THE BUM
The park patrol officer reached down and tapped the shoe of a grizzled old man. His clothes were soiled and torn, the buttons in the wrong holes, and only one sock was evident under a mismatched shoe. "You got three hours Mac," said the policeman.
The old bum lay partly under a hedge, and a brown paper sack was tucked under his coat. He carefully watched the foot traffic as it passed, and as two teenagers neared his resting place he started coughing. Suddenly, a mouth full of dark yellow phlegm hit the bottom of the hedge as he turned his head in that direction. With a deep crackling voice he said, "Hey kid, can I have the rest of that cigarette?"
The young man gave the bum a wide berth as he passed. He looked back at the soiled figure and then looked at the cigarette in his hand. With a grimace he snuffed out the cigarette upon a railing and tossed it into the bushes.
Later, the park officer again approached the old man. He reached down and gave a couple of taps to one of the mismatched shoes, motioning with his stick that it was time to move on. Surprisingly, this was accompanied with a wink.
The bum got up slowly and walked unsteadily down the street. At the end of the second block, he removed his coat and hat and placed them into the back of a Nissan Rogue
As the bum entered the back door of a nice little bungalow, a sweet voice asked, "How did it go, Honey?"
" I think I scared the begeebers out of one kid, That butterscotch pudding is really convincing."
The park patrol officer reached down and tapped the shoe of a grizzled old man. His clothes were soiled and torn, the buttons in the wrong holes, and only one sock was evident under a mismatched shoe. "You got three hours Mac," said the policeman.
The old bum lay partly under a hedge, and a brown paper sack was tucked under his coat. He carefully watched the foot traffic as it passed, and as two teenagers neared his resting place he started coughing. Suddenly, a mouth full of dark yellow phlegm hit the bottom of the hedge as he turned his head in that direction. With a deep crackling voice he said, "Hey kid, can I have the rest of that cigarette?"
The young man gave the bum a wide berth as he passed. He looked back at the soiled figure and then looked at the cigarette in his hand. With a grimace he snuffed out the cigarette upon a railing and tossed it into the bushes.
Later, the park officer again approached the old man. He reached down and gave a couple of taps to one of the mismatched shoes, motioning with his stick that it was time to move on. Surprisingly, this was accompanied with a wink.
The bum got up slowly and walked unsteadily down the street. At the end of the second block, he removed his coat and hat and placed them into the back of a Nissan Rogue
As the bum entered the back door of a nice little bungalow, a sweet voice asked, "How did it go, Honey?"
" I think I scared the begeebers out of one kid, That butterscotch pudding is really convincing."