Most Downtowners are familiar with Jimmy, the homeless guy who wanders the streets and constantly scratches his beard (earning him the nickname “Scratchy”). Scratchy may be homeless but he is NOT a bum. He never asks for anything, and if you talk to him he’s a very nice guy. When the Sunday brunch crew was hanging out at Sleep Out Louie’s, we sort of adopted Scratchy as our mascot.
Well, yesterday I saw someone new on the streets: New, Improved Scratchy. New, Improved Scratchy looks and dresses just like Original Scratchy, except he’s a couple of inches taller. But there’s a big difference: New, Improved Scratchy IS a bum. I saw him on the streets for hours yesterday, walking up to people and begging them for money.
They look enough alike that people could easily confuse them. I hope Scratchy doesn’t end up getting a bad rap Downtown for things that New, Improved Scratchy did.