I think that the wall-eyed kooky guy I met awhile back might be homeless now. He’s been hanging out in the park near my building for the last few weeks. He sits on a little duffell bag, among the homeless kids and dogs laying in the grass, staring into space as if he’s waiting for something. Another thing, his conversation is a bit less disorienting than it used to be. I remember that he used to ramble on with confusing monologues that had only their own internal logic. These days, his conversation wanders a bit but there’s usually a hint of clarity in what he says.
Yesterday I had to catch a bus back from the U District after seeing a movie. Bus fare is now $1.25, but I just had a one and a ten dollar bill. I was thinking of going into a store and asking them to break my ten, but everyone’s always so mean about that, plus it was 6:00 and stores were already closing. I paced over to Zanadu Comics and peaked inside as they turned the closed sign around. When I turned around to walk back to the bus stop, I ran into a friend of a friend browsing the dollar book rack outside Twice Sold Tales. We said hello and I continued on my way. After a couple of steps I spun around and asked, “Hey Wayne, you wouldn’t happen to have a quarter would you?” As I was saying it I realized that it sounded like I was spare-changing. He stiffened defensively, started to turn away and ask “What?” Embarrassed, I explained that I just didn’t have the right change for the bus. He was relieved and sympathetic, and fished around in his backpack for some change.