Street Behavior

Lola, did you offer him some of your brownies? That would have been a way to put a smile on his face!

Dys, what can I say? Those of us who were hippies just didn't know what was really important; besides, Syd probable belonged to the Chamber of Commerce and was considered an upstanding citizen.
But Syd and the cops would never hear this:

SHELLFISH


Always spend a penny
as if you were spending a
dollar
and always spend a dollar
as if you were spending
a wounded eagle and always
spend a wounded eagle as if
you were spending the very
sky itself.

Sigh....

Time for Floridians to go to bed. Goodnight.

Another off Broadway play in 1972 or 73. I was waiting in the lobby, again for a discount student ticket, stoned, I'm afraid, as usual. A street guy came in and began to demand that everyone acknowledge him as Jesus Christ. And I must say, that at that moment, the guy looked like he might have been JC. Finally, I was seated comfortably inside the theater, and in the middle of the play (One Flew Over the Coo Coo's Nest) the actor on the small, intimate little stage, in the middle of his lines, ranting about Nurse Rachet, without hesitation, pointed his finger at a guy in the audience on the opposite side of the room from me and said, "if you're gonna talk loud, you can do it outside, ok, Bud?" and continued on as if he had never been interrupted. On the way home that night, as I walked through Washington Square Park, a line of police cars came racing through the park (they could drive in that side of the park at that time) lights flashing, sirens going.....I thought they'd come to get me. Must have been something in that joint besides marijuana..........

Golly, dys, I remember Syd Kings from the late '70s. Had some real edifying acts, old Syd did.

Diane, me and Slappy go way back. At least a day or so. Besides, if I know my wife she punched him because he didn't offer enough money.

SP, nice to see you still active. Did you just crack up laughing when you saw those midgets or was it a bit overwhelming?

Mammouth Gardens was remodeled and became Filmore Denver, Syd Kings was torn down.

Was at a bar in Hollywood/Los Feliz a couplea years ago and there was a little person at the bar. (Why do I feel like I've told this one before?) This old man in an immaculate pinstripe suit and pinstripe comes over and sits down next to me on the bench.

He sits there for a little bit, langorously lights a cigarette, inhales deeply, exhales, and turns to me. "I like midgets," he says. "They got biiiig butts." And then he turns his face back out to the room, smiles, and keeps smoking.

It was almost enough to get me to move there.

Good Grief Lola! Do I know you??!! 1973/74, I was at Parsons, living at 1 5th Ave, across the street from Washington Square Park and also encountered "Jesus Christ", right under the arch. And he was indeed the image most have of Christ. I wasn't stoned at that particular time but like you, most of the time I was and like you, standing in some student ticket line.
There was another guy, an old street guy, who somehow portrayed a character from Shakespeare. He had colored streamers in his hair or something. Hung out down there in the Village. On 8th St. Remember him?

eoe,

If I don't know you, we probably passed each other in the street or in the ticket line more than once or twice. Those were the days, huh? Good, good memories.

I don't recall encountering the Shakespeare person, but wish I had. And yes, the JC guy did indeed look so much like my idea of what the authentic guy would be like, it actually freaked me out at the time. I remember thinking, "I'll just sit here very quietly and he'll ignore me." And in this instance, it worked.

Nice to meet you now, if we haven't met before.

:wink:

P.S. I was attending Columbia University School of Social Work at the time. Living on the upper west side (West End Ave and 96th). This is before, if you recall the west side developed the trendy atmosphere it enjoys today.

Lola, what a good story. Do you remember the actor's name? Whoever he was, he had great stage presence to be able to address a trouble maker without breaking the rhythm of his lines.
I wonder if you and eoe have actually met?

Street people are sad, misplaced people who have dropped out of society, but some of them are such strong characters that they become icons or figures important to the personality of a neighborhood. Many of them say they are Jesus, and many of them do seem as if they could be Jesus.

I've done a little volunteer work at a homeless shelter and I'm not unrealistically sentimental about them; I know that they usually have serious drinking and drug problems, some are criminals who will take advantage of anyone who is in the vicinity, but there are some who have a kind of spirit that is beautiful, even in the midst of insanity. Somehow, their goodness hasn't been damaged in all the abuse they have experienced and have done to themselves.

Roger, it sounds as if you enjoyed being edifyed at the popular Syd's. Were you doing research? Too bad it's been shut down.

Beach Bum, I love your wife's attitude!

Patiodog, your post had me laughing out loud. I know at the time it must have been terribly uncomfortable--one of those "How can I possibly respond to that, get me out of here" kind of moments.

In the small Connecticut town I live in when we aren't in Florida, there is a young man with schizophrenia who everyone knows and looks out for. He has two dogs who are always well fed and groomed, looking in better shape than the man. They are always at his side as he walks the sidewalks with his grocery cart. He is part of the town and we get worried if we don't see him for a few days. He refuses to accept any housing offers, but seems to cope well with a shelter he has put up behind some stores, typical of many who refuse traditional shelter. He seems a reminder that we all need to take care of each other.

During the past few years, more wealthy people have moved to Guilford, building their McMansions. He was finally forced to move to the next town because many of these socially ambitious people found his presence incompatible with their view of what the town's image should be. As Johnny Dangerously would say, "Those farging bastages!"

Any more stories?

Actually, I drank the rest of the night with him next to me. Offered him a cigarette to try and draw him out, but he seemed content to let the conversation end with his commentary on midgets' butts. (The midget, by the way, got completely ripped...)

NYC homeless, at least back in the early 70s, were so very different from the homeless in Chicago, where I'm originally from. They were creative, had a theme to their streetwear. I was unnerved by them and intrigued by them at the same time.
To all my homies from Chicago...do any of your remember Ann Goody? An elderly bag lady who did crude drawings and paintings on the street outside of Marshall Field's downtown back in the 70's and 80's and sold them for five or ten bucks.

PD, he was playing with your mind! Definitely a story there.

Eoe, yes! One of the reasons NYC is my favorite town. I lived in San Francisco for three years in the 60's. Some of the street people there were wonderful! When I went back in the early 90's, they seemed to have lost their humanity; many were curled up in fetal positions, either drunk or stoned. I was horrified. One of the reasons, at least my attempt to explain it, is that there are so many more of them. This is true in NYC as well. Many aren't very visible, they stay under bridges or in the worst parts of town or in the subway tunnels, a huge population of lost souls.

the original story was funny~!!

( wanted to bring this thread back.. could bring some new, really good stories out)