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Eighner is far from a conventional deadbeat. He was in his early 40s before he ever became homeless, and he has worked at many jobs, including a mostly steady decade of work at a state mental hospital. Since Travels with Lizbeth, he has published a novel, a book of essays and several books of gay erotica. He continues to write for a number of Texas publications, which brings in $100 to $300 a month. His Web page, which he designed and built himself, bristles with entrepreneurialism in its offers to sell books and give online writing courses. It's hard to make the case that this is a man without motivation or resources. Why, then, can he not do the basic thing so many Americans manage?
In conversation, one gets hints. Decent, conventional jobs are rare enough for a 49-year-old former street person who makes a normal presentation. But Eighner has other strikes against him: his weight; his swollen ankle, which makes it difficult to move about easily; his inability to drive a car; and his lack of the "right clothes" for a "straight job."
Neither Eighner nor his benefactors seem to know exactly what happens next, since the most money he can see on the horizon is $1,500 in the form of various advances, fees and royalties--hardly enough to sustain him for long. As a single male without a conventional disability, he can expect little help from the government. "What I really need," muses Eighner, "is for someone to say 'We got you covered' for a couple of months so I can get to work on a new book."
That's a nice thought, and it may indeed happen. But it no longer seems likely that a temporary infusion of cash will be enough to keep this talented, hapless soul and his partner in literary fame, Lizbeth the dog, off the streets for good.