The Temporal Lag of Competence by Wayne Martin Mellinger
The Temporal Lag of Competence: Paco, Fentanyl, and the Obsolescence of Street Knowledge Wayne Martin Mellinger "I got this." Paco said it often. He said it when people worried about his drinking. He said it when outreach workers encouraged him to apply for housing. He said it when friends expressed concern about fentanyl. He said it when someone suggested treatment. Sometimes he said it directly. Sometimes it appeared as a shrug, a joke, a change of subject, or a smile. The message was always the same. He could handle things. I thought about those words after he died. When you spend enough years doing outreach in Santa Barbara, you learn that appearances can be deceptive. Some of the people who look most vulnerable are surprisingly resilient. Some of the people who appear strongest are hanging on by a thread. Paco ...