This is Ray Ponce. He can be found most evenings in front of the Ralph's Market on Ventura Blvd. at Hazeltine Ave., in Sherman Oaks, CA.
(You can usually increase the resolution by clicking the button on the bottom right of the video frame)
Great job on the short documentary, Kam and Gavin.
I have decided to dedicate this page to Ray Ponce for the rest of the year.
I met Ray in front of Ralph's several months ago. He is an inspiration - a true reflection (in my humble eyes of opinion, of course) of what God is and wants from us. Ray asks for nothing. He does not beg. He's never pushy, doesn't "ask" for money, etc. He just sits there playing guitar and singing songs.
Ray does not want welfare, does not seek "Section 8" housing, does not want to be a burden.
Now, I think people deserve the basics. I'm no liberal, but basic human needs would seem to be fairly obvious minimum requirements for any society that wants to survive - housing, healthcare, food, etc.
If anyone deserves help, it's Ray. But, he WANTS to pay his own way and make it on his own.
He, like many others I know who have fallen on hard times, simply wants to pay his own way... he doesn't want or need a handout... he just sometimes needs a helping hand (and who among us hasn't?).
Like many among us, Ray has fallen on hard(er) times. It's difficult for most of the people I know to make ends meet. Imagine how much harder it is for him. If we don't have extra change, he's not making anything at all.
When I met Ray, he was playing a beat-up acoustic guitar that had seen it's glory days pass long ago.
A month or two later he was playing another guitar that was also about as beaten as it gets.
He told me he had a couple of others that were, alas, also in disarray.
So, I gave him a new guitar. Nothing fancy, just something he could bang on while trying to make ends meet.
In the meantime, I've promised to fix his others (at least, those that can be fixed).
Earlier tonight (around 10PM PDT), I went to Ralph's to see him and to pick up a few things for the two old birds I take care of and maybe find a really cheap piece of beef for me (since, ya know... I still have teeth).
I asked him if he needed anything. He said he didn't want to put me out but, if I could, he'd like some pot pies.
He told me someone had been kind enough to help him get an apartment, but he didn't have anything to cook with (as in pots, pans, etc.), so pot pies were easy enough for him to make on his own without cookware.
Then he started telling me that he has a beautiful new girlfriend (so he's been told) and then he decided to try out some new jokes on me... blind jokes... because he's trying to work up an act.
They were pretty damn funny. Funny enough for me to say something like, "Fuck you, Ray! That's not fair!"
I really, really like Ray.
After I got home, my first I thought was to make a webpage dedicated to helping Ray.
But, that takes money. Then I thought, well... how about I use a page on my website and dedicate it to Ray?
I still might do the website, but until then - here's how you can help.
You can just go to the Ralph's at Ventura Blvd. and Hazeltine Ave., or....
You can make a donation to the following link and I absolutely promise I will give him every penny:
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