Roy Davis: Homeless in Saugatuck

By Scott Sullivan

Editor

Roy Davis, 59, has “come home” to Saugatuck with no home. He has lived in Wicks Park since July, making do with a sleeping bag, ice-fishing tent, propane heater and clothes on his back.

We spoke with him last week:

“I was born in Douglas and in the Saugatuck High School class of ’84. I first learned to be a bartender at Bootlegger’s oyster bar, owned by the Johnson family where The Mermaid used to be.

“I have a GED with some college at El Camino Community in Torrance, Cal.  Took psychology and art classes. From ’90 to ’95 I did religious studies. Chakras and meditation in Harmony Grove, Calif., near LA.

“Since then I’ve lived in eight states: Florida, Maine, Kentucky, Georgia, 15 years in California, all over. No place felt like home but here.

“I spent 1995 to ’97 as a cavalry scout in the army, stationed at Fort Knox and Fort Benning. Suffered a spinal cord injury connected with the service but didn’t get much help. They medically discharged me. 

“My spine has played havoc since. There’d be six weeks I couldn’t hardly move. In 2004 I had surgery to remove disks three and four and it’s been better since. But still lots of pain.

“I was married and divorced three times. I crapped out on love, three and out. Have a daughter who’s 38 and a son, 25, but I never see them. Two sisters in California, two near Battle Creek but don’t see them either. 

“In California one of my wives and I bought a house. Cost $187,000, she sold it for $395,000. Never saw a cent.

I’ve been single for 15 years now. Now I’m 59, all torn up and arthritic. No work I can do, my spine’s too unreliable. 

“I do get a $1,152-a-month pension. The VA is helping me but it hasn’t been too much help. They have an emergency shelter in Gaylord but I don’t have a car to get there.

“Wound up camping outside a local church, but they sold the land I was living on, so I moved to the park here. Next steps? I don’t have next steps. I don’t want charity. This is my home, my reality.

“My phone got stolen three weeks ago. That’s a long time with just your own thoughts and reflections. You get to a point you don’t want to go on. But I have to, day after day. 

“I’m sure a lot of people don’t like me living in the park, but I wanted to go to place where I could be seen and heard. ‘Least it’s always open.

“People of this town have been kind as well. They are my family. I’ve been blessed,” he said.

We shook hands and I left, it grew cooler. A southbound “V” of geese flew by overhead.