Don

Don Kohnhorst, 61, is a native San Diegan.
“Aren’t many of those around,” he smiles. Despite that, he went to several local high schools to accommodate his father’s getting odd jobs all over town and moving to be closer to them. While he got Bs and Cs in most classes, he got a As in physical education, especially if there was baseball involved. Being left-handed, he was a star first baseman. Nothing made him happier than playing baseball.

His father played country music in bars wherever they’d hire him. “He looked like a tall, blond Johnny Cash,” is how Don described his father. “And he could be mean. Nobody messed with my dad.” He’d been in the U.S. Army, seeing combat in Korea. He never talked to Don much about his war experiences, which was not unusual for Korean war veterans. When he landed a music gig in Bakersfield, the family uprooted, and Don completed his last two years of high school there. His mother didn’t work, “and they both drank a bit much,” he recalled.

He inherited has father’s good singing voice, which makes him popular in churches. On Sunday he sits through a full sermon, standing in one of the first pews, playing an air guitar and singing with the congregation. “I wanted a singing career, but I never had a guitar. Or a drum. I learned to play drums, but it’s hard to sing while playing drums. Any instrument would be good. Then I could go to the park and make some money.”

Don followed in his father’s footsteps in his career ambitions as well, taking odd jobs like dishwashing and working at a car wash. He kept himself out of trouble and saved his money so he could get back down to San Diego.

He and a friend lived in a camper van for a few years, staying in Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach. He stayed at a trailer park in La Mesa for four years and developed good friendships. But then, he can’t explain why, he suddenly decided he didn’t like it there, and stopped paying rent. Naturally they evicted him. Now he’s sorry. He realized he had some emotional issues to deal with that impacted his ability to function at normal jobs or in relationships. Today he’s on SSI, and lives on $900/month.

Banker’s Hill has better panhandling than downtown, so he hangs out uptown. One time in Balboa Park he was digging through a trash can for recyclables and a Japanese tourist ran up to him and insisted on giving him $20. Another time he was sleeping at Fifth and Juniper and heard a rustling sound. He finally peered around his cardboard and a man in a dark suit held out a $20 bill to him.

Typically he spends his cash on coffee and cigarettes; preferring the Starbuck’s on Fifth near Laurel. He used to smoke spice, until the one time he tried to walk 20 feet and fall flat on his face. He rolled over, got up, walked 20 feet, fall flat on his face again. Some EMTs helped him out and he hasn’t smoked it since. He prefers marijuana, glad it’s legal. He takes pride in having a good relationship with local police. “I’m honest with them,” he said. “It surprises them, but they like that I’m honest.”
He stopped driving in 1992. Since he doesn’t go far from the core of the city, he sees no need. Besides, “when you are walking you find things, like clothes and shades. I’ve got four pair of shades.”

He’s stayed in several of the downtown SRO hotels. But he feels most have bedbugs. Recently he encountered an organization called Senior Impact that is helping him move into low income housing in Barrio Logan. He hopes it’s for real, because he’d like a place where he doesn’t have to share a bathroom. Also some place he doesn’t have to worry about someone stealing from him. He doesn’t really trust people. “It’s best not to have too many friends. Five or six maybe, but too many, well, there’s gonna be an enemy win there.”
Don claims he doesn’t have any health issues though he’d really like to see a dentist. He thinks President Trump is going to make it impossible for his to get affordable health care. “I thought Bush was bad!,” he said. “And the Taxenator. I can see they want to take away medical. It’s bad and getting worse.”