– New panhandler to avoid at all costs: Those of you who lived in Midtown in the mid-late 1990s may remember a blond woman, about 5 feet tall, somewhat overweight, who would beg for money and was extremely nasty. One day she approached me in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, and when I politely refused she proceeded to follow me to my car cussing at me, and continued to scream at me until after I had driven off the lot.
Well, bad news: She’s downtown now. She’s one of the few bums for whom I will actually alter my route to avoid interacting with her. Complete description: White female, probably late 30s-40, 5 feet, ~170 pounds, blond hair worn up or in a ponytail, suntan/sunburn, usually has a button-up shirt tucked into pants. Last night I saw her down the street cussing out a tourist, and I quickly doubled back and went inside the lobby of No. 10 Main until she had passed. One conversation with her and you will understand why I try as hard as possible to stay out of her way.
– Sad news: Ms. Zeno, one of the sweetest people on Beale Street, lost her husband Monday. Her band was performing at Blues City Cafe (he was the drummer) and he died during the set.
I had been to see them the previous Monday, with a friend who had been displaced from New Orleans. When Ms. Zeno found out he was an evacuee, she came over and gave him a big hug and a free CD and lots of attention.
She’s in need of help with burial expenses, and several Beale Street businesses are taking up donations. If you want to help, I recommend dropping off donations at Tater Red’s gift shop – they are personal friends of Ms. Zeno and will see that she gets the money. I know people are tapped out with Katrina donations, but please help if you can – this is a sweet lady with a big heart.
– Thanks again to Carmel for the use of her digital camera last night. For those of you who read this blog for the latest info on Carmel’s social life, she says that Mr. Date Guy is “still in the picture.” Whatever that means. I could go into more detail about Carmel’s social life but I only have 50 MB on this web hosting account.
– Today on “Days of Our Lives”: Carmel finds out she has been dating her sister’s cousin who has been in a coma for the past 3 1/2 years.
– A guy who’s been in a coma for 3 1/2 years, that’s the perfect date for… never mind, she’ll never let me borrow her camera again if I continue this, and I want to re-shoot one of the Romanians because I don’t think I captured her true essence in the last round of pics.
– Dammit, I just missed Fish Races at Sleep Out’s! Everyone picks a goldfish and they race them down these rain gutters. PETA probably wouldn’t approve.. I’ve never been but have been meaning to go for 2 years now.
– All right, quiet evening at home. No drinking tonight (although I did go out for a couple of happy hour beers before typing the second half of this post). The caterer in my building is cooking out on the roof tonight, but it’s a very limited menu – filet mignon only. Fine, I guess I’ll just have to deal with it. Anyway, no late-night partying tonight, because I want to be well-rested for Cooper-Young tomorrow. It’s a 4-day weekend, so there will be plenty of time for partying Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. Time to eat! Talk to you later.