A Homeless Man Lives in Our Alley
The weather is consistently warm now. For most of you it means shorts and outdoor drinking. For me, it means another year that I have to figure out what to do about the homeless guy that lives in our alley.
At first, he lived on the other side of the building, but when the aquarium gated that up, he moved (along with all of his belongings) to the alley...which also happens to be one of prime spaces. Most of the time, I try to forget that he’s there. It normally strikes me as I’m giving a tour of the space and someone asks to see the outside. Then I silently hope he isn’t out there ironing or taking an impromptu shower.
I should have probably made him leave a long time ago, but something in me just can’t do it. Despite his foul-mouthed antics, I put up with it. There was the time he cursed out my staff as they were setting up for an event outside. He accused us of being inconsiderate and having too many events. I lost it that day. I vowed that he had to go. Yet, over a year later he’s still there.
Most days he hates me. Every event is some type of nonsensical negotiation. Can you please move your stuff back there? Yes, this event ends at 1am. No, I’m not sure if it will be over earlier. He always leaves those conversations mumbling something unpleasant as I roll my eyes and walk away.
Other days he waxes poetic about how he thought I hated his guts and that he was a real asshole to me, but now he realizes he misunderstood me. These moments are usually when someone brings him some leftovers or a day after I haphazardly gave him a wave.
Then the cycle starts all over again.
Anyway, another spring/summer is here and he’s still there. And chances are I won’t kick him out this year.
So if you come to one of our outdoor events this year and you see him just know that yes I know he’s there. No, I don’t know what to do about. Yes, the party will still go on and in time you’ll forget all about it.
Here are a couple of outdoor events in the next few weeks:
May 20th: Sea to Turntable - Chefs BJ Dennis and Rashad Frazier are cooking up a seven-course lowcountry meal.
June 18th: Re:Union Music Fest - It's a block party! Enjoy global sounds from a lineup of five DJs. There will also be food trucks, cool people and good vibes.
Missed you guys! Don't forget that you can send me a message by responding to this email. Also, if you think someone might be interested in these ramblings, feel free to share.