Smile Ambassador !

Meet my friend Jonas. Jonas and I have known each other for almost five years now. We first met when I was working downtown. At first I was not quite sure what to make of Jonas. I always gave him a wide berth as I passed on my way to work, and tried not to make eye contact.

In the long run - Jonas won! His "job" in life is to make people smile. He is down on the corner of First and Marion every day with one of his signs. He has a small basket for collecting spare change, but he never tries to pressure anyone. He also sells a local newspaper called "Real Change" which is devoted to homelessness issues in the Seattle area.

Jonas tells me that if his "regulars" don't see him, they worry about him and ask him if he is OK the next time they see him. He rarely misses a day. After all - this is his job. Official smile ambassador and greeter to Seattle residents and visitors.

Jonas is a native American Indian and Vietnam Veteran, and he has fought his share of battles with substance abuse and homelessness. Jonas is now just a couple of months away from marking his fifth year of being clean and sober!

Not long after we met and started chatting on a daily basis, Jonas learned that I worked in the computer industry. He had heard about something called the "internet" and wondered how he might get connected. I told him the first step was getting a computer. He in turn told me how folks often times left old computers behind the apartment building where he lived. Find one, I told him and I will help you get on the internet. Jonas found three! One of them was able to boot up, so we selected that one as his first computer. The apartment building offered free WiFi to the residents.

Jonas was on the internet! But then there was the learning curve. A couple of Saturday / Sunday afternoons and Jonas was slowly learning how to surf the web.

Next he wanted a resume for a potential indoor job with Real Change. How do you write a resume for someone who has been on the streets for 10 years? We did manage to create one, highlighting his self employment as "Smile Guy."

An IT recruiter friend spent an entire afternoon coaching him on how to approach his upcoming interview.

He did great in the interviews, but did not get the job. Probably a good thing... as his heart is really at the corner of First and Marion.

Jonas has come a long ways. Now he is able to check the weather online before heading off to work. He went from knowing nothing, to having not one, but two gmail accounts, not to mention a lengthy list of bookmarks of favorite web sites.

Now he wants some help on setting up a Facebook page. That is still on the to do list.

Oh yes, and not long after we first met, I asked Jonas if I could take his picture - sure he said - "that will be $12.95" He got me - I smiled :)

Now days he lets me take his picture for free.