Last night, my sweet tooth started acting up on me so I decided to make the three block trek to 7-11 for a Slurpee. The last few times I've made the trip, I had the pleasure of running into my favorite homeless guy in Las Vegas: Johnny. Now, every time I run into him he always talks me into buying him some beer and a hot dog. As I'm arriving at the store; no sign of Johnny. For a moment, I thought I was getting off cheap when I walked out of 7-11 with my Slurpee and then it happened.
"Rob, you didn't think you could go into the store and not buy your favorite derelict some beer and a hot dog?" As chance would have it, the first person I saw when I walked out of the store was Johnny. "Jesus Johnny, where did you come from?" He told me in a previous conversation that he was a war veteran and that's where he picked up the ability to sneak up on people undetected (even if they were anticipating him like I was). "Rob, don't worry about it. I'm a guy that no one notices unless I'm holding my sign on the corner." When he's not sneaking up on people; he can be found on any given street corner in SW Las Vegas holding a sign that says, "I'm not going to lie. I need a beer." I've said this on numerous occasions; Johnny reminds me a lot of the angel Clarence in 'It's a Wonderful Life.' So when he asked me to get him some beer and a dog. Well, let's put it this way; I find it impossible to say no to a guy who reminds me of an angel.
I run back into the store, grab the requested items, head back out and give them to him. "Rob, I've got to tell you something man. You've got heart." My grandfather, God bless his soul, always told me to return a compliment with one of your own. "You want to know something Johnny? You have a lot of class." Johnny is a rough looking character. He's in need of a lot of the basics that most of us take for granted. But it doesn't matter; he still has class. "Johnny I want to ask you something. Do you ever get tired of living on the streets? Have you ever thought about leading a different life?" I respect him and I had no intention of deriding him by asking the question; but still I had to know.
"Rob, I know what people think. Poor old Johnny, the bum on the street. He's nothing but a wart on the ass of society. You're not the first person to ask me that question. I'm going to give you the honest answer: I simply don't know any other way to live and I'm too stubborn to change. I know it sounds strange to people but I chose this life. It didn't choose me." I've never been a person to judge. So after his explanation I left things at that. Now, my curiosity was getting the best of me and it's not like I had anything else to do; so the two of us sat down on the curb and started drinking the six pack I bought. We talked about a number of things and then I asked him to tell me something humorous about living on the street.
"The other day I was standing on the corner of Decatur & Flamingo holding my sign when a pickup full of Mexicans pulled up to the light. One of them rolls down the window and says, 'Amigo, I got something for you.' I walk up to the window and he hands me a lit joint. He then says, 'Help yourself brother. You look like a guy who could use it.' I'm not really a weed smoker, but I figured it would have been impolite to turn his offer down. So I grabbed it and took a few puffs. I then tried to give it back to him and he tells me this, 'Don't worry about it vato. I've got plenty more. That's for you."
I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "The last few years I've been working on a few things that most feel is way out of my reach. It gets frustrating at times; but still I keep trying. On the other hand, my friend Johnny is the exact opposite of me. As long as he has a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other...He's happier than a pig wallowing in mud."
No comments:
Post a Comment