3 Los Angelenos who made it over 5 years on the edge......

 9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know thy name put their trust in thee, for thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek thee.  Psalms 9:9-10

I once had a friend who held down 2 jobs.  She was a receptionist at Smith Barney, a place like Merril Lynch.  She also worked with disabled people.  She lived with friends on and off for 10 yrs, paying what she felt like was adequate for rent but not really fulfilling her obligations.  She acted like if she bought them  a dinner, that would suffice.  As time went on, she pissed a few people off.  She managed to make it, though.  Along the way she obtained 2 small dogs.  Then it made it harder for her to stay on her feet.  One of my other friends let her stay over 1x a week but she had 2 dogs.  He had 3 parrots.  She is now around 55 and I don't know how she is doing because she lives in L.A.  She was born the same year as me.  I took in another drifter, Tim, who was a physics and math genuis.  He could never get enough money to take the actuary test which could have garnered him megabucks.  He was a daily pot smoker and got fired from 2 jobs when I knew him.   Last time I heard from him, his unemployment ran out and so did his cell minutes.  I haven't heard from him in a year.  How many people want to live on the fringe unintentionally not mapping out their future vs. those who don't have any life skills and can't figure a way to make it work.   Find out.