If this were Mayberry, this guy would be Otis, the town drunk. Only difference is, Otis was a happy drunk. Not our Otis. This is one mean mother-fucking drunk.
You can always find this Morse Avenue pain in the ass with-in 100 yards of Soo Liquors. Mostly he hangs out in the Family Dollar parking lot. Otis sits on the light pole located by the fence. He's always drinking his Malt liquor and getting all nasty with everyone who walks by. The police don't care. They don't want this stinky bum in their squad car. Much less stinking up the jail cell.
At night you can find Otis 'sleeping it off' behind Soo Liquors. Otis doesn't like to stray too far from his favorite drinking spot. Notice that Otis doesn't let his 24 oz can of malt liquor get too far from his reach, either. He also snores very loud. I think he's either clogged up or congested.
Or something. Maybe that cheap Malt liquor.
What Otis really needs is a long, long vacation. Otis needs to find a place as far, far away from Soo Liquors as possible.
Otherwise Otis is going to die on Morse Avenue.
13 comments:
That picture is my new screen saver! Does Otis like foie gras?
Is it a crime to sell Otis a beer?
Do the liquor libility laws cover Otis?
Having watched "A Scanner Darkly" three times last weekend, my heart goes out to this guy. I wish he'd get some help.
Westgard said to tell you good boy Craigy, now go fetch him some signatures while he thinks up some other personal favors you can do for him.
The following is a quote from "Paradise.
Street Drunks
I've been thinking about street drunks. People think they are a waste of life and harmful to the neighborhood. It's pretty easy to see, but are they really wasting their lives more than other people who are widely accepted and approved of? Are they really more harmful to the neighborhood than other people who are held up as caring members of society.
And, to answer your question posed above Paradise, They REALLY ARE wasting their lives, and they ARE more harmful to a neighborhood no matter how one defines neighborhood.
Paradise should work civil service for a while, as a paramed, police officer, firefighter, or busdriver. Then she would see what harm public drunks do.
They fall down the steps and make you write a report. A drunk will punch an innocent teen in the faces because she was giggling as girls often do, and he thought she was laughing at him. They throw up,occasionally in your lap. They try to grab the steering wheel out of your hands when you are cruising at 35MPH. They start altercations with and sometimes assault other citizens with no provocation whatsoever. They will pull a knife on you simply because they don't like your looks, or you somehow remind them of their evil aunt Helen.
Vanessa "paradise" needs to grow up and stop idealizing the dregs of the world as helpless victims. It's common among youth to do this, I know. But at some point she needs to learn that these are not the types of people who keep the world running.
ANYONE who spends too much time on Morse Avenue, is most likely to die on Morse Avenue.
I heard that the Morse El stop is one of the cities most dangerous.
Does anyone have the actual numbers?
craig - Some reason why my post from over an hour ago wasn't posted?
Well, I guess not... so I'll just try again. I was saying that there are 2 people in that photo, one black Otis and one white Otis. I suspect the white Otis is "Pete" who has been drinking on Morse Ave for over 20 years.
I also commented (at more length) that I don't think Soo Liquors has much to do with these guys being on Morse- or rather that if Soo wasn't there they would go around the corner to another liquor store. Or there would be another liquor store on Morse. The problem with drunks is that we have no system in place as a society/country to deal people like this. So they lay on the streets until the die or get arrested for some drunk action. Then when they get out of jail they lay in the streets some more.
North Coast raises some valid points. I've heard enough of police officers' perspective on this to be aware of some issues that might not be apparent to the average person on the street.
Police officers and paramedics are sometimes assaulted and injured by violent drunks. They may get bitten, stabbed, puked on, etc. They can be exposed to disease. The same is true for hospital personnel in an ER where the drunks are transported.
All of these people who do so much to help others can suffer serious harm from contact with chronic drunks like Otis.
I'm getting close to buying a place near the Morse stop and I must say - I am used to riding the L and got off there and it was pretty scary (during the day!). What is the crime rate at the Morse L stop? Can you ever ride it???
razidazirr,
I've had my problems at the Morse L stop, especially when I was living in what is now the seniors' building located at 1528 W. Morse. I remember when one of the concession stand employees was gunned down by a kid who had taken their parent's gun out of the house. I can still see the blood that was on one of the turnstiles. It's never been a good station.
The problem? It's a hang out spot for the characters who stumble out of the liquor stores and taverns nearby, drug dealers, gangbangers and other malcontents. Why they like that particular spot, I have no idea.
I hope your not calling this man, black working class.
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