Cast of Characters

I thought I would write up a revised cast of characters for those of you new or unfamiliar with the blog. These are the people I write about in my daily tales. It is kind of hard to grow familiar or attached to these characters if you just jump in and swim so to speak if you are a new reader.

I have been writing about the gang as I affectionately call them for years now. My interactions with them ebb and flow as life changes. They usually hang out at the shopping center which is a ten minute walk from my house. Lately, I have been seeing more of them now that George is out of jail. George is kind of the lifeblood of the gang and keeps them together as they all consider him a best friend as do I. George introduced me to all these interesting people and their interesting lives.

Be forewarned that some of the gang can use coarse and crass language in their conversations. I capture our interactions warts and all so if such language offends you then skip the “George and the Gang” posts and read my daily musings.

• Carolyn – Carolyn is my 45 year old girlfriend of some months. She worked for years as a third shift convenience store clerk at a store named Fat Albert’s. She recently took a job working with Wal-Mart for more money and the chance to work the day shift. We have dated before and she shunned me when I revealed my mental illness. She has come to realize that I do have failings, but I am not some crazy schizophrenic killer. I love her dearly and she feels the same for me. She is divorced after 18 years of marriage and has a grown son named David.



• My mother, Martha – I often speak of my mother in these tales. She is a retired school teacher and taught for over thirty years. She also suffers from late onset schizophrenia and struggles to get out of the bed everyday. I try to call her or go see her once a day and encourage her to get out of the house. We go eat dinner every Thursday night without fail these days and I enjoy our time together. My readers of the blog enjoy my writing about our meals and interactions together. I enjoy sharing them and capturing them in words as well.



• George aka Sherman – George is around fifty years old and recently got out of jail after being incarcerated for months on a driving under the influence charge. George has an affinity towards overindulging in beer and wine and drinking and driving. George also prodigiously smokes the cheapest cigars he can find and you never see him without one dangling from his mouth. I and George have grown to be best friends over the years despite our vastly different cultural upbringings and lifestyles. George usually carries poor, minority people around this small southern town for money. Our town being so small, we don’t have a reliable taxi service. George also never fails to make me laugh and smile and I hope you will also find this quality about him endearing. Despite his leanings towards being a drunk, he is a kind and gentle soul with a foul mouth being his only real drawback to his personality.



• Pookie – Pookie is George’s crack-head, crack-whore girlfriend. I have never figured out what George sees in her. She will often steal from him and takes his wallet after their love making sessions. Pookie runs a crack house in a very poor, rundown neighborhood nearby that often gets raided by the police. I asked George once what was so alluring about her and his words were, “She will fuck your brains out.” And take your money without your permission, I might add.



• Ferret – Ferret is a good fellow who has had a past of alcoholism, mental illness, and homelessness. He recently just got out of a group home for homeless alcoholic men down in Columbus, Georgia. He said they preached too much about Jesus and God and not enough on how to stay sober and clean up your life. Ferret is currently homeless again after trying to live with his alcoholic mother for awhile. His tent is down in the woods next to the grand Chattahoochee River and the railroad tracks. I am sure I will be down there often to visit with him in the upcoming months. I also do what I can to help make his homelessness more comfortable being a formerly homeless man myself with a lot of experience camping and living out of doors during the winter and summer months.



• Big S – Big S is a panhandler and not my favorite of the gang. He is very forceful with his methods and uses intimidation to get spare change and money out of the people he accosts. For the longest time, he hung out down at the shopping center near my house. He has recently moved across the river to another shopping center to do his panhandling. Big S is a big, hulking fellow that is certainly not missing any meals. He also lives with his sister and her five kids rent free. He says she steals his disability money for her meth habit though. I doubt it. He is most likely eating up those funds. I am sure Big S will gravitate back to his old stomping grounds now that George is back in town and out of jail.



• Cap w/ Tag Guy -- Cap w/ Tag Guy is a ubiquitous regular down at the shopping center. He rarely speaks and I once thought he was mute. He spends his days idly standing around listening to his walkman as he watches life pass him by. The rumor was he once sold crack cocaine to support himself, but now receives some sort of government assistance. He gets his nickname from the price tag that dangles from his baseball cap that rides high upon his head. That fad was all the rage in the late eighties and early nineties. Cap is a little behind the times.



• Droopy -- Droopy is becoming a more regular member of the gang. I worked with Droopy years ago at a towel warehouse so we are already familiar with each other. He is “retired” and lives off of his social security pension. He is an incredibly odd looking fellow and gets his nickname due to the fact that his face looks as if it were melting wax and sliding off his facial bones. He also has the saddest looking and gaunt eyes. He is kind of an enigmatic character most days. You will often see him constantly walking about town going to his various social avenues. The only bad thing about Droopy is that he likes to bum cigarettes and money and will ask you for them constantly. I have often told him to hang out with Big S and learn the panhandling trade instead of bothering me. He always says panhandling is beneath him. That remark made me scoff.



• Dumpster Diving Dan -- Dan is a creature of habit. He has the same routine everyday. Each morning at dawn, he checks the dumpsters behind the shopping center for any food or items thrown out overnight by the night shift. He says the early bird gets the worm and also the unspoiled food. Dan is one my favorites of the gang and I look up to him. He has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that only his experiences in the world and his age can bring. Dan is also a veteran of the Vietnam War. He came home after the fall of Saigon and spent a lot of years recovering and finding himself. He once said he battled with alcoholism due to the war, but rarely drinks these days. I have only seen him drink beer once or twice. Dan also cares for and feeds a flock of seagulls over by the river every morning after his dumpster diving without fail. You will sometimes find me down there with him helping with the morning feeding.



• HIV/AIDS Guy - HIV/AIDS Guy is another beggar and panhandler. I despise him. He is actually fit as a fiddle and perfectly healthy. His uses the guise of saying he is dying of aids to get money out of people. He will ask you for money for his hospital bills and medications. You will also often see him with one of those hospital ID bands around his wrist. It will eventually get worn out and he will have to go back down to the emergency room and feign illness to get another. All the other groupies avoid this guy because when he shows up the police usually follow shortly as well. He has a penchant for shoplifting. I haven’t seen this guy in months, but he has a knack of showing up unexpectedly so I added him to the cast of characters.



• Dexter - Dexter is a slightly mentally retarded fellow that can often be seen walking through town everyday. He is a new addition to the gang and I haven't had a lot of tales about him yet. I am sure more will follow soon. Dexter was recently arrested for stealing fried pork chops out of his next door neighbor's kitchen. He ate eight whole pork chops in one sitting. "That must have been one powerful hunger," I told George about it the other day.