It's only Monday, and we may already have this week's crazy guy of the week. As I was driving to work this morning I encountered this guy on the side of the road.
Usually I don't find the crazy guy of the week this early.
There is much that could be written about this man's courage, his cleverness, and certainly about his level of commitment.
Much could also be written about a few contrary attributes he may possess.
I imagine he thought about just buying a simple $100.00 14k gold-plated band with the promise of a much bigger and better ring once their fortunes improved. That path would seem to be the sane, logical way to proceed.
Our hero, however, must have thought that no, he was going to get her an impressive ring right off the bat, one that screams "I love this woman and we are going to get married!" to every person that comes within twenty feet of it.
He sat down and formulated a plan, one that would enable him to get the money quickly, without having to fill out a W2 or 1099, and one that wouldn't require incredible good fortune, like winning the lottery or finding a bag of 20's on the sidewalk that a drug dealer threw out a car window as he was being chased by the police.
There are a few other possibilities...maybe he's thinking "Man, this will make a great story to tell the kids when they ask how we got married," or "When Mike (or whoever, but most guys know a "Mike") gives the best man toast he can use this to illustrate the depth of my love, and that will get me in good with her parents who don't think I'm good enough for her."
Whatever his rationale, he picked a great spot to execute the plan.
The largesse of strangers is somewhat dependable in these parts. A number of local reporters, from both print and on-air media, have done the "Living On The Streets" for a week bit and claimed bringing in anywhere from $200.00 to $1000.00 a week panhandling.
Famously, a few years ago a local radio station had an employee go out and panhandle near a fairly wealthy suburb. He had to hold a "Will Work For Food" sign, and if, in the event that someone offered him work, he had to refuse it on the pretense he was physically incapable of work. He claimed to have received over $400.00 in a single day.
Hmmm....maybe that's what that guy was doing, working for a radio station...or maybe he lost a bet. That's not a stretch.
I didn't get that impression when I talked to him though. He had a bag with an 8X10 picture of the girl of his dreams taped to it, and that bag had quite a few dollars in there.
He told me most of it was from men, and I didn't doubt it for a minute. We've been there man, we know the pressure to dazzle can be crippling.
In spite of my misfortune in the marriage dept, I gave him $2.00 and wished him luck.
He's going to need it.
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