tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post4428415600956638702..comments2024-01-12T11:26:35.176-05:00Comments on Working Stiffs: Colorful CharactersWorking Stiffshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270595837074553752noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-24796139611601182932008-11-06T12:45:00.000-05:002008-11-06T12:45:00.000-05:00We have a man in town who walks very fast in big, ...We have a man in town who walks very fast in big, purposeful strides and always has a huge smile on his face...and always carries garbage bags in his arms. He is mentally challanged and goes all around town picking up garbage at gas stations, fast food joints or any other place that pays him. We call him the Bag Man. <BR/><BR/>Once a new policeman arrested him for loitering, and it received big press in the local newspaper. Everyone was outraged and the policeman had to apologize. Gotta love small towns!becky hutchisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14207058540046363006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-14219622043952453972008-11-05T10:21:00.000-05:002008-11-05T10:21:00.000-05:00We used to have a little old lady in a trench coat...We used to have a little old lady in a trench coat with a couple of medals pinned to it, who wheeled a baby stroller with a doll around. I always used to wonder what her story was... I haven't seen her for a few years, though, so I guess she's probably passed on.Jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442754671445893599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-76582361545893572102008-11-05T10:05:00.000-05:002008-11-05T10:05:00.000-05:00Annette -As far as I recall, he seemed to be more ...Annette -<BR/>As far as I recall, he seemed to be more of a chronic alcoholic than a milk drinker.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-6548317474707593952008-11-05T09:50:00.000-05:002008-11-05T09:50:00.000-05:00Will, my money is on the second choice for the big...Will, my money is on the second choice for the big guy. I keep thinking Sopranos. Did I mention he tends to sit at one of the outside tables by the entrance in his bare feet? He wears sunglasses and you just know behind them he's watching everyone go past him. <BR/><BR/>Of course, he could just be a people-watcher. <BR/><BR/>Gina, did anyone give him a bowl of milk?Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-52124925951976486662008-11-05T08:58:00.000-05:002008-11-05T08:58:00.000-05:00When I was in college there was an older man who r...When I was in college there was an older man who roamed around Oakland meowing. Everybody called him Cat Man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-76386786906156257172008-11-05T08:57:00.000-05:002008-11-05T08:57:00.000-05:00For me, there's one that sticks out. Exercise gir...For me, there's one that sticks out. Exercise girl. I have never seen her do anything beyond extreme exercise. Whether she's on the mountain bike, or pushing a baby carriage, the tandem made for twins, or just power walking.<BR/><BR/>She's stick skinny, almost to the point that people use the term anorexic to describe her.<BR/><BR/>She about 5'4" and I'd take anybody's bet on the under of 100 lbs. But, she stands out beyond her physical appearance because the way she goes about it. The glassy stare at the ground just ahead of her, the purposeful movements, it almost looks like she's pissed off at the ground the way she pounds her feet on the pavement.<BR/> <BR/>There used to be the long-gray hair bicycle rider/trash picker guy, but he's been gone for a while.<BR/><BR/>As far as your big ominous guy, he may be the nicest guy in the world or he may be carrying around a pocketful of severed ring fingers that he sliced off with the fillet knife he keeps sheathed in his sock.Wilfred Bereswillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03019217952304685255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-75797047679780790052008-11-05T08:36:00.000-05:002008-11-05T08:36:00.000-05:00Tory, that's hysterical! Donnell, you've nailed it...Tory, that's hysterical! <BR/><BR/>Donnell, you've nailed it. When I first started trying to figure out who this guy is I expected to find out he was either rich and eccentric or mentally challenged and basically harmless. Apparently, he's neither, which leaves a whole spectrum of "colorful" to pick from.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-38473599589923000932008-11-05T07:41:00.000-05:002008-11-05T07:41:00.000-05:00Annette, I think we grew up in the same town. LOL ...Annette, I think we grew up in the same town. LOL Only several thousand miles away from each other. We had a character much like your guy. His name was Mike and he had been hurt in a car wreck and as a result had lost a lot of his mental capacity. He was a grown man and his parents built him a grown up sized tricycle and he wore a badge and in our neighborhood, he was Sheriff Mike, and yeah, we were little kids but we all looked out for him. I often worry what happens to people like this when their parents leave the earth. He was a kind soul and definitely unforgettable. <BR/><BR/>Another man who is unforgettable and that everyone seems to take care of in CS is a man who wears his coat 24/7 no matter what the temperature. He's black and has dreadlocks and talks to himself and obviously he lives close by the soup kitchen. But he's such a regular that people accept him and help him on occasion. I'm not afraid when I see him. He's just one of our downtown regulars. He'll never say hi, it's not in his ability to do so. I worry about him, too.<BR/><BR/>It's the people with mental capacity to know right from wrong that scare me, ya know? I'll be interested to find out what you learn a about your guy. And I read your personal blog this morning:) This is America and the people have spoken.Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-24475369085207273512008-11-05T07:40:00.000-05:002008-11-05T07:40:00.000-05:00At International folk dancing in Boston there was ...At International folk dancing in Boston there was a guy who, if he didn't know the dance steps, would run in this wierd, crab-like movement all around the outside of the circle. Once you got to know him, you realized he was actually nice and not all that wierd, but clearly a non-native English speaker. Did I mention he always wore what appeared to be the same pair of running shorts?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, my senior year in college there was this huge blizzard in Boston that literally closed the city down (declared a disaster area) for a week. One of my friends said he was watching one of the first snowplows driving around the empty streets (only 4-wheel drive vehicles allowed) the next day, and who was running behind, in his running shorts? Well, I'll let you guess . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com