PHILIP
“Would you like an afternoon coffee?”
TONY
“How about instead you get me a can of pasta sauce with some meat in it? I’m trying to get some pasta organized for dinner tonight.”
Du moolah rouge
April 5, 2008Powerless to help
March 31, 2008
TONY
“That Earth Hour the other day was a great thing to do but I didn’t have any lights to turn off, if you know what I mean.”
Eight-balls and empty pockets
March 29, 2008
PHILIP
“Wow, you look really pissed off; I hope it’s not something I did; I wouldn’t want to be on your bad side when you’re looking the way you do right now.”
TONY
“No way, you’d hear from me about anything like that, that’s for sure.”
It’s my friend I’ve been telling you about. So he gets his welfare cheque, he promises me, he really promises me that he’s gonna use the money to feed himself and get a room. Next thing you know, he’s spend it all on crack and he’s got nothing left. Probably got 3 eight-balls with the dough. Now of course he wants me to help him. How’s he gonna get out of his situation if he can’t be a bit responsible, you know what I mean?”
Tony promotes under-age smoking
March 27, 2008 
TONY
“Hey Phil, did I show you my friend Elmo’s a great guy for holding my cigarette? Doesn’t take any drags but I’ve got to be careful about burning his lips.”
Taking care of business
March 22, 2008PHILIP
“I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while … how do you keep your breath from smelling bad? Isn’t that hard to do in your situation?”
TONY
“Well first of all, I better keep it smelling pretty or no one’s going to want to talk to me or give me anything. I just take care of it, just like anything else. And believe it or not, the smoking helps too. Even when people don’t like the cigarette smell, they don’t go backing away from me, if you know what I mean.”
Garbage in, garbage out
March 19, 2008 
PHILIP
“Hey Tony, someone threw your stool into the garbage pail over there. He was just some regular guy. Me and another guy pulled it out and put it next to ‘your’ tree there.”
TONY
“Let me tell you, it happens all the time, Phil. You know, when you’re homeless, folks think that they can do anything they like with your property. It’s like we don’t even exist. ‘Course, then people wonder why homeless people stink after they gotta rescue their stuff from the garbage.”
Forget me not
March 14, 2008 
ONE OF TONY’S “REGULARS”
“Hi Tony, I saw you really shivering last time so I checked at home and found you this blanket plus this fleece jacket. You can use that blanket to keep that beautiful ass of yours nice and toasty.”
TONY
“Well that’s 100% great. Thanks for these very much; I can use them. But I got to tell you, my ass is nice and warm right now. What I need it for is to warm up my legs.”
[Later] to Philip
“That the blanket is kinda like that Coat of Many Colours from the Bible. Except no one wants to kill me for it, which is good. i can’t believe I still remember those Old Testament stories but that’s what a Catholic education does for you.”
Suspicious minds
March 9, 2008
PHILIP
“Hey Tony, I was talking to this homeless guy, Randy, about sleeping in shelters. He hasn’t stayed in a shelter in at least a year and he says he won’t ever again if he can. He figures that 10% of the five hundred guys staying there are ‘psycho’ — guys who’d kill you for ‘a pack of smokes or half a tuna sandwich.’ ”
TONY
“ You’ve heard me tell you that before. Nobody believes it … who’s gonna to listen to one of us, if you know what I mean?”
Just plain Canadian
March 6, 2008
PHILIP
“Hey Tony. Look, my letter got published in the today’s Globe.”
TONY
“You should get that up on the blog if you ask me. It’s just plain Canadian to say ‘please’.”
——-
PS: I’ll post a copy of the original March 5th op-ed later. In the meantime (sorry): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wconafta05/BNStory/specialComment
Philip
Mike and Philip are now friends
March 4, 2008 
TONY [as he gets into Mike’s van]
“Phil, I want you to meet Mike, the guy who I’m staying with right now. Mike, this is Phil, my blog writer. Sorry, Phil, I gotta go. I’m giving Mike a hand on a paint job he’s doing.”
Some say love, it is a hunger
March 3, 2008 
TONY
“Did I tell you I saw my sister?”
PHILIP
“Which one?”
TONY
“I saw Rose, right on Ronces here. I don’t even remember when I last got to see her. She’s said she’d collect up some things for me.”
When you’re hot, you’re hot
March 1, 2008
TONY
“That guy Barack’s doing unbelievable in those USA elections. I think that people are maybe figuring out that it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white — if you’re smart, you’re smart.”
PHILIP
“Amen.”
Birthday wishes
February 29, 2008 
TONY [during his birthday party at Gino’s on Tuesday evening]
“It’s nice meeting people like this. Most times when I meet ’em in on my birthday, it’s not very warm, if you know what I mean.”
The cook, the beef, his life and recovery
February 27, 2008
TONY
“You remember the guy I told you I was coaching? Well, it turns out he’s a great cook, he’s amazing. He can cook anything. We got this nice piece of roasting meat the other night. By the time he’s finished cooking it, it was fit for a king. So now I’m a homeless guy with my own cook. Life is crazy sometimes.”
Tony’s 59th birthday party – Tues, Feb 26 2008, 4:30-6pm – Gino’s: Howard Park and Dundas
February 23, 2008
On trial
February 20, 2008
As planned, Tony is in court today. Hopefully he’s not going back to into jail but you never know … you’ll know more when I do.
Philip
There’s something about JFK
February 13, 2008 
PHILIP
“Did you see the photo of JFK’s love-child who’s now living out in BC?”
TONY
“He’s a Kennedy, alright. You can see it in his eyes. Those Americans need a Kennedy again, I’m telling you. They need someone they can look up to.”
Home invasion
February 13, 2008
TONY
“I haven’t seen so much snow since that winter of 1999, you know when the army came in to dig us out. Also, that’s about the time when I got stuck being homeless.”
Homeless Man Speaks 