Walkin' On Down

Every once and a while I see something on the street that I feel is necessary to record. Sometimes it is enough to memorize it other times it is something that can only be explained by drawing it so others can see. dirty, out of shape people walking down the street in underwear, tight t-shirts and a bathrobe with a bandana bearing japanese symbols for instance. I love seeing these little sparks in the crowd and they bring about a touch of creativity in me. Here are two of people I have seen:

Corona Man

I saw him while I was riding the 4 bus from Kitsilano to Hastings. Somewhere around Granville and Georgia I saw him. He was striding down the street in torn jeans and a dirty t-shirt. His worn work boots were speckled with mud. He must not have shaved in months as his beard flapped behind his ears in the wind. He was easy to spot in the crowd because it was raining and all the busy city-folk had there black umbrellas unfurled creating a writhing stream of water-repellant material. It was not that he didn't have an umbrella nor was it that he was not as nicely dressed as the others because he did and there are enough underpriviledged types on Granville Street to make him blend in. It was in fact that he too had an umbrella, a bright, yellow, Corona sun umbrella from a bar table, that made him stand out. He was marching merrily down the sidewalk weaving in and out of the masses twirling the umbrella behind his head like a parasol seemingly oblivious to the rain that he could be keeping off of him instead. He made me think about what possessed him to steal the umbrella if he was not using it to keep dry and just how he had managed to make off with it in the light of day when such umbrellas come out to play. Questions that will likely remain unanswered I suppose...

The Bird Man

It wasn't so much that his appearance was anything special, he was simply your usual slightly-overweight, scruffy-bearded, homeless fellow. He did not appear to be the type who would offer me drugs as he walked passed but would probably end up asking for change for food and maybe wish me a seasonal greeting. No he was nothing out of the ordinary for The City and I would have taken only a passing notice if he had not done what he had done. He crossed the street as the lights began to turn green and yet he was definately not oblivious to the people waiting to drive onwards once he had passed. They did not honk but he mocked them anyways, flapping his arms as he walked slowly infront of the car. He passed me by and gave me his greeting as I had suspected and I continued on my merry longboarding way, but he would stick with me at least long enough to write it down.

The Hanger Dance Kid

The kid was dressed fairly nicely and it was obvious he was not destitute as he still sported glasses that he had no hawked for rent, food, or crack. He carried a thin take-out container that he continually shifted back and forth in his hands to circumvent the heat problem presented by the contents of the container. In one pocket of the hoody stuck out a bottle of Green Tea Snapple™. He juggled the container continuously while also periodically removing the bottle for a drink which required an elaborate dance with the other object in his hand a single empty jacket hanger. There was no indication of any use for the hanger other than the part that it played in the juggling dance of food items. It looked so out of place and yet he showed no signs of making this realization. He most certainly had thought that this was odd and I know because that kid was me two days ago.