Today I was walking around and noticed a woman in a fur coat. That wasn’t odd. The odd part was when I glanced down at her what was protruding from the sleeves–they hung down over her hands. But not over her fingernails, which were several inches long. They had sort of curled over, like claws and they stuck out. It was like watching a bear…or a witch. :eek: I know, tolerance and all that…but it squicked me out for sure.
I also saw a guy just smoking a pipe, which wasn’t so strange, but I always thought guys smoked pipes inside in armchairs while making revelations or expounding about the nature of the universe. That was kind of neat.
My wife -HATES- the smell of pipe tobacco, so I find it it prudent to smoke out in the (freezing cold) entryway, or in the basement. … no one else out there 'cept the dog, so not much point in expounding about the universe: he doesn’t care so long as there are belly rubs and treats…
Once I came across four people in various Disney theme park style animal outfits. Not actual Disney characters but just four people out walking around. Now where near Halloween or anything else.
You know those ‘billboard’ trucks. Sort of a driving advertisement? I saw one truck where the truck had all its walls made of Plexiglas and inside were some live young women in bikinis and there was sand and some beach chairs and they were tossing a beach ball around. It was a tourism ad for some Caribbean island place.
I’ve seen many strange people, too many to say them all. One standout on the subway was a Mexican bandit. Like from The Magnificent Seven. He had had a huge sombrero and he had ammo belts criss-crossing his chest, again, no where near Halloween.
A few years ago I was in Las Vegas on Halloween. Need I say more?
Also, when Planet of the Apes was released, I once came out of a Chicago subway station to see someone in full ape costume walking down the sidewalk. Nobody else seemed to think this was at all unusual, judging by the fact that I was the only one who turned his head to watch.
When I lived near Washington Square I would always see this guy walking around the park wearing what looked like a ballerina’s tutu made out of torn pieces of pink, green & rainbow pastel gift wrap paper, with hundreds of tin foil pieces stuck in his hair. Summer, winter, same outfit.
I live in Austin, Texas and go downtown infrequently. I have had the pleasure of seeing our dear Leslie Cochran on numerous occasions. The first time was definetly a shock. I was driving down sixth street seeing the sights for the first time when I saw a man wearing a thong, heels, and what appeared to be a sequined tank top. I turned to my fiancee and said “Did you see that?”, he replied, “That is just Leslie”. That is how I see him now as well, just Leslie, but for a girl from small town America it was absolutely shocking.
A couple of years ago about 8 o’clock at night, as it was getting dark, we looked up and saw a guy dressed as spiderman crouched down in a typical Spidey pose on top of a shop front in the gloom. He was there for several minutes at least and hardly anyone else noticed him… We took some pictures, but they weren’t very good.
As Edinburgh is noted as a place to come for stag and hen nights, there are often groups of drunken Elvises or gorillas or fairies or whatever wandering past where I work - and that’s through the day!
Several years ago my wife and I were just strolling along the sidewalk in London on a busy weekday and this thing drove past.
The pictures don’t do it justice. It looked pretty much like the one picture of the dude reading the paper.
Totally awesome. A sofa cruising down the street, with two guys sitting down relaxing. The lamp at a crazy angle is part of the vehicle.
I did a double take, and was so surprised I couldn’t react to my wife saying “take a picture of it” until the light had changed and they had driven off into the sunset.
A few years back I was walking by a parking lot. The attendant’s booth was empty, but the door was open. Inside were all the usual things one might find in such a place, such as a board with keys on it, an empty coffee cup, a chair, etc. On the floor, tucked away in a small corner, was a little Buddhist shrine. In the offerings basket was a paper bag labeled Dunkin’ Donuts.
Across the street was part of a building, being made less whole by a wrecking ball.
Around my area there was this one black dude who used to walk around completely dressed up in an African shaman getup. A riotously colourful dashiki underneath a three-quarter-length fur coat (even in the summer) festooned with beaded and feathered tassels, small fetishes, gris gris bag, etc. He wore no hat or other head covering, but his hair was similarly festooned. He walked with a gnarled wooden staff adorned with similar feather-and-bead tassels. As far as I can tell he just liked to dress that way.
A long time ago I noticed a tall, lanky fellow walking down the street. He was pretty unremarkable except for his gait: He had a long, stomping stride that gave his upper body a pronounced bobbing motion and made him look like he was angry at gravity
When I lived in Cali there was the Naked Guy… I gather he was quite the small time celebrity in his home town of Berkeley, ran around without clothing as long as it was warm enough–also known for wearing skirts to class. Not a cross dresser as far as I could gather, just an attention whore. Good looking guy, very buff. I made his acquaintance at an SCA event when he decided to do his katas in the altogether a few yards from our pavilion. Couple of people went to have a word with him explaining that even though nudity is indeed period there is very little documented evidence of naked people allowed to run around in public during the Middle Ages and therefore it would be best if he were to at least put on a t-tunic or a bunny fur loincloth if he couldn’t be arsed to actually do some proper garb. The funny part was that he probably ended up being more dressed at SCA events than he was anywhere else…
Now I live in Portland and there’s a lot of weird stuff that just pops up at random–I’m getting a bit jaded I fear…
A few times on one vacation I saw a guy dressed very flamboyantly (but just short of feminine), walking a poodle and singing opera. He was pretty good, too. Apparently he has quite a reputation in that town. He is simply known as Opera Singing Dog Walking Guy.
On my regular morning walk I pass a family owned Greek restaurant (the food there is awesome) the sign on the door says
“starting next wednesday we’ll be closed on Sundays”.
That always cracks me up.
The other thing that gets me is the strip mall that contains a space that is both a Ladies Workout Express and a bakery called Cupcake Crazy. I can’t decide if it’s a brilliant marketing strategy or just woefully misguided.
Many years ago, I was walking downtown when I saw a man on the other side of the street wearing a multicolored Hawaiian shirt, bright fuchsia Bermuda shorts, and oversized sunglasses. I gaped at him and said to myself, “Gee, that guy looks exactly like Barry Goldwater.” Later in the day the TV news revealed that Barry Goldwater had been in town to make a speech. Whenever I think of Barry Goldwater (which, I admit, is seldom), I envision him in that wildly colorful outfit.
There is a street-level apartment at the front of a building in my neighborhood. The front curtains are usually drawn, but there is a sill between them and the glass. Two Chucky dolls (sometimes just one is visible) adorn the sill, and I’ve noticed that their poses change (as, occasionally. do their outfits) from day to day. Since a few drug busts have taken place in the neighborhood, I’ve been wondering if the dolls’ positions and paraphernalia represent some kind of code that lets would-be buyers know whether any meth or pot – and, if so, what grade – is available that particular day.
