Do you know a character?

Question

Every town, whether a big, towering city or a backwoods collection of huts, has that character. You know the one! The fella everyone knows, everyone has a story to tell about.
Town drunk, neighborhood auntie, local war hero, everyone's best friend sheriff, the cat lady... These are characters! The little dabbles of color that gives every town, big or small, famous or off the map, those little details that make it what it is.
Well, I am collecting characters.
As a writer, I am always looking for that little dabble of color that will make my readers sit up and say “I’ve been there!”
As a historian, I am always looking for that little detail that adds to the story of time gone by.
So, I ask you, tell me about the character in your own town and I’ll tell you about mine.

To be fair…

My favorite character was a dog. Biggest beast on earth, fangs that dropped to the ground, droll that could drown a small child and every kid’s best buddy and mother hen. His name was Moose.
No one knew, for sure, who owned him, but he always seemed to be around.
I first met him while playing hide & seek with my brothers in the woods. I heard my big brother let out a most blood curdling scream. We ran up to find that he had been bowled out of his hiding place by Moose who now sat on his chest slobbering all over his face. When Moose was done with the face, he rolled my brother and proceeded to clean his ears.
We didn’t know whether to run for help or a camera!

There was a time when a local kid was nearly nabbed at the bus stop. The story goes Moose came out of the bushes and landed on the hood of the would be kidnapper’s hood with a snarl that scared the man right out the back window. He ran right to the cops yelling about a vicious beast in the woods, but, alas, by then the cops already had the real story and dragged him away in cuffs. From then on, Moose could always be found waiting at the bus stop when the first kid arrived, followed the bus to school, chewed on the tire swing all day, followed the bus back, and waited until the last kid was picked up.

They say he had been hit by more than one car, eventually developing a limp. Listen to the neighborhood kids and the varies vehicles that he has not only been hit by, but destroyed in the process keeps getting bigger and bigger. last noted was a logging truck he reportedly dislodged the water pump in.
Funny thing, it’s been 18years since I first met Moose, 6years since I’ve left home and I still get reports one what new great adventure Moose and the neighborhood kids are up to.
Just how long does a dog live for anyways?

Answer 1

True story.
He is known as 'Mango Man'. Not sure where the name originated. He is very well known in our town and other nearby towns. This town is in Hawaii.
People say he is a Vietnam war veteran that suffered mental distress-not sure if it is true or not. He is tall, large frame, African-American, with long unkept dread locks. He has been living on the streets for as long as I can remember. He does not bother anyone and keeps to himself. He does not beg or ask for anything. I have never seen him going through trash. He appears to be healthy. I don't think he bathes. He wears long pants and long sleeves. He caries with him everywhere, his long wooden cane- it looks like an antique. It does not appear like he needs the cane, but that he might just like carrying it around. He has lightly colored eyes-brownish/green. He looks about late 50s early 60s. What makes him special is that I feel there is some sort of unspoken respect that most people in the town have for him. He still lives on the streets today.

Answer 2

There's a guy in the city I live in known to everyone only as 'the monk'. He dresses in a monk's robes and spends all his days walking all over the city (and I really do mean ALL over the city) in his sandals and waving to all the passers by he comes across. The city's population is close to 500,000, and yet most people who live there must have been waved at by him at one time or another. I don't think there's anyone who dislikes him either, quite a character.

Answer 3

We have a local hero that is a UFC Champion from Davenport Iowa. There is the Painted Lady. She dresses normal but her face is painted white with blue eye lids and a wig. Then we have the Yelling man. He walks the streets yelling to himself constantly.

Answer 4

Love your story. I live in a small community of 2,500 which is about 10 miles from a big city. My next door neighbor is my character. He is a landscaper who knows everyone in town. He is almost always drunk after work but would never drive after drinking and is about the nicest guy I know. . . .he would give you the shirt off his back if he remembered he had one on. He cannot tell you everyones first name, but everyone in town has a nickname. Mine is "Skipper". I was on my way to take my son to school one morning after a large rain. I was not paying attention and missed my turn off so decided to pull over to the access road by going into the dirt off the highway. Not smart on my part and of course I got stuck. I was calling a friend on my cell phone who has a pickup to come and rescue me when my son says, "You don't have to worry Mom. . . .there's Noe." I said a "bad word" because I knew that I would never hear the end of it. Well, he was as kind as ever, got my son to school on time and helped me get my car out of the mud and did not say a word. . . .until later he christened me "Skipper" for trying to float my boat. Not all of his names are endearing as two women on the next block who are known for their psychiatric medications he calls "Itchy and Twitchy", but he is a friend to all and would help ANYONE if they asked. I suppose you could call him our town drunk or town busy body, but I would most refer to him as the town's loyal big brother. Good luck on your story. Sounds like fun.

Answer 5

Wild Bill. He used to drive around in his beat-up old cars and buses with handpainted signs that said all kinds of weird things about evil lawyers and such. He always went around town wearing a filthy women's coat that was about 5 sizes too small for him. He died in an old folks' home of diabetes after having his foot cut off.

Answer 6

The guy who sells the paper has a big personality and sings and yells out in jocular manner to all us commuters, he makes me smile every day!

Answer 7

we have a local gum thief. stole a pack of trident form me last Thursday

Answer 8

I am that character, and there is not enough space to explain it.