One of my favorite individuals, the Pink Umbrella Man of Santa Cruz, has returned to strolling along Pacific Avenue. Click on the link to see his new, albeit toned-down attire and some information on why he quit strolling for almost a year. He, like Madonna, tends to reinvent himself every now and again. When he first started his afternoon strolls, he wore what looked like pink or yellow scrub pants and a Hawaiian shirt, and carried a colorful umbrella (previous to this, he lived under garbage bags on the Pacific Garden mall, had a sign on his bag tent that said, "There is no God," and bade passers-by hello in a gentle voice). Robert went all-out in pink attire and colorful makeup later, sporting boas, purses, beads, an array of flowered hats, pink frocks, socks with ruffles at the cuffs, bracelets, rings, and of course, a pink umbrella (usually a Tweety Bird one with a blinking red light at the tip). He walked at the slowest pace you could imagine, one snail step after another. Suddenly, Umbrella Man disappeared one sad day, and no one knew where he went.
Well, he has apparently traded in his marabou, fuzzy hot-pink leggings, and fleecy pink-lamb-shaped purse for more sedate attire, and now looks a bit like Ben Franklin, albeit a parallel-universe Ben Franklin with a kitschy "Lucy Does the Rumba" umbrella. I myself spotted Robert along Pacific Avenue just last week as I passed by the entrance to the Palomar hotel. It was like old times--we waved and said hello. And he did indeed walk more briskly than usual, when he finally got going. Perhaps, like so many of us, he needs to pick up the pace to get that daily dose of cardio!
Welcome back, Umbrella Man!
No comments:
Post a Comment