Rest in Peace ScrapIron

A couple years ago, we met ScrapIron on the street near the Austin Street Shelter. He was a joy to be around and always carried an harmonica or two with him and was always more than willing to share the music that rang through his soul.

I was lucky enough to get him playing his rendition of Amazing Grace on the harmonica on video (see below). Since our first meeting I’ve run into ScrapIron a couple different times either near Austin Street or where he was hanging out under the bridges around downtown Dallas – he was always high spirited and rarely complained about the hand he’d been dealt.

It was through a comment on that that original video (on YouTube) that I got word today that ScrapIron passed away yesterday.

Hal Samples, who’s had a lot more contact with ScrapIron recently, and even helped him see several dreams come true passed along the heads-up.

Hal wrote in December ::

He was really sick a couple of weeks ago and Keith took him to Baylor. They said that he had an infection in his lungs and gave him meds and released him within three hours. Three days later… he wasn’t able to breathe and was taken to Parkland. They did routine surgery to allow his lungs to drain and under the knife he lost his heart rate. Today he has brain damage and the hospital is looking to release him to a nursing home hospice situation.

Today Hall writes ::

Keith sent me the message this morning that Scrapiron passed yesterday. This is a sorry deal too. Ford was a great man… and a good friend…. a real artist and amazing soul. He has no family other than his brother… and there is no money for funeral set aside… it’s really shitty this whole deal has me angry…sad… fearful… and pissed… and grateful… all of it.
We want to have a memorial of some sort… I just need to get sorted.
Stay tuned…
We are making arrangements for a memorial to be had in SPACE (TBA) in hopes to raise the resources needed for a proper burial.

I agree with his sentiment. And it bothers me that there are thousands of people just like him who don’t get a chance to make an impact on someone else’s lives – only because we refuse to take the time to let them.

How many others are out there just like ScrapIron? Or just like John, or Marco and Cherese, or Mark?

How many stories are out there just waiting to be shared and listened to?

Watch more videos from Hal.