The word from the street
TONY
“My friend Lefty died on Thursday last week. You know, he’s the one who was homeless and was in front of the Beer Store over on Dundas. Man, there were tears that came to my eyes when I heard about him. I want to pass on my sincerest condolences to everyone in his family. You know, in a way, Lefty died from loneliness.”
……..
Addendum (July 8): Tony found a great article about Lefty in the Toronto Star of July 5th.
PHILIP
“Where were you yesterday? I thought you said you were going to be here.”
TONY
“I was down at St. Joe’s with heat stroke …. one minute I’m crossing that overpass, the next I remember was being in the ambulance. The paramedic told me they found me on the sidewalk, which was good since I’d have been run over if I’d been on the road.”
TONY
“Hey Phil, look what a lady just gave me. Nice, eh?”
PHILIP
“Would you say that you’ve ended up homeless because of your own decisions?”
TONY
“Sure but we all know that I’m making some big simplifications when I say that. Even with me, things can get pretty complicated, if you know what I mean.”
TONY
“I feels like summer today.”
TONY
“I got myself another ticket last night. I was in the park over at Sorauren and since I hadn’t slept in two nights I fell asleep and the next thing I know someone’s shaking my shoulder and it’s a cop. He even knows my name and he tells me the woman in one of the apartments was complaining about the noise which I guess she meant that I must have been snoring or something. The junior guy tells me she’s a real complainer but they had to give me a ticket anyway. I made sure they understood that they were just doing their jobs as far as I was concerned. I made sure the sergeant heard it too.”
PHILIP
“You’re amazing.”
PHILIP
“I watched Queen singing Bohemian Rhapsody on YouTube this morning. It was pretty cool.”
TONY
“That guy Freddie Mercury, he was a weirdo but his group was the greatest, you know.”
PHILIP
“Aren’t you going to ask me what YouTube is?
TONY
“Well I already know what YouTube is.”
TONY
“Did I ever tell you about my friend where his wife smacked him in the head with a rolling pin? I probably did but it’s a good one so I’ll tell you again …
“They’d never even been angry with each other before then and they’d been married for eight years. And then she hits with a rolling pin, one day, and I’ll tell you now, he deserved if you ask me. And so he gets taken to the hospital where you know, he can’t even recognize me, his buddy. He got better eventually but it was scary for everybody, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“What about his wife, what did she do then?”
TONY
“She was just balling her eyes out right there in the hospital room. I don’t think she’ll ever use a rolling pin again, even for baking, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“Oh, so this is where you’re keeping your new chair. Looks like the lock is tougher than the chair.”
TONY
“You bet it is. Y’see, if someone tries to pinch it, they’ll just destroy the chair, so what’s the point, if you know what I mean.”
Homeless Man Speaks 