Sidewalk Weeding

A homeless man from my Coos Bay neighborhood in his 50s or 60s has carved out a useful way to survive. He has established business relationships with owners of a tavern, convenience store and various residences to weed/scrape the sidewalks and curbs in front of these structures in exchange for cash. From what I can tell the business is growing.

I’ve talked to the man a couple of times in my local dive tavern, where he drinks a coffee, charges his phone, uses the restroom, and generally has conversations with himself or with someone who is actually not sitting next to him at the bar. I don’t know his name. There is something slightly off about him, but not so much that he hasn’t engaged with people to employ him.

He does not drink or gamble in the tavern. He did tell me he owned a landscaping business years ago, and retained a few tools to perform his new ad hoc landscaping service. I’ve seen him living out of a battered Jeep Cherokee from the 90s.

“All I need is a square shovel to scrape and edge and a rake,” he said to me one afternoon after I commended his work on behalf of the tavern.

“With a few tools, I can clean up anything,” he added.

I’ve seen his work. It’s impeccable. It’s a tiny attempt at beautification for a neighborhood desperately in need of some. I may hire him because I loathe edging! Next time I see him, I’ll ask his rate for a driveway.