though, I made it myself."

What do you want to be when you get older? "A Grandmaster in chess. I think it's a good thing to be Grandmaster because you can teach kids how to play who don't know, and if you're good enough you can get scholarships. So that's my first thing -- I want to be a Grandmaster -- and then if that doesn't work, well I WILL be a Grandmaster, I'll have two jobs, I'll be a Grandmaster and nurse. I want to be a nurse because I love saving people's lives."

Who is your biggest influence? "I would have to say my mom. She is a real strong woman and always been independent. She has MS now, but I help her when I can."

"I've lived in midtown for maybe sixteen years now. Back when nobody wanted to come here, when it wasn't even called midtown. It's home, I wouldn't leave if I had a million dollars."

What is your biggest fear? "Failing my son. My goal, and I tell him everyday, is to make sure that you make it to see God, regardless if I'm here or not. That's my biggest fear, in that aspect. But, I think I'm doing pretty good so far."