- [Mark Horvath] Ian Anthony, here we are in Victoria,
British Columbia, out here homeless, tell me about it.
- Well, first I get, I used to be a B pressure
iron worker welder and stomach was bugging me,
giving me a real hard time, nothing I could do about it.
Do a little bit of dope, drank a little bit,
didn't kill the pain, and I had to go to the hospital,
I had two tumors cut out of me.
Recuperated over that.
Then up north I saved two small guys lives so to speak,
and I got almost beaten to death.
I used to be a B pressure iron worker welder.
And so I went back to Calgary, which is sorta like my
second home anyways I moved in with two friends of mine
that had, alright, had moved in with a friend of mine
that had two rottweilers.
So anyway, I went to work part time on painkillers
for about two and a half days welding pipe
and I couldn't weld any longer, 'cause of the pain.
And he made supper anyways, I said to him, I says,
where'd you get the water from?
I'm looking around where's the water, I'm living in a tent
trailer with two rottweilers and a hillbilly.
He says to me, I said to him where's the water?
He says what do you think I used, I used the dog's water.
(laughing)
To make supper.
And so anyways, I survived welding part time,
and I learned how to pick cans.
I used to be the type of individual that had all the money
and all that kinda stuff, I've been well off twice,
and all that, I worked for the director of minister
of mental health of all of Manitoba.
My biggest take in the bad guy world was 30,000 a month.
I'm not gonna get into explanatory on that,
but it was on the gray area.
But I mean, they made the rules, we didn't make the rules.
Right now for survival I do a little bit of panhandling.
I don't, I did put in, I put in 10 years of dumpster diving
and I, I do it the odd time, but mostly panhandle,
and that's about it, you know.
I, you know I,
try and get along with everybody and help people
with what I can help 'em with or whatever.
I've got a bit of an edge, because I got the gift of the gab
the yippity-yap and all that kinda stuff.
- [Mark Horvath] I, I didn't notice.
- You never caught that, did you?
(laughing)
- [Mark Horvath] You have five days sober today.
- Yeah, I got, I got six kids, my oldest kid's 38 years old.
They're all successful, they've all got trades,
or careers and all that.
So I did something right in life anyways.
I'm 54, I did a lot of time when I was a kid in jail,
unfortunately over stupidity.
You know, I learned after that, I dunno.
I can survive anywhere,
with the clothes on my back, I learned that.
I've been up north, I've been all, all up north,
all through the, all through the northern, northern BC,
northern Alberta, and all that kinda stuff.
I've been traveling, this time I've been traveling
for about 15 years solid.
And I've, I've never, never been out here to the island.
And I like I met a lot of good people out here and whatever.
I was down in Vancouver for a bit.
I love Penticton, I love Penticton in the summertime.
I usually try and make it down to Penticton.
Easier on the bones, since I got a little older,
you know what I'm saying?
- [Mark Horvath] So you're five days sober.
- Yeah
- [Mark Horvath] So you're trying to change your life.
- I got business to take care of and you can't take care
of business when you're drunk all the time.
You know what I'm saying?
- [Mark Horvath] Yeah, so is there any help for ya, I mean?
- You know what, what are you gonna,
what are you gonna tell a person like me?
It's common sense, you pour beer over top of a steak,
what does it do to a steak, would you make it a barbecue?
So have you figured out this way?
I mean, you pour a steak over top of your liver,
I mean a beer over top of your liver,
what is it doing to ya?
It's eating ya from the inside out.
You know what if you really wanna sober it up,
it's up to you.
Nobody else can help you.
You can hear left, right, center this, that,
and all that kinda stuff, programs and all that,
and a lot of times it's the easiest way out,
is because people want three hots and a cot,
you know what I'm saying?
You know, just get up and do, do you know what I'm saying?
No matter how hard it is.
You know to sober up, you can do it, you know.
Anybody can do it, you just gotta put your mind to it.
You know, what I'm hear and saying?
You know what I'm saying, man?
- [Mark Horvath] Oh I, I hear ya.
I, I sometimes I mean, for me I needed help.
I couldn't do it myself.
- One thing I do do is I avoid,
when I really get serious, I'm not disrespectful to people,
I just avoid certain friends because otherwise I'm gonna
get trapped into the same deal that I was before.
You know what I'm saying?
You start hanging around with the negative,
you're gonna be with the negative, you know what I'm saying?
Alright?
- [Mark Horvath] I totally get it.
I, I stayed by myself when I was homeless.
- Yeah I kinda kept to myself.
- [Mark Horvath] It made the world of difference,
you know what I mean?
So if you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Wouldn't we all like to be rich?
- [Mark Horvath] Yeah, there's one.
- There's one.
Like to have my health back.
You can't buy your health.
Money can't buy your health, you know what I'm saying?
I don't think I'd be, wanna be younger again,
with what I know, you know what I'm saying?
I've seen enough as far as I'm concerned.
- [Mark Horvath] Well thank you very much for talking to me.
- Alright, you have a good one.
- [Mark Horvath] Bye.