This is the preface to Behind the Signs as printed in the book. It can be found at www.KirkToncray.com

2. Behind the Signs
The way it really was

3. Being raised in a Christian home, I learned at a very
young age not to judge others by the way they
looked, smelled, or how much money a person had. I went
through my high school years without suffering or facing
many of the hardships others were feeling. Never having to
deal with any sort of poverty was a blessing that was, and
still is taken for granted by many. Trying to figure out where
my next meal was going to come from or where I was going
to sleep from one night to the next just wasn’t even a
thought that crossed my mind.

4. During my high school days, I was well-liked and didn’t
really pay much attention to some of the less fortunate
students and really had no idea how difficult it was for their
families to carry on during the beginning of a struggling
economy. After graduation, I entered the workforce and
spent a few years working in the woods, even though my
heart was always in the mechanical field. I worked hard and
spent as much money as I pleased without the burden of
any major responsibilities or needing to save anything for
the future.

5. I fell in love with a girl that attended the same school that
I did and in October of nineteen-eighty-five, we became
husband and wife. I continued working in the woods but
never lost my desire to become a Diesel Mechanic. Since
the timber industry had fallen off, mostly due to
environmental issues, I was partially without employment. I
spent the days that I would normally be working, venturing
out to find an entry level job that had potential to evolve me
into becoming a Diesel Mechanic.

6. In early nineteen-eighty-seven, I landed a job washing
heavy equipment at a construction equipment rental yard
where after some time, persistence, and dedication
eventually evolved me into the position of Lead Heavy
Equipment Mechanic and a few years later, Service
Manager. The income was good and I climbed right up the
ladder of success without looking back. I never knew of the
many hardships others were facing because I didn’t need to
know and it really didn’t matter much to me.

7. Being married at a very young age, my wife and I were
setting our lives up with two wonderful children, a home, and
nice vehicles; not to mention a fairly decent individual
retirement account and plans for an even more fulfilling
lifestyle before the age of thirty.

8. All of that changed in nineteen-ninety-eight when I
suddenly found myself in a divorce where I was left with
basically nothing except my clothes, tools, and a disabled
pickup truck. Things slipped downhill even further from
there as I had already severely broken my leg at a new
job and then, right after the divorce, I developed a seizure
disorder taking me out of the mechanical field completely

9. With everything falling down all around me, I had no
clue as to what the future would hold for me. This sudden
awareness of not knowing which way to turn was all new
to me and I was in a predicament that was tugging and
dragging me straight to the bottom. I didn’t realize that the
challenges others had faced in their lives was the same
challenge I was approaching in my own life.

10. I spent the next few years living with my parents and others
as I tried to figure out what I would do with the rest of my
life. I really didn’t want to be a burden on anyone and since
the doctors had placed major restrictions on what I could
and could not do, my hands were tied as far as employment
goes. I took courses in college to brush up on my computer
skills, attended Vocational Rehabilitation through the
state, and tried various jobs, only to have my paychecks
slashed in half for child support garnishment.

11. Not knowing what the future might bring and having no
guidance as to where I might end up in life was something
that most persons will hopefully never experience. I was
going through a major change and didn’t know which way
to turn. The largest part of the next decade I spent many
days and nights learning about life in a way I never would
have contemplated before.

13. I always thought of homeless persons as nothing more
than lazy people who had no goals or drive to move forward
in life. I looked at them not with compassion but with self-
righteous disrespect, and a feeling of authority. Trying to
understand what the homeless persons in today’s society
actually go through just to survive was something that just
never occurred to me. When the majority of people today
speculate and wonder why these people supposedly choose
to be that way, the real reasons all too often get
overlooked, mostly due to the lack of actual knowledge of
the homeless.

14. There are plenty of stereotypes that follow the homeless
but there’s no blanket explanation as to why there are those
who still suffer on a daily basis. Most people have a certain
way of viewing the homeless which includes drugs; alcohol;
smoking; child abuse; criminal activity, and any number of
other categorizations that may or may not fit. When it comes
to those groupings, we need to dissect each person’s life
separately and ask one simple question. Which came first,
the chicken or the egg?

15. This book explains in magnificent detail the reasons for
becoming homeless and not being able to pull away from
that lifestyle for each individual in this true story. It also
shows how you may get so caught up in their life that
sometimes you might feel angry at the way homeless
persons were treated by others. On the other hand, you may
find places within this story that will bring tears to your eyes
or even laugh at some of the absolutely hilarious situations
that arose.

16. I never envisioned in the wildest reaches of my
imagination that I would ever end up in a situation that would
leave me homeless. I always thought; me, one of the most
respected construction equipment mechanics in the area
winding up on the streets and holding a sign? No way! It did
happen and now, looking back after the long journey has
ended, God has provided me with the skills and knowledge
to tell others about it.

17. Although it is believed that homeless persons exist
primarily in large cities and communities laced with
poverty, the Behind the Signs storyline took place on the
outskirts of a midsize town in the Pacific Northwest. Many of
the episodes in this true story occurred just outside city
limits on private property owned by a large timber
management company.

18. BEHIND THE SIGNS
A JOURNEY THROUGH HOMELESSNESS
BY KIRK TONCRAY
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