As the price of Bitcoin Cash is skyrocketing it is very important that we remember where Bitcoin Cash is going and who it should be helping. I got into Bitcoin back when wandering through a mass of people in a downtown Portland, OR. The park was full of people protesting the Occupy Wall Street movement. I was extremely poor, but a few people I was passing by were homeless, some were hippies, very few were the crazy drug addicts like portrayed on the news and most were activists with signs that read "end the fed," "When there is nothing left to eat we'll eat the rich," "Media lies, Government kills, 1% rule and I'm sleeping in a park to prove it."

I happened to be dressed pretty nicely, for me, at least. I was leaving a job interview. I sported an ill fitting white dress shirt, more yellow, really, I had stained the entire shirt with old coffee to make the big coffee stain on the collar vanish into a sea of yellowish color. That and few times through the washer to wash the coffee smell away. I also sported some polyester pants that had that faux look of being slacks, black socks, black dress shoes I had owned since 2001 and worn maybe 5 times before, and a Winnie the Pooh tie pulled tight around my neck. I had to cut through the park to try and catch the bus since it was late and it was early November and I was freezing because none of my jackets " went with " the " dressy " outfit I was wearing to make that great "first impression." At least it was a long sleeve, but thin " dress shirt. "

Then a yell came from the large crowd, "look at that Rich fuck, can't even walk around, he has to walk through our home." He said it loudly and I knew I was meant to hear it. I really had nothing to lose, and what was worse, and I took offense at what he accused me of being. I spun around and faced down the " group " of people where the voice came from. There were 3 guys in the group and I had no idea who said it but made general eye contact with the three and shouted back. "What did you say?" One of the guys stood up and waved his hand, at me, from toe to head, and said, "look at you don't belong here, why don't you people like you just leave us alone, we are not animals in the zoo, for you to come by and gawk at."

Dumbfounded

I stood there dumbfounded, as my mind raced. Faced with this confrontation, the words he shouted, the interview I just left, the bus I was missing, the 3 or 4 more meals I had in my cupboard/fridge, the lack of money to pay rent in less than two weeks, and the fact I was freezing all came to my head. I was both pissed and confused at this strange confrontation I raised my hands to just below my shoulders, palms up, and created a bit of a Y formation, at the same time, I contorted my face in a horrible look of confusion and blurted out just one word, "Why?"

He was a big, probably about 6'3", young probably in his early 20's and didn't lack in the muscle department. He covered the distance between us, probably about 15 feet in a matter of seconds, and stopped just a foot away.

At this point many of the protesters/other occupiers took note of something " strange " happening in their midst tent flaps were unzipping some people were sitting up from reclining positions and a groups of 20 or 30 people that had all been gathered talking were all staring at us.

He then asked, "What's your problem?" I answered with, "I don't have one, I was just trying to catch my bus and get home so I'm not out hear freezing my ass off. I had to dress in this fucking monkey suit to try and find a job so I'm not homeless in the next couple of weeks, but then some jack ass took it upon himself to yell at some random stranger who has been having a shitty fucking day, no not just day, but fucking month. I'm fighting every day to survive and now that same asshole has just made me miss my fucking bus." He seemed to move back a foot or two when from our left came a tiny squeaky voice that rang out, "hot chocolate?" We both turned and faced a young lady about 5'6" in height and she held a coffee carafe in her right hand and some Styrofoam cups in her left. Then someone else came up and asked, "you need a blanket to get warm? It is clean," and started wrapping it around my shoulders both of us were ushered into a large group of people.

Just What I Needed

After hours of talking, drinking cocoa and meeting people, in crappy dress clothes and tightly wrapped in a blanket, my life was changed in such a way I never thought possible. I spent hours talking to all these people about the conspiracies I had been reading on the internet. The fed, the global elite, the government, wage slavery. I had always been an anarchist, but outside of the internet, I never really met people that delved in those same thought provoking websites I visited. I was handed pamphlets and books and felt like I was being sucked into a cult, but I knew the things they were saying were truths so I listened intently and took note of the crazy hippies, anarchists, freedom minded people and just human beings that cared more for their fellow man than anything else.

Enter The Geek With a Laptop

All the other stuff that happened to me that day, made my life seem just a little less stressful, I met a ton of great people and got to forget about my problems for a while, but while they made an impression on my day, they were telling me things I really knew were happening, but just felt good ignoring, at least for the time being. Within a year these words turned me into quite the activist.

Then behind me I heard someone approaching from behind. I looked over my shoulder to see a guy walking directly at us. He was walking while balancing a laptop on one hand, staring at the screen and typing with his right. The young lady I had been talking to turned around and said, "Hey Jeff, how is your CoinBit doing?" Jeff looked up from the laptop and said "How many times do I have to say Bitcoin?" She giggled, and said, " I know I'm just messing with you. Nobody gets what you are talking about here, you should tell Robert about your Bittycoins." she got up laughing and scampered away like an overgrown child. Jeff sat down in the folding chair next to me and and introduced himself. He then said, "I'm not gonna bother you. Seems like people who don't get computers just don't get Bitcoin, I was sure the people of Occupy would eat it up, but I was wrong. Wanna get stoned instead?" I responded with, "I would love to get stoned, been a long time, and if it has to do with computers you have met the right person." His Eyes lit up a scooted the folding camping chair he was seated in closer so I could easily see his laptop screen.

Two hours of talking about Bitcoin, getting stoned, and drinking more hot chocolate it was getting late and I had to go home. Jeff refused to let me leave until I had downloaded a Bitcoin wallet from the Android market. There were not more than 2 wallets to choose from and I downloaded the one that Jeff pointed too. He reloaded the pot pipe and offered me " green " while the app was downloading. This was the days of 3G so I think it took a minute or two to load up and install. He then got all excited as he gave me $1 in Bitcoin. I said thank you, and said our goodbyes.

Forget About It

Even though I was excited by Jeff's presentation on Bitcoin, loved the description of mining, cryptography and his sales pitch on how it would change the world, mixed in with meeting 20+ new people, smoking a lot of weed,meeting a bunch of people that I just enjoyed the company of, and just having a great night.

Bitcoin seemed too good to be true, so I forgot about it. About 6 months passed and I was scanning through my phone and saw the app called "Bitcoin." I remembered that night and how Jeff had sent me $1 and I opened the wallet. I don't remember the app giving a USD value, when I first downloaded it, but I saw now it had a USD value next to it and that $1.00 had grown to about $2.50. Now I was really intrigued.

Deep Dive Into Bitcoin

My life got better I mostly got past the financial, food security, home security, and Job issues I was experiencing in late November 2011 and long after the Evil government stomped the protesters/occupiers of the Occupy into submission, I became obsessed with Bitcoin. I heard about Silk Road(even checked out the marketplace), I studied mining, read about economics, studied how the whole electronic cash thing worked and by the August of 2012, I was ready to buy my first Bitcoin, but I didn't. I visited Coinbase, but got nervous when it started asking bank account information and was just too overwhelmed.

Three more months passed and I was certain I was making the right choice, and finally made the plunge. Almost 1 year after first hearing about it. After acquiring my first Bitcoin(s), and after a ton of headaches/trouble buying. It was time to find stuff to spend it on. Right?

I'm Still Poor as F*ck

It didn't take me long to find out the Bitcoin community was all about giving, helping and donating to your fellow man. I loved this. My mother raised me to never indulge on myself, until every person around me had their needs met. In fact, as I grew up, I hated spending money on myself, because spending it on others is what made me happy.

Why are poor people more generous? Psychology Today Article

I never questioned, for a minute, that Bitcoin was not about me getting rich, but helping my fellow man. In fact, the idea of using Bitcoin as an investment seemed strange to me. The Idea of becoming rich also never crossed my mind, because my friends and I always joked that we were, "poor as F*ck," we always just expected to be.

Fast Forward to Today

Bitcoin Cash, in my eyes, is now what Bitcoin used to be.

I'm still extremely poor, and probably always expect to be, most of that has to do with the fact that I can't stop giving away what little bit of Bitcoin Cash I have to my name, it just makes me happy. My little nest egg keeps me alive, housed, clothed and fed but after that it is all about making others see how amazing Bitcoin Cash is and helping those that need it more than me.

As for Jeff the geek living in a Portland park on that cold November evening, the loud mouth young man, and the hot cocoa lady and the myriad of people I met that night. You all changed my life and in turn your teachings helped me to change many other peoples lives. You gave me more riches than I could ever imagine and even though I never stayed a single night of Occupy. You helped make me who I am today and every last one of you has a special place in my life.





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