Deciphered Dress Code

Today is an interesting experience in many ways.  I am sitting, as is my want and my habit, in the city’s public library.  You know the stereotype of a librarian throwing filthy glances and calling for levels of silence that would make a vacuum sound deafening by comparison?  I don’t think that will happen today; there is a band currently belting out jazzed up renditions of festive tunes at the kind of volume that would not be out of place in a Saturday night pub gig, so please excuse me if my train of thought is de-railed on a regular basis.

In some ways my life is changing, and in other ways it is staying much the same.  My dedication and devotion to the homeless continues; I still meet with my street fellows each day, chatting and making sure they are OK.  One of them, a Sottish fellow, whose compassion is almost as great as his comfortable proportions, has taken to my company and is keen to take me around the various homeless resources and soup kitchens to meet the other organisations.

I am still staying at the same place; the owners are very open about their desire for me to be there – I think they glad to have someone relatively stable and uncomplicated on their books.  I chat with them, most of the staff and a few of the other guests a fair bit; it is nice to feel the friendliness and complete lack of “them and us” divide between guests and staff.  I had a job interview yesterday morning so set off early for the bus rides in and out of town.  When I got back, still suited and with hair tied back, the receptionist didn't recognise me and my appearance has temporarily become the topic of conversation.  By comparison, my “usual” distinctive look of highly adorned leather trousers (now with added fairy lights), denim jacket and bandana must seem relatively tame to them.  The “Hot Tramp” look, as I have christened it, gets a lot of attention and comment wherever I go.  The homeless love it because it makes me easy to find if they need me, and it raises smiles and comments among everybody else too.  A local street photographer recently published my picture online and so far it has also been re-posted in Alaska too.  If it only makes one person smile each day then I count that as a good day.

As much as I find some of the city centre crowds too hectic, I need to collect my cowboy boots from the cobbler as well as going to a couple of shops I am fully expecting to be nothing short of rammed.  Wish me luck and talk amongst yourselves; I may be gone some time….