Poem Number 18608

the ghost with the sign

Tempo was walking down the street with some friends who wanted to go and see what was playing at the theater.

Or rather, the 'feater', as Rabbit Gerry would say. The journey involved walking past the Sunday swapmeat (covertly so that Pac the Rat would not notice any of them), and then a straight cruise down to the square by which the feater stood.

It was on the stretch of the cruise that Tempo saw the sign. "I'll bet you $1 that you will read this sign."

Rabbit Gerry went apeshit. "The fign," he cried out, "did you guys read the fign?"

The others all stopped, walking up to see what Gerry was freaking out over. Tempo sighed and joined them. Noticing their interest, the writer of the sign stood up, gathering his rags about him, and came over. He grinned all around, and said "So come on guys, where's the dollar?" He was probably not a few years over twenty.

Everybody, some without hesitation, others shaking their heads a little, fumbled into their pockets for one dollar, and gave it to the young man, who collected their donations in a small felt hat. The melody of money pouring in was loud - ching-ching-a-ching, ching-ching-ker-roo - some of them even started to shift their feet along t6o the music.

But when it came to Tempo, the music stopped.

"Your donation, sir?" asked the boy.

Tempo glanced back. "Huh?"

"For reading my sign."

"What sign?"

The young man grinned. "You read it. I know you read it. You owe me a dollar."

Tempo shook his head, looking puzzled. "Clever was it? Writing worth writing, not to mention, reading?"

The young man's smile faded. He became grim. "Fuck you, man. I know you read the sign. I saw you."

Tempo simply looked back to his friends. "Why are we standing here? I thought we were going to check out what movies were playing?"

The Old Hat walked up to Tempo, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Come on man. Don't be like that. Give the boy his dollar."

"I don't see any boy," insisted Tempo. "What boy? Are you beggars seeing ghosts?" The others started just shaking their heads, standing there. "Are you people coming, or not?" asked Tempo.

None of them moved. So, Tempo simply shrugged, turned around, and walked on, to the movie listings. Behind him, his friends called out, begging him to pay the dollar to the ghost. Others around the street started calling out, "Boo."

Boo.

/wc
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neat! - N
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based on: www.flickr.com/photos/24917549@N04/2415535734/

/wc
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a begging ghost. interesting device.

when i was in chicago, the final sunday morning, a street person was squatted hunched against a building close to the coffee shop i was attending. i had a US $20 in my pocket i hadn't spent and thought i would give it away as a gesture to this new city i loved. as i approached beggar, on my return to the hotel, the person started to pour a paper cup of coffee onto a free hand, watching intently as the brown fluid dribbled down onto the concrete. i got closer, took the bill out of my pocket and stopped in front of what was actually a weather worn white woman, who dressed up in all those raggedy clothes in the 85 degree heat, with a baseball cap pulled low over her face had looked like a slender male. we made eye contact. she stopped pouring the coffee long enough to accept the bill. politely said thank you. then returned to her fascination with pouring the coffee onto her free hand. madness swirled in the eyes i had glimpsed. i wondered, as my jet plane left the chicago tarmac whether she comprehended the amount i had passed to her and hoped she used it for things other than coffee. but i didn't care. i didn't make the contribution to feel good about myself. it was for her to do as she pleased with it.

janet
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probably decided to take another ride on the magic dragon! hahaha - N
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could be. she didn't give off druggie vibes. more deep insanity. i didn't see many women beggars on the streets in chicago, at least in the downtown area I was in. she was the first.
janet
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i lived in downtown Birmingham AL for a quarter in college. they were just starting to revitalise the downtown at that time. you could not step on the street w/out being asked for money. there was this one little woman who was just sitting there crying all day long. the first time i saw her i was distraught - i sat down beside har and was asking her what was wrong, gave her money etc. but as the quarter passed i realized she and so many others were gonna be out there every day and i stopped giving. my friend todd had a policy of never giving money but he would buy a meal for them...I don't know ...- N
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are you an emo? /wc
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yeah, it's hard. i give money now annually to a charity that feeds and clothes folks who need help. it also provides some services directed at children. other than that, i don't usually give out money on the street. it's dangerous to do that here and mostly it goes to fuel drug addictions, so it's counter productive in my view to be generous in that way.
janet
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i do it just to strike up conversations with them. /wc
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now i am a hard hearted proponent of tough love. these young able bodied men on the streets of knoxville asking for hand outs just need to get a job - N
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to do writer's research? i have thought of asking if i can take pictures. i see my world through a lens even when i don't have a camera with me. is it repugnant for me to offer money to the poor, homeless and struggling in order to take their picture? i haven't done it yet becuz i'm conflicted about it.
janet
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take their picture... and steal their soul...- N
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only repugnant if you ask them to pose nude or some something. hahaha - N
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i agree N that some folks, those without serious health and emotional/ psych issues would find it helpful to be focused and employed. my home city, vancouver, has a HUGE homeless population that is mostly drug and alcohol addicted people with serious mental illness. they can't hold down jobs. years ago there was a large institution in the area, where they lived and were helped with medication etc. then a philosophy that said institutionalization was dehumanizing swept across north america and many of these facilities were emptied. the stated goal was to move the critical services these folks require out into communities and to reintegrate the people. mostly that never happened and we have a disastrous and shameful situation in both our countries where folks who can't self medicate or hold down a job live in the streets, are preyed upon by pimps and dealers, and are chronically in trouble with law enforcement, etc experts from around the world come to visit Vancouver's Downtown Eastside area to see for themselves and almost without exception proclaim it is the most shocking situation they have ever seen, approaching or on par with third world conditions. hard to understand how this continues in what is considered the world's most liveable city.
janet
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LOL - nude would cost an extra $20...
janet
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but on a serious note about the desire to take pictures of the homeless, i have a similiar wish. once i was driving down a dirt road in tennessee and there was this girl and I guess her boyfriend, he was leaning against this old run down, rusty car. and she was standing there with her arms crossed looking down at the dirt and they seemed like they had the weight of the world on them...but it was beautiful somehow... i mean, they were both super super thin - emaciated - and behind them was this crazy shack that one of them, maybe both, were living in and just random debris in the "yard", it was surreal - but there was something beautiful about their sorrow...know what I mean...?...- N
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i've always thought that would have been a beautiful picture - i would like to document the downtrodden of appalachia - but once you ask for a pic it becomes contrived - loses something... - N
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the photograph thing is not the same.

the photographer and his/her subject are always separated. so even if you give your money and tell the person you'd like to photograph them (which they may or may not really comprehend), you are always separate from the subject.

when you finally take the picture, you are there, posing in your little photographer ways to photograph the to be photographed.

it is not the same as, say, handing a little cash to gain the opportunity to sit freely with the person, and just do your own thing, all the while listening.

this activity is cumulative. it captures the cumulative essence of the subject, but not only that - it is also possible to express in a similarly cumulative manner. Your final recount (which you paid for with your few pennies), is not simply a snapshot of the subject, but a rendition over time.

A videographer may be similar. Such a person could capture the subject over time, possibly even with a concealed camera.

/wc
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yes, i know what you mean. it sounds outstanding from your description :) that's right, i wouldn't want the person to change, but once you know your pic is being taken the aspect changes.
janet
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irfan, that's a good point. and if a person was self conscious, perhaps over the course of the time spent, with a video camera rolling, the self consciousness would fade, the camera's presence forgotten and naturalness would resume.
janet
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i am just now reading your entry above - somehow I missed it a second ago -about the homeless. under the right, or wrong, circumstances any of us could end up homeless. i don't know what the solution is... - N
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i don't believe there is a silver bullet for homelessness. i hope we are all always held close in the love of our families and life is good to us.
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The fact is that some people just like being homeless.
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that is ONE fact. there are many reasons why people are on the street and stay there.
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Ok, drugs, bad choices, bad friends, and bad luck...AND people like to be at the bottom cause they can't fall any lower. There...homelessness