we collect constructed reality people

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salesman man of manhattan

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the bubble man

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chewing-gum man (london)

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[trisherina]

The chewing-gum man makes me and all at once.

[melissa]

I agree, Trisher!

[Gatsby]

A Times Square fixture: The Naked Cowboy.

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bob


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[quicktime movie w/sound - via ze's blog]

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[smellyrayzin]

Originally Posted by Malmal11787

There is this guy that rides on his bike up and down main street. He has a walkman on and is waving his arms and dancing. ive seen him many times.

that's Dizzy!!!!
that guy is crazy, but kinda cool
he made a giant cross with a wheel at the end so he can ride his bike and carry the cross over his shoulder like jesus....

[daverbee]

Ohhhh, Jacksonville is full of those folks!
I remember a guy who lived not too far from the high school I went to. He had Downs Syndrome and would stand by the side of the road with a red handkerchief and "direct traffic." Never was a threat and you'd see him all over North Jacksonville. He especially liked to come to our sports events and direct traffic after the game.
We had another guy who used to walk around downtown muttering to himself. At night, he'd stand in front of store windows and shout biblical quotes to his reflection.
There was another fellow who used to live in my neighborhood who would go for walks every morning and every night. I have a feeling he was autistic because he'd never look directly at anyone or speak to anyone. He was always immaculately dressed so I got the feeling he was being well cared for or had gone through an independent living facility.
Then there's High Water. So named for the high water britches he always wears. Homeless and alcoholic. Sometimes he has a big beard and sometimes not depending on whether he's been in jail that week or not. He used to live under the bridge near work and hold conversations with the birds. Haven't seen him in a while since they built another bridge and chased him off.

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ben
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Originally Posted by peter stebbings

Not many people know this but, at any one time, approximately 300,000 pieces of the stuff are stuck to the pavement in Oxford Street. Just cleaning it up would cost about £30,000, but now an artist has come up with a novel way of dealing with the problem by painting on it.

And Ben Wilson, 41, originally from Barnet, but now living in Muswell Hill, does not do things by halves.

He intends to paint pictures faces, animals, suns, name it and he will do it on pieces of discarded gum all the way from Barnet to the West End of London.

"I'm just going to keep going and see how far I get," said Mr Wilson, who started his quest at the Hadley end of High Street, Barnet. "I use acrylic paint and varnish, then I've got a little burner to dry it. I've done different pictures cups of tea, elephants, flowers I do requests as well. Often I just draw whatever takes me on that day."

Mr Wilson said he has had a number of people stop and look at his work and most have praised him for trying to beautify what is, ultimately, just rubbish on our pavements. He also denies accusations it draws attention to the gum.

"I'm not defacing the pavement, it is more sensitive than that. I don't want to get in people's faces I'm not a graffiti artist. You get so many reactions from people, their reactions are so different, but rarely are they negative."

Mr Wilson's idea to get down on his hands and knees to paint gum people have spat out on the floor is not just a bizarre manifestation of a mid-life crisis. He has already done the same thing in Holloway Road. Nor does he restrict himself to gum. He has spent time abroad in America and Finland doing what he calls large-scale construction' and has also done some sculpting (one of his works is proudly displayed outside his mother's house in Barnet).

More than a month after starting at the top end of High Street, Barnet, he has progressed less than a quarter-of-a-mile southwards, despite working more or less five days a week. So does he really think he can make it all the way into the centre of London?

"We'll see," he said. "I'm just going to keep drawing and see where the momentum takes me."

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[lvlycwgirl]

I worked in a "special" hospital in Tulsa....I have many, many stories. One of my favorites....
"John Deer" would drive up on his riding lawn mower pulling some sort of homemade trailer full of magazines. He would then jump off, run inside to the payphone, pick it up screaming profanities then go back and take off until the next day. He religiously showed up every morning at 10:00. I was always sure to take my smoke break at 10 just to see the show.

[Brynn]

There's a Down's Syndrome kid who waits each morning at the bus stop with his headphones near my house. He is rocking out, man - waving to all the passing cars and doing the bump with the bus stop sign and smiling and pulling out all his best disco moves, moonwalks, etc. I really miss him when he's not there, and always wave back when he is.

[gigi]

Downtown Portland, Oregon we have a tall fella who visits the Radio Shack every day. He stands at the storefront looking up at the sign - it's the kind of sign that protrudes perpendicularly from the building. With his back arched so far that he needs to brace his hand against the back of his thigh, he will raise an arm to the sign. He does not speak one word, but will instead flip his wrist around in unrhythmic circles.

I could hold my curiosity no longer - I had to know the details. Afraid of interrupting this possible dissociative personality, I entered Radio Shack and asked about the man. Apparently he will take his station every day, wait for the sign to illuminate, and begin his routine UNTIL THE SIGN TURNS OFF! He will answer to no one, and will take no assistance.

Now THAT is an enigma.

[Brynn]

I work downtown now - I'll have to keep an eye out for him.
I like the trumpet guy who sits on the corner of Smart Park near Pioneer Square and gestures with one hand to people as he plays his trumpet with the other.

[NimbleMarmoset]

I inhabit an area generally known as Southern California and if I listed all the constructed reality people that flock here. . . . well, let's just say I don't have 10,ooo posts.