Who is the most interesting person in Springfield?
07/19/06 • Posted in: Springfield by Joey Marchy 30 Comments »I was asked 16 questions about my neighborhood for Folio’s Annual Manual edition. Until the magazine drops on Tuesday I will list a question, with my answer, each day.
Who is the most interesting person in Springfield?
The shopping cart guy that hangs out on Laura Street between 1st and 2nd street.
I have since found out shopping cart guy
has a name, James. I always see him on either the East side of Laura Street in front of Fresh Ministries or the West side of Laura Street sitting on the wall of the Karpeles. James has always fascinated me.
His bloodshot eyes, the whites yellowing from age. His big nose and seemingly friendly manner. I always give him a wave when I ride by on my bike. He always looks at me like I am crazy. Goliath Flores thinks Jame is interesting, so maybe I am on to something.
Here is some more information about James from the SPAR message board.
A police officer friend said James has been out there for 10 years. He is out there 365, hurricane or freeze. There are at least three different people that stop and feed him every day. He gets breakfast dropped off and then dinner. He is well taken care of. He worked for his father’s automotive repair shop and supposedly when his father passed away he was left homeless.
Yesterday’s question: What is Springfield known for?
tags: jacksonville, springfield, folio weekly, annual manual
You aren’t kidding when you say you aren’t going to sugar coat it. I hope atleast some of your questions were positive towards Springfield.
I didn’t pick James to dog other people in Springfield. They only other person I could think of was Louise DeSpain, and everyone always cites her. Beyond my small number of contacts, I don’t really know too many people in Springfield.
Readers, who would you have picked?
Chris Farley
Tony, is Chris Farely the woman who heads up the Springfield Woman\’s Club?
Dan Blanchard
I actually think James is a strong pick. He is almost a landmark at this point. He is probably the least offensive homeless guy I have ever met, and anytime I have given him something (Left over muffins or Coffee from clean-ups) he has been overtly gracious.
My wife and I actually started calling him “old Fred” for about a year before we learned his real name.
I think you have something here. While I don’t live and seldom go downtown or to the springfield area, I’m already intrigued by this pick.
I’m sure it would make an interesting article to interview him. How he ended up where he is (from his view) and his outlook on life. Is his goals mear survival or does have longer reaching ambitions. A point of view that may end up seeming alien to some of us, but interesting none the less.
Dan Blanchard was on my list, so was Doug Vanderlaan, but in the end I wanted to go a little off the beaten track. Anyone else?
Mack Bissette, Louise DeSpain (she is interesting, even if everyone else picks her), Chris Farley, me, my wife, someone that has a physical address in Springfield maybe… j/k. I do seriously hope you had some good things to say about Springfield though in the next 14 questions.
Doug Vanderlaan is pretty interesting. But then so is Bo, the film producer on Laura and Second. Polly and Jeff, who live on 9th street in Klutho’s old home are probably among the most interesting the neighborhood has to offer….definitely the most stylish drinkers.
Lisa Neary is actually spellbinding. A fascinating engaging creature with a world of experience and untold stories behind the geisha like exterior.
Charles Miles the eccentric antiquarian/concert Pianist and his wife, the Barcelonan Opera Diva, Imma are certainly in the Leage of Extraordinary Springfielders.
Lee Harvey is terribly interesting, I think.
Jim and Donnie are disney characters.
And the kookiest of all the springfielders is probably Eva Ayres. total sweet little old lady/gun brandishing psycho who hangs out at the Springfield Women’s Club.
Obviously the list goes on and on.
(incidentally, I think Mack Bisette is arguably the least interesting person in town, much less, Springfield…..Louise is quite engaged, but I think its hard to compete with the more colorful springfielders in terms of ‘interestingness’ and still be employable.)
Derek Hudson who does the SPAR website is a bit of an odd duck by any measure.
Fletcher Allderdice and her loverly husband, Bob Shipp are DEEPLY intriguing intellectuals and artists.
Anymore Stephen? Ha ha ha.. Seriously, thanks for the input. Those are all great choices and I know a grand total of ZERO of those people.
Too bad you are a Downtownie now… ha ha ha
I enjoy reading your blog, but maybe Folio is interviewing the wrong person about Springfield. Most the people Stephan listed you can meet at community meetings. I don’t know who to pick either, but I know it is not one of the homeless guys we see everyday….bad choice.
Bad Choice?…don’t be stupid. They asked what was Joey’s opinion, and he gave them his answer. He should not have to consult the whole community before he answers questions about where he lives. Joey’s blog is a great source of media for local downtown news, and a good person for folio to interview. We hear far too much from the same old people in this town. This is refreshing. Let it be.
The homeless guy IS a bad choice. Of all the people Steven mentioned, I doubt any relieve their bladder on the neighbor’s fence.
James the bum might be a funny pick to some of you, but it just perpetuates a stereotype regarding Springfield for most of the rest of town.
My pick is Doug Vanderlaan (aka Doug E. Fresh). Like him or not, you can’t claim that he isn’t one interesting dude (scientist by day, crime fighter by night).
I enjoy this blog, but I respectfully think that Folio may have picked the wrong person, especially since you disclosed that you don’t even know any of the folks Steven listed. I hope that you will ponder the numerous reponses and reconsider your pick.
In fairness to Joey, I think that James is an enigma. Most people know who he is, but don’t know anything about him. Thus making him “interesting”.
The others listed here are all interesting in their own ways (Except me, I’m boring), but hardly enigmas.
With James, I have heard people tell rumors about him being a boxer, or a baseball player… All attempts at people trying to romanticize an unknown. At the end of the day, he may just be a guy who chooses to be homeless because he doesn’t know enough or care to live any other way. Either way, if James were the biggest problem Springfield we would all be sitting in GREAT shape.
Michael….
Lol. I wish I could claim that none of the people I mentioned would ever relieve their bladder on a neighbor’s fence, But having hung out with them, I’m afraid I just simply cant make that claim.
I do think James is fascinating.
He is like the Springfield Sentinel, I always thought. He stares suspiciously at every newcomer, and you almost get the feeling that you are being tracked by him.
It actually takes longer to get his tacit acceptance (if not approval) than it does to get the LOLOS (*little old ladies of spar) to resign themselves to your presence.
James didnt wave or smile at us until after we had been here for a year, seeing him every day.
After that he was warm and cheerful and always inquired about the goings on of the businesses, with uncanny insight as to the behind the scenes information.
Even so.
Springfield is a beacon for Peacocks in a land of Hens and Chicken Littles.
Even so singular a character as James fades ever so slightly by comparison.
(And Joey were still Springfielders, just work obsessed First Child syndromers)
Stephen Dare
* I meant LOLAS actually….Little Old Ladies At Spar.
to be sung to the tune of:
“Whatever Lolas Want……Lolas Get.
And Little Man, little Lolas want you.
Make up your mind to have…..No regrets
Resign yourself, Recline yourself, You’re through!”
Michael,
Thanks for your opinion and more importantly, thanks for saying who you would pick. To everyone else, if you think I am a retard for picking James, that’s cool. But tell everyone who you would pick.
Take a tip from Michael, don’t comment and run.
While I can appreciate the sentiment for James being the ‘pick’, I have to say doesn’t Springfield have a bad enough image, without reinforcing it? Louise DeSpain, DowntownParks, Phil Neary, Stephan Dare, et al are the heros of this story. Pick the pioneer that has been there fighting the good fight the longest. The one that didn’t give up through years of crime and grime. The one who parents refused to visit him in the ‘hood.
Besides, do you really think James is going to open up to a stranger (Folio reporter) and give his life story?
I admit James is interesting, just not the MOST interesting person in Springfield. For some reason I think this funny pop culture reference (not a tough guess) parallels our discussion:
Jules Winnfield: Pigs are filthy animals. I don’t eat filthy animals.
Vincent Vega: Yeah but bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.
Jules Winnfield: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I’d never know ’cause I wouldn’t eat the filthy mother-fu**ers. Pigs sleep and root in sh**. That’s a filthy animal. I ain’t eating nothing that ain’t got sense enough to disregard his own feces.
Vincent Vega: How ’bout a dog? Dog eats his own feces.
Jules Winnfield: I don’t eat dog either.
Vincent Vega: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?
Jules Winnfield: I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they definitely dirty. But, dog’s got personality; personality goes a long way.
Vincent Vega: Ahh, so by that rational, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?
Jules Winnfield: Well, we’d have to be talking one charming mother-fu**ing pig.
Stephen, I love your picks. You definitely know Springfield and its residents. It’s people like Charles and Imma, Jim and Don, Eva, Doug and Lisa to name a few that make me love living in Springfield. To all of you that are afraid to leave your boring, whitebread neighborhoods; you will never know what you are missing.
Joey, dude you need to get out more.You are missing way too much.
As far as crime goes, I have been affected no more here than I was in my former “desirable” Southside neighborhoods.
Without a doubt….Goliath Flores.
Amazing guitarist & conversationalist…
“I hope that you will ponder the numerous reponses and reconsider your pick.”
I disagree. If James is the most interesting person to JOEY, then that is the “correct” answer.
On the other hand, I think the Folio is the wrong vehicle to do the story. They often go into their stories with preconceived agendas and unfortunately the “outside world” does not get all sides of the picture.
Folio: good only for bar/nightclub/concert news.
I will be the first to admit I need to get out more. I am playing softball this August, so that will be my one of my first attempts to get out and meet some of my neighbors.
Joey, I log on to your blog from time to time to learn what’s happening in your life and neighborhood. I enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas and the responses from your fellow bloggers. Keep up the good work. Aunt B
Just wanted to say a word about my dear friend Fred Pinkney
who was the most interesting person in Springfield, and
second only in popularity (whether that be love, hate, intolerance,
or disgust) to the mayor. We spent many hours together in
lenghty debate, Fred was a Republican, and many more hours
in business ventures, (sorry about the door knobs guys.)
At any rate Fred succumed to a brown recluse spider bite
from crawliing into his last attic, and checked himself out of
Shands instead of having to deal with the humiliation of
being a patient. Fred was adicted to crack (starting with free basing coke at a UF party in 1978. His mama told him about heroin. She didn’t know crack. Those of us who knew Fred best
remember his MO which was stealing plants out of one yard and
taking them two houses down and selling them. One day,
Lisa may have to verify this, he got high and tried to sell
Lisa Rowe back her own plants. At any rate, Fred was a good man,
a loyal friend, we had a couple of major fights but I never called the cops on him. We had rules, I wouldn’t let him smoke crack in the building. I took him down on the street one time for coming to an opeing high and hitting on the high school girls. We made up the following Monday. He was an asset to the Republican Party.
I never could understand that, and I refused to take him to vote because I knew he was a hugh Bush supporter. But we could
argue politics, religion or the finer points of the DaVinci Code,
Fred’s favorite book, (along with way too many other Americans.)
He told me that he was in jail over 75 separate times, I would love
to verify that. Every time he got out he would come see me and we would catch up. He never killed anybody that I knew of, except
for maybe this old couple on the northside, but he was high.
I do know the cops were looking for him for questioning. He
wanted to do a movie called, “Life After Dark.” about what it was
like being a crack head.
I was all for it, almost bought him a video camera, but I knew that it would be at the pawn shop in two days.
Fred, I miss you, and I know that Springfield misses you.
jim d
Thats too bad about Fred, Jim.
He was devilish, charming and fascinating.
A bit like Sammy Davis Jr. playing a down and out 1940s Mephistopheles.
Thanks for your thought Jim.