The word from the street
TONY
“This heat is just killing me. I was down in the hospital for three hours yesterday. I was really lucky, my bus driver friend saw me and got me on his bus because I’ll tell you, I was really getting dizzy in the heat.”
PHILIP
“So what happens now?”
TONY
“Well now at least I know I can cool down in their emergency waiting room.”
PHILIP
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
TONY
“You know, I take the bus too sometimes.”
PHILIP
“So when you ask people for a bus token, you actually use them? I figured you sold the tickets to get money …”
TONY
“Well how am I supposed to get around if I don’t use the bus? I don’t exactly have a car, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“I gotta admit, you’ve got a point there.”
No sign of Tony as I take my seat at Alternative Grounds on a vaguely cloudy Tuesday morning. He wasn’t here yesterday either. Hmmm.
Philip
Hi Everyone,
I just visited Tony at St. Joe’s. He’s got cancer, probably in the lungs, though it’s not certain if it’s in one lung or two — or even which lung. While I was there, the doctors took him for an x-ray, but I don’t know the results, — if any. In addition, he’s got heart problems, and an ugly hernia protruding from his upper abdomen. The three photos above is what he looked like at about 230pm today.
He seemed depressed and feared that they might release him.
Tony wants to thank Gwen and Cathy for coming to visit; the bananas were yummy.
More when I know.
Philip
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.”
PHILIP
“You always seem to have some cigarettes on you. How does that work?”
TONY
“Well, there’s lots of ways I get ’em. Mostly, people give ’em to me. Like, there’s this woman — one of my regulars — she’s trying to quit. So she buys herself a pack, she takes out six cigarettes and then she gives me the rest. So when I find a pack with 14 cigarettes in my hat, I know she’s been by.”
TONY
“See Milton over there? Now there’s a guy who knows how to do a job. I’m always am telling him how he’s keeping Ronces cleaner than a whistle. If I knew his boss, I’d tell him the same.”
TONY
“So one of my regular comes down the street. She gives me 40 bucks and says that she’s going to miss me. She’s moving to California and so this will be the last time she will see me. Then she says I’ve been an real inspiration to her over the last 4 years. Really. She said that to me.
“Boy, did that make me feel good.”
Homeless Man Speaks 