Science Forums 2

[Buffy]

I went to Berkeley and have lived in or near it for, well, a very long time.

So. I know street "denizens."

A couple of my favorites:

The $5 lady: She would always ask for $5. If you offered her spare change or a dollar, she would *throw* it at you and walk away. Of course other street folk would lurk near her so they could pick up these "scraps".

The Orange Guy: He dressed in all orange, parka and backpack. Somewhere, he grew orange seedlings, in little pint containers (kept in his back pack as he hung out near Sproul Plaza) and give them to who ever gave him either money or--much prefered--an orange.

The Naked Guy: Usually arrested before long for indecency (a night in jail only in liberal Berkeley), he wasn't a street person, he was a student with an agenda. Having an agenda is an interesting thing, and the reason I mention the Naked Guy--who actually did suffer from mental illness later and recently died under suspicious circumstances in police custody--wore his agenda on his, er, non-existent sleeve. You might want to think about spicing up your agenda to make it more controversial.

Pink Cloud: Pink was also not a street person (and yes, his drivers license actually said "Pink Cloud"), because he had talked one of the student coops (the one I lived in freshman year) into letting him live there and have a space to run his paper recycling business (too complicated to go into, but he actually made money). Pink was an old hippie, but he did not use drugs and he was an unabashed entrepreneur, and as a result he got *respect* from virtually everyone (except for the fact that he did not suffer fools gladly and let them have it with his droll, rapier like wit).

Those are just a few off the top of my head, but that might get you thinking...

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Buffy