Cambridge Homeless Anticipate Summer Home Season

Local - 2004

With the change of the season and the weather slowly getting warmer, the Cambridge homeless are eagerly preparing for that time of year when they can finally take a break from the toils of everyday homeless life and spend a few weeks vacationing in their summer homes. Harvard Square regular Matt Kaleta said, "Don't get me wrong, life in the big city is great, but it gets you down after a while. I don't know how anyone can survive without somewhere where they can get away during the summer."

Kaleta plans to spend some time this summer in his three-bedroom, two-bathroom home down on the Cape. "It's really no better than a cottage, but there's nowhere better to relax during the dog days of summer. I only wish that I had more free time to spend there during the rest of the year."

But as Spare Change Newspaper employee and Vietnam war veteran Alex Fraher explained, summer homes are not just about relaxation. "There are a lot of odd jobs you have to take care of once you get up there – gutters to empty, windows to replace, and the scum that collects on the pool over the course of the year can take days to clean." However, Fraher admitted that in the end, all the work pays off. "After the first couple of weekends of dusting and cleaning, I remember what keeps drawing me back here, year after year. Mainly the fact that it sure beats the hell out of sleeping in the alley behind Chile's, fighting stray dogs for extra scraps of food, and hoping the night shift manager won't call the cops on me again like he did last Christmas."

Back to Local Page

Back to Front Page