Homeless people are everywhere at the Saturday Market in Portland, Oregon and are showing their own kind of creativity there. The Saturday Market has been going on since 1974 and is a place that is full of crafts, arts, and food. The Portland Mission, a church based organization, which is only a couple blocks from the market, gives homeless people a chance to find a living at the Saturday Market.

With over 200 booths at the Saturday Market and people galore, there is what seems to be, an air of creativity and excitement. People are dressed in a wide variety of costumes, from cows to a Jimi Hendrix lookalike. The booths are filled with such things as the Spoon-man (a gentleman that makes his living by transforming household silver), or the booth the promises to make a wallet, for a price, out of ducktape; it’s all here. Things that you would never imagine to be done, find a place in your heart to be attainable to make and to conjure up as sellable.

The homeless are no exception to the rule here. With witty sayings and outrageous signs they cause you to step back and consider that they may have a thing or two to remark on. The homeless here fit in and seem to be well accepted as a part of the attraction that draws people here in the first place.

One gentleman that I came across had a sign that said, “Need parts for spaceship, trying to get home, anything helps.” I interviewed Chuck; he didn’t give me his last name. He seemed outgoing and contagious in his conversation and was glad to be interviewed by me for a few extra dollars. He said, “I do this every weekend to get people to help me out, but for the most part I sell the Street Roots (a newspaper that is about the homeless plight) during the weekdays. This is just a weekend thing for me.”

With the hustle and bustle of people moving around from all walks of life, it is easy to get distracted from the booths and to consider the plight of such people as Chuck.

As I am walking through the Saturday Market, I am lead away with thoughts of a time before this, when in Old England, people peddled their wares to people.

Patricia, who was worried that her last name not be mentioned was also helping the homeless situation. Patricia belongs to the Hare-Krsna (also known as the Hare-Krishna) and sells stickers of the American flag and a peace sticker. She told me that she comes out here every weekend to help make sure the homeless get vegetarian food through a vegetarian program that they provide for the homeless. She said, “We mostly get donations from people as they come by, or we sell stickers for a donation price of $10 for both stickers.”

Another man that I talked to, Frank Cobb, age 27, sells a newspaper that is made by homeless people and volunteers in the community that is called Street Roots. According to the website www.streetroots.org, some of their over 50 vendors buy the newspaper for 25 cents and sell it for $1. He has been homeless for a while and now has moved up into the realm of being poor. He has been doing this for several years now. Talking to the man I realize he shouldn’t have to do this stuff, he is one of those guys that jumps out on the page at you, really intelligent, like he should be at M.I.T.

Concerning the homeless of Portland that work at the Saturday Market I am left to wonder, where could these people be if they only had a hope and if they only had help. If you are ever at the SM, you’ll have to come check out the creativity of those that some have deemed the off-scouring of society. You may be impressed, some of them are just as creative as you and I.