Town Eccentric?

[jglass]

Does your town have one? Ours does.
He is a harmless old guy who rides a bicycle all over town. He rides it all summer and winter. Even in the summer he has on his winter coat while riding lol. Back before Jon lost his site he used to pick the guy up and give him rides where he was going.
You can always hear him when he is in a store. He is chatting up someone at a register telling them God bless you. I can always tell he is getting on the cashiers last nerve. Some of them are pretty patient and some are not lol. Jon and I are always kind to him. I ran into him while Jon was at PT Monday when I went down to the grocery store. He was showing me his new lock for his bike. He had some groceries tied to his bike and he pulls out a box of muffins he had bought and hands them to me. I didnt want to take his food and tried to tell him so but he insisted. He is always buying Jon and I a bottle of pop or something when ever he sees us. If he asks us if we want one before we always say no but if he has some pop in a bag he just bought he will just insist. I always tell him I cannot have soda but he still makes Jon take one. He really is a sweet old guy. Some days you can tell he is on track better than others. They were chocolate chip muffins which just happened to be my fav. I thought that was so nice of him. If I knew where he lived I would return the favor but he suffers from paranoia and moves around constantly.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

What a nice story, janie! Obviously this guy enjoys extending kindness- and having folks accept it from him.

Growing up, we lived around the block from an elderly man who had an adult son who was retarded. The town "legend" that we kids gossiped about was that Lester was "dropped on his head" when he was a baby. Lester was often seen walking around the block totally NAKED! I never saw this in my 18 years in that l'il farm-town but many swore they did!

I'm currently reading Truman Capote's classic "Other Voices, Other Rooms" which is a Southern novel FULL of town "eccentrics"!

[shipscook]

not to make light of these guy's plights and bless you for sharing a few moments with this guy Jani.

but in this town, it is said, we have so many we have to take turns!!

but, we do have a few sad cases and I must say, I often notice the locals taking a minute to chat or assist them onto the bus, etc. there is one gentleman with a walker who looks pretty rough, but always has a "good morning" for people. He and one or two others with physical disabilities live at the homeless shelter I believe.

Nan

[The Ironic Chef]

We have several "Town Eccentrics". The one I will mention for now is an older fellow. Long white hair and beard, probably about 70 years old. He wears an over coat and also rides a bicycle. Under his overcoat he wears a speedo. My wife and daughters nick named him Moses In A Speedo. Many mornings he stands on a corner waving hello to passer byes. Not wearing his over coat.

[Bubba707]

I guess I'm more or less the town eccentric. I wear kilts all the time, year round. It does get odd looks from time to time but for me kilts are way more comfortable than jeans.

[jfain]

Columbus is the 15th largest city in the US once a city gets that big the eccentrics just blend in. Unless you are wearing a live duck on your head not much is really shocking.

[Bubba707]

Originally Posted by jfain

Columbus is the 15th largest city in the US once a city gets that big the eccentrics just blend in. Unless you are wearing a live duck on your head not much is really shocking.

This is very true, big cities tend to make eccentricity normal. I live in a town of about 12,000 so I'm pretty recognizable.

[CanMan]

I could easily become one with my "granny bike" but I refrain from going out on the streets since too many of us get killed by drunk drivers and other real crazies out there. It is no longer safe on the streets as an eccentric ol' man that looks like Burl Ives.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

I love eccentrics, and people who march to the beat of their own tune! One of my boyfriends growing up was a Miccosukee Indian and he wore the traditional garments that the Seminole & Miccosukee men of the tribe wore centuries ago (a skirt and jacket of many colors that is the native garb), his nickname was "Medicine Man" and he was so neat, I loved him because he was totally himself!

[jglass]

I really worry about this guy. I had no idea drugs are as bad as they are in this town and he is on the streets at all hours on his bike. I know he has had the bike stolen before more than once. Some stupid drugged out kid ever gets the idea that he has some money on him and it could get bad. Im guessing he is in his early 70's but where he rides that bike he seems to be in good shape and he is really tall. I told Jon I worry about him so much. He was even living out of a rental storage unit for a while last summer for a few weeks. He told me the other day he has been staying with another older man the last few months taking care of him. He was complaining about the other man being a grouch lol. I didnt want to ask him where exactly he was staying cause he is so paranoid.