The village idiot of Las Vegas runs into a homeless philosopher...Part 2

"Hey Rob, I think the guy upstairs is trying to tell us something. Hold on, I can hear him now. He's saying, 'Rob go into the store and buy us a six-pack of beer and while you're at it grab a bag of chips and some hot dogs." If you walk out my apartment door, turn the corner, and then walk three blocks to the South, you will find three different convenience stores. Well, earlier in the evening I finished off my last half gallon of milk so I decided to walk down to the store and buy a new one. As chance would have it; I ran into my favorite homeless guy in Las Vegas.

"Jesus Johnny, how come every time we run into each other you always startle me?" I wasn't paying much attention as I was getting ready to walk into the store; it's like he just showed up out of thin air. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's the war in me that gives me the ability to sneak up on people without being noticed. I know you bought the beer last time we met; but I'm running short, so why don't you pick it up this time." At the time, I had no intentions of buying beer, I just wanted to get some milk for my Cheerios in the morning; but seeing Johnny always puts a smile on my face and I felt that if I didn't buy him the beer that the end result would be bad karma; Johnny reminds me a lot of the angel Clarence in 'It's a Wonderful Life'. 

"OK Johnny, I'll be back in a minute." I walk into the store and buy all the goodies, as I'm walking out I see Johnny standing there waiting with a smile on his face. I then give him the requested items and tell him this. "Johnny, I can't keep buying you beer every time I see you. It's not that I don't like you; but it just seems counter productive to the overall picture." After I told him that, he looked at me and said, "Rob, you're thinking too much about things. Why don't you help me down this six-pack." It's hard to say no to a guy who reminds you of an angel; so I grabbed one of the tall boys and cracked it open.

"Rob, when we talked last time and you told me about your blog. I decided to go down to the library and check it out. I'm impressed with your writing skills. You seem to have a knack for it." Like I said earlier; Johnny always puts a smile on my face. "Thank-you for the compliment. I enjoy writing a lot. I picked the skill up from my father." Now, whenever I run into Johnny I always pick his brain about what the streets of Las Vegas are really like. Let's face it, who is going to know more about it than a guy who lives on them.

"Where do you sleep at?" For as many homeless people as I see in Las Vegas, I've never really seen an encampment or anything of that nature. I heard their were some on the other side of town, but I've never actually seen one. "Rob, when you live on the streets, rule #1 is to never tell people where you're camping out at. If you do that; you increase your chances of other people messing with you. So as much as I appreciate your generosity. I can't answer that question." 

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "When I first moved to Las Vegas I wouldn't have given a guy like Johnny a second thought, but after a while the homeless become part of the landscape. Nowadays, if I didn't see them on a consistent basis I would think something had gone terribly awry."