The slipping away of Slipper.

So there's this neighborhood character that walks College Avenue near my house. I don't know his name, he's one of several slightly mentally ill individuals I see out my bus stop window on occasion. I call him "Slipper Guy". He's one of several nicknamed guys I deal with daily. There is "Tear it up guy" , so called because he can't stand to have a placard advertising a "Garage Sale', "Psychic Reading Service" or just "Roommates Needed" on any pole on College Ave. So he tears them all up and throws them on my sidewalk and yard. Then there is " Turret's guy " cause he always yells weird crap as he walks down the street and my favorite, "Hockey Pads" guy. He walks down the street wearing long underwear, blue running shorts and hockey shoulder pads, while carrying golf club bag. But you have to be out on the street after dark to see him. Then there is "Slipper Guy" or just "Slipper". I call him Slipper as he is always wearing shoes which are way too small for his feet. For that matter, he always wears pants which are way too short. They look more like knickers than anything else. He also likes a tweed suit jacket that is a bit too small too. It fits his shoulders but the bottom of the jacket stops about an inch above his navel. His hair is always disheveled. He's about 6'4" and pretty slight framed. To be honest, if he could work out his mental issues, he probably could be a male model, he's got the build and the looks. I've always figured his dress was some sort of fashion statement I wasn't hip enough to understand.

So anyway, back to Slipper's shoes. I was sitting on the steps yesterday after work, and Slipper comes walking down the street, wearing white running shoes. (Women's I believe.) His feet were inserted in the place most people ankles erupt out, leaving about five inches of his feet not actually in the shoes but hanging out behind, so he had to walk on the balls of his feet using the shoes as slippers and keeping his heals a good 3-4 inches off the pavement. He's always wearing shoes like that. Standing tip toed showing us even though he's slightly insane, he knows what looks good.

Slipper did his usual crossing of the street. --And he doesn't cross it like you in me direct from curb to curb. He always comes down the far side of College Avenue from my house, but when he gets to the curb of Woolsey and College, he doesn't just cross Woolsey, he crosses over to my side of College first and then crosses Woolsey, then crosses College again. There is something he doesn't like about that side of College and Woolsey. So as I watched Slip's movements, so was another guy near the bus stop on the other side of the street. As Slip walked by him, he ask, looking at Slip's ad hoc slippers, "What size shoes to you wear." Slipper answered something, and the guy walked over to a nearby car, opened the trunk and removed a pair of used Gortex hiking boots and handed them to Slip. The guy got in his car and drove away while Slipper slipped on the boots and stuffed his slippers in his jacket pockets. He then continued down the street. It's fun to watch good Samaritans at work every so often, but now my whole belief system is blown. Slipper does what he does cause he can't find clothes to fit. What am I going to do? I have to come up with a new nickname for him. For now he's "The model formerly known as Slipper."