Hello everyone, I come to you once again. The people are still asking me to write and be more personal. So here’s a bit more into the life and times of Mr. Vernon Dailey.
I’ve been married six times. My first wife was young and beautiful and a fighter, but as time grew on us, love grew away from us. My second wife was smart and beautiful. We thought that we had it all. I called her Sunshine when she walked in the room, like the sun would follow her.
My third wife, well, sometimes people go in separate directions. My fourth wife would fight anyone that stood in our way. She died in a car accident when she was six months pregnant. I was out of my mind for a while, it took about two years to get over that.
My fifth wife, Donna, died of cancer. This one hit me hard. Her passing had a big impact on my life, and played a part in why I became homeless.
And my last wife, Marlene. We are now divorced but still a couple. She lives in Vacaville now and I stay in my own place, a little studio in Oakland, but not for long!
I recently won a housing lottery through St. Mary’s Center and will be moving into a one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley soon, very close to where I grew up on Browning Street. Right around the corner from where Kamala Harris lived on Bancroft. My nieces and nephews used to go to the nursery school on the bottom floor of that house. I cannot wait. After ten years of housing insecurity, I’ll be back where it all began. It’s been a long time coming.
I would like to thank my supporters, readers, friends, and family. Thank you for helping Street Spirit vendors and for keeping the paper alive. Take care, I love you all. Street Spirit is here to stay.
Vernon Dailey is a Street Spirit vendor who sells the paper outside Good Earth in Fairfax and Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley.