TONY
“I always like to see a girl and a boy holding hands walking down the street. Reminds me of the old days. if you know what I mean.”
Hold on
October 21, 2010Apocalypse soon
October 18, 2010
TONY
“Boy, I am really, really cold right now. I’ve been cold since I got up. I’m sure it’s not the right thing to say but right now I hope global warming comes soon. And it’s not even really that cold yet, you know.”
Unsafe from any greed
October 16, 2010
TONY
“Did you hear about the break-in last night?”
PHILIP
“No. Where’s that?”
TONY
“Just here at Mabel’s, just last night. They showed up at 3am, got through the window and they went downstairs and they just took the whole safe, just like that.”
PHILIP
“Ouch.”
TONY
“Well I think they’ve got an idea who did it. And you know they’ve still gotta open it first.”
Ain’t no cure
October 13, 2010
TONY
“You got any of that Advil on you? I’ve got a real migraine, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“I may just have some in here somewhere. Wait a second … Here ya go.”
TONY
“Thanks. What a way to start a day, eh?”
Smoke and mirrors
October 5, 2010
TONY
“I wonder where I going to get my first cigarette this morning.”
On the sunny side of the street
October 1, 2010
TONY
“You need a jacket, Phil — it’s cold you know. Well, just walk over on the sunny side [of the street]. It’ll be warm enough for you there.”
Home away from home
September 29, 2010
TONY
“You know those people who don’t have any place to live after that big fire the other day ? Well, that’s a bad feeling, I can tell you, when you get kicked out of your own place.”
Homeless is as homeless does
September 25, 2010
TONY
“I slept in one smelly empty trailer last night, believe it or not.”
PHILIP
“No offense but it’s not too hard to believe about a homeless guy. Sorry if that was a mean thing to say; I didn’t mean it that way.”
TONY
“Well it was a bit mean but I guess I gotta admit it’s true. But I’ll tell you one thing: It’s no fun sleeping rough when you’ve gotten to my age. At least it’s not winter or anything. You know, I’ve been mostly sleeping at least somewhere that wouldn’t get me arrested if anyone knew where I was, if you know my meaning.”
On the merits of Rob Ford
September 21, 2010
PHILIP
“Tony, you’re talking with people all the time. So what’s behind this incredible popularity of Rob Ford?” [Rob Ford is a candidate for mayor of Toronto.]
TONY
“Well I think that it’s just that people don’t like to see the city wasting their money, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“Do people really trust his judgement though? Being good at hating waste doesn’t make you good at cutting it.”
TONY
“All I know is that folks seem to like him.”
A medium of exchange
September 18, 2010
PHILIP
“What’s that bill you’ve got there? It looks like foreign money.”
TONY
“Yup. It’s fifty pesos from down in Mexico. The guy said it was worth about four bucks. I hope I can sell it to someone. I ain’t planning on going to Mexico any time soon, that’s for sure.”
Oh, what a knight
September 17, 2010
TONY
“Can I get you a coffee, Phil? I’ll tell you, if you had the night I had last night, you would be needing a coffee bad right now.”
In the long rain
September 16, 2010
PHILIP
“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
TONY
“If you think about it, it’s gotta to rain sometimes.”
Staying put
September 15, 2010
PHILIP
“How come you don’t move yourself up the street with all the construction and dust and noise everywhere?”
TONY
“You know, sometimes it helps things, if you know what I mean.”
Between Scylla and Charybdis
September 9, 2010
PHILIP
“Boy, you’re out here awfully early; it’s only seven-thirty for god’s sake.”
TONY
“You know, sometimes it’s the most comfortable place to be right here.”
PHILIP
“Was last night was that bad for you?”
TONY
“You got it, if you know what I mean.”
Sweet hummingbird of youth
September 7, 2010
TONY
“Did you know that I saved a little hummingbird this morning?”
PHILIP
“No, actually I didn’t know that.”
TONY
“Yup. I’m guessing he must of hit one of the store windows or something up the street. So I found him there on the sidewalk kind of flapping around so I picked him up and he was OK to fly off after a little while. Otherwise, there was a dog there and that little thing would’ve been breakfast, if you know what I mean.”
[Thanks to Pat Dixon for the photo.]
I just don’t know why
August 26, 2010
TONY
“I just don’t know why but the folks who complain the most don’t have much to complain about, mostly.”
In the air
August 23, 2010
TONY
“You know, it was so cool outside yesterday morning, I could feel fall in the air.”
The courage of the early morning
August 16, 2010
TONY
“You know, I haven’t seen Mary around in a while.”
PHILIP
“Mary? Who’s Mary?”
TONY
“You know, she’s that lady who used to bring me a nice lunch sometimes. I’m tellin’ you, now that was a reason to get up in the morning, if you know what I mean.”
Update on Tony’s health
August 15, 2010
Sharon, Tony’s sister, asked for an update, so here goes (Sharon has heard this already). Amazingly, Tony is out here just about everyday, so he’s OK in a way. On the other hand, he’s skinny as a rake, moving slowly, increasingly bow-legged, and still has dizziness spells. He got CAT-scanned in July and they will be fixing the problem in early November. I guess that the doctors think it’s not an emergency. I hope so.
Philip
Two friends are dead
August 8, 2010
TONY
“I told you about Dave dying two days ago?
PHILIP
“No, you never told me that. That’s sad. He was a really nice person. He was very gentle. Someone told me that he was a big reader. Anyway, that is really sad.”
TONY
It was that mouthwash drinking that did it; everybody knew it was going happen. Almost happened a few times already. His liver just died, sort of.”
PHILIP
“And who’s your other friend who died?”
TONY
“You know the guy who jumped from the apartment building around the corner the other day?”
PHILIP
“Yeah, I heard about it but I didn’t get it that he was your friend. You know I’ve had way too much experience with suicides. Can you imagine how bad you’ve got to feel to go jump like he did.”
TONY
“Pretty sad.”
PHILIP
“Yup, pretty sad.”
Homeless Man Speaks 