Saturday, March 18, 2006

These Are the People in Your Neighborhood

Along the downtown open-air mall near my office, you can always pass the same street performers and panhandlers in roughly the same locations, every day of the week.

Shoe Shine Guy is always at the same cross street. He's usually on the west side when the sun is out, and the east side when it isn't. He always has the same quips, too, when a given situation arrives. "Shoes without a sock?! You might as well be wearing a skunk!" "Sneakers? Man, those things'll kill ya!" (Don't ask me how that second one works.)

The Guitar Hero has been known to roam a few blocks, but usually plays his music in front of the same defunct department store that's been closed and abandoned for years. When he plays Melissa Etheridge, it's kind of odd.

Screaming Raving Lunatic stays on one end of the mall, shouting nearly incoherently at the top of his voice. Something about communists yesterday... couldn't make it out.

Then there's 15-cent guy. He's always within a block of the Arby's, and always asks you not for "change," but specifically for 15 cents. I suppose he's determined this is the right amount to ask for to get the best results. It stuck in my mind, anyway.

Ah, city life.

No comments: