My Top 10 Downtowners

Original My Space post date: June 9, 2008

When I was on maternity leave earlier this year, one of the things I missed the most about work was the cast of characters that I encountered daily downtown. I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to the top 10 colorful and unique individuals that make my boring work days oh-so interesting.
1. Ed the Shuttle Driver - Ed drives my Station Square shuttle and has probably been doing his job for the past 20 years. Everyday he wears a denim button down shirt with the "Station Square" logo embroidered on the front, and a red tie. I'm pretty sure he's a Nascar fan because he posts Nascar posters of cars with numbers all over them on the shuttle's interior walls. He doesn't know my name, but remembers me as the really pregnant girl who had a baby, so he always asks me "How's that little one doing?" He's charming.
2. The Man who Sits in the Ticket Booth at the Station Square Lot - I don't know his name, but I know he's somewhere between 50-70 years old. He wears glasses with lenses like pop bottles, has big ears, and has 4 or 5 teeth. He remembers me and I always say good morning to him as I pull through the gate. Nice man.
3. The Creepster who Works the Surface Lot by my Building - "Heeey Blondie! Want a pop?" I think this was the funniest thing this guy said to me. I was walking back to my office from a meeting and he asked if he could get me a pop from the machine. Why? I don't know. Maybe this was his way of making friends. I often pass him when I walk to work, and he always has to stop me to ask some obscure question. One time he thought I was married to one of my co-workers because we went to a lot of job meetings together. To which my co-worker responded "Ha! No way!" which equally offended me.
4. The Italian Lady who Owns Milano's Pizza with Her Sons - Milano's is the little pizzeria on Market Street by my building - the only pizza place in a 3 block radius that my office is allowed to order from (it's a whole other story for another time). The little Italian woman who owns the place with her two sons - one of which is named Michael - always has some story to tell us about some customer or one of her waitresses. Although it's hard to understand her broken English, I am glad to patronize their business and keep them around.
5. The Homeless Man with a Baby Stroller - It's just like it sounds. There is a homeless man on the Blvd. of the Allies that I see around 5:00 everyday who pushes all of his belongings around in a (fairly new) Graco baby stroller. And I wonder, Who gave him the stroller? Did he steal it? Was it a gift? A couple of times he has asked me for a quarter. Maybe he saved up all of his quarters and bought it. Maybe he thought it was a good investment? You intrigue me, Homeless Man with a Baby Stroller.
I'll quickly run down the next few:
6. The Cleaning Man in my Building who Eats McDonalds in the Building Conference Room Before he Starts Work
7. The Chatty Cougars on the Shuttle
8. The Metrosexual Guy in my Building who Always Tells Me He Likes My Shoes
9. The Cheerful CB Richard Ellis Engineer in my Building who Changes our Fluorescent Light Bulbs
10. The Rabbit that Lives Under the Bushes Outside of the Grand Concourse (although it's been about a year since I've seen this rabbit. I shudder to think what may have happened to it.)
So there you have it. The 10 most interesting people in my work "neighborhood" who make a regular day seem special. I really missed working downtown! I mean seriously, if you had all these interesting people to look forward to seeing everyday, wouldn't you love it too?