Hobo Sounds

The West End of Vancouver is like a hobo Mecca. They come from all corners of the Great White North for the mild weather, the fresh ocean air and the heaps of crap that fickle Vancouverites throw away. I must admit, I have been tempted a few times to jump into a dumpster myself to recover a thing or two that my neighbours have thrown out but I do only have 690 sq/ft so there is really no room for any dumpster booty, yaaaar.

The thing I like about West End hobos is that they all appear to enjoy beer as much as I do. They are always up for a pint even if it is 7 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, why the hell not right? They have their morning, afternoon and evening pow wow’s in the various courtyards and tiny parks accompanied by whatever is on the radio, good times.

Most come equipped with a sweet shopping cart: Safeway, London Drugs and the Liquor Store seem to be the stores of choice in our hood to score those from. One guy however stole one from the fancy schmancy yuppie Costco downtown…the kind where the wheels lock once you are out of the yellow line surrounding the place. He is one determined hobo though because even though the wheels do not roll, he drags that cart along swearing all the way, quite a feat to watch.

The rest wander around with boom boxes blaring all sorts of obnoxious tunes even if it is 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, I mean who wants to fish around in a dumpster while listening to the radio? Too many commercials if you ask me. My favourite is the guy who is always in the dumpster on Bute (by the smelly veggie market) who sings Marvin Gaye and James Brown tunes and who screams out “HEY! I like yer ass gurrrl!”. He yells it to all the ladies so we all feel a little more special on the daily walk to the office. When men walk by though he just yells “Hey man, that stuff be being MINE so watch out!”. Ahhh the West End, gotta love the hobos.