Grzzle

I’d name him Larry

there’s this hobo in south leamington known in these parts as the South Leam Hobo. he has dark dirty straggly hair and an ill-fitted beard. he staggers clumsily from one leg to the other up the road, past somerfield, takes a seat on the bench outside with a Special B before wandering back the way he came. occasionally he has a fag, which always makes me wonder. there’s no way he must’ve nicked it from somerfield coz the cigarettes are kept behind the counter. besides that, as a homeless fella he draws a certain degree of attention anyway. so, he either buys them or a kinder stranger than myself gives him one.

suppose the former. then thats £5 he could of spent on a 4-pack of the special b or even better, a loaf of bread, plastic knife, tub of marg’ and peanut butter/jam. he’d eat like a king for a week. if he were rational, he would not spend his hard-’earned’ mular this way. so, he’s getting them off people on the street. first of all, these people are smokers themselves, or they wouldn’t have any cigs on them. now for me, if i were a smoker, a cig would me more valuable (certainly more expensive) than, say, 20p. if these people are happy to give him a fag, they are surely happy to let him have some small change. but he doesn’t want money, coz he asks for a fag. being an alcoholic isn’t enough. how hard could it be to kick the habit? he can’t be smoking that often coz he is largely ignored by the local residents, who are his only source of the cigs. he’d have more money to spend on bread (or in the worst case, booze) and he wouldn’t get lung cancer… well to be fair, thats probably the least of his worries. it just doesn’t make sense though. if u weren’t so hungry u wouldn’t want a fag so much u old bum. if he doesnt have a facebook group i’m gonna set one up as soon as i get a photo. from across the street.