They keep coming up because frankly, there are too many of them living in my community. I don't mean Austin, I mean South Austin, Southpark Meadows, to be exact. Today, after I picked up Chubs and we were heading back south trying to figure out where to eat the fastest, I noticed the bum assigned to work the light at Slaughter Lane and 1st was actually on his back, almost hidden from view except for his sign, of course asking for money in one clever way or another. I have seen these guys work in teams and work from a wheelchair and from a bucket sitting down, this was the first time I noticed one on his back legs crossed and sign extending up, hoping someone would throw loose change at a lump.
These guys bother me because something tells me it's not that they are bums, it's that they are working together somehow. I almost think they are a team of guys who work in unison. They work the corners in shifts, they have a look, all in different ranges of disheveled and they then split their earnings. The bum on his back did not last even a light cycle. Another "Master Bum" got off a truck that happened to be close by, he helped him up on his feet, gave him some instructions and the understudy bum started walking his route like he is supposed to. I know this because after we ate, we turned back on 1st and he was working it like he should, walking away from the corner showing his sign and picking up loose change along the way.
We saw another interesting person while we ate. My mom worries about the influence Dirty Dog has on Chubs cycling through different girls, ha! We walked into Jack In The Box and I noticed a pair of short shorts by the bathroom and a barely there shirt, thinking Yeah! I know where I am sitting until I looked the rest of the way up and it was a guy, fully bearded. It was confusing as fuck. Chubs did not notice and ordered then told me he was going to go wash his hands. He did not make it to the bathroom, and quickly came back to my side. "Uhh, what the fuck, Dad?!" I laughed cooly, just said "Que paso, Mijo? You scared?" He said "I don't know what..." I smiled and told him "just be cool, he's not hurting anyone." The guy was spouting off God Bless this and that and Jesus this and that. Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but I like that my mom worries about tiny things like what might be going on in a bedroom behind a closed door affecting Chubs, who never even sees this happening, meanwhile, we have bums and other more interesting people in our neighborhood to learn and deal with. Mr. Rodgers never had it so rich with the natives in his little neighborhood.
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