CALIBER

Tim & Talks-A-Lot

You can read more about my $2 Portrait Project here.

One night after work I was out with Stuart having drinks at The Hi-Dive along the Embarcadero. As we left the bar we ran into Tiny, Tim, and a parrot named Talks-A-Lot just outside. Tim asked me for a cigarette and I gave him one, hoping the gesture would allow me to take a picture of his parrot. While I was photographing his parrot, Tim asked for some spare change and I told him about my project, to which he agreed.

Tim told me that Talks-A-Lot was actually not a parrot, but a cockatoo and that she was 23 months old. The bird seemed well trained as she stayed on Tim’s head the entire time we talked and often looked directly at either Stuart or myself seeming to smile.

I asked Tim and Tiny if they were from San Francisco, and they said no, they had moved out here from Chicago a few months ago. We agreed that Chicago was a beautiful city, albeit fiercely cold in the winter.

Tim told me they usually panhandled change on lower Market Street near the Embarcadero Bart/Muni station. He said they usually made around $12 each day, but today had only made 85 cents. He told me that on slower days Red’s Java House (next door to the Hi-Dive) would bring them out burgers and fries if they came by before closing time. But to feed 2 people and a parrot, Tim told me the average was $22 per day — which is 2 coffees in the morning, a small lunch, and a slightly larger dinner.

Around this time, Tim asked me for some more money for his chemotherapy medication called Cumatin. The medication was not only necessary, but very expensive and the city refused to subsidize any of the cost. Tim also told me he had had 18 heart attacks in his lifetime and was surprised he was still even alive. He seemed to have quite a bit of health issues and it was apparent that he was both concerned and feeling down about it.

I asked Tim where the 3 of them slept at night and he pointed me across the street to a parking lot beneath the Bay Bridge. When it rained, they sleep underneath an overpass South of Market. In both locations they have been harassed and robbed by other homeless and lost many of their last possessions. I asked Tim why they didn’t sleep in the shelters, if it was because of Talks-A-Lot. He said no, the shelter workers all love her, but they were also always running out of beds.

After smoking another cigarette and talking a bit more, Stuart and I decided to head our separate ways. And with that we told Tiny, Tim, and Talks-A-Lot goodnight and headed down the street.

You can see the collective whole of $2 Portraits from around the world here.