By Max R. Weller
When I left my campsite around 5:20 this morning to head over to Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, I was greeted by a half dozen mule deer does and yearlings not far away. My path through the field took me toward them, to within about 15′ or so, before I turned away. They were alert to my presence, with their absurdly big ears pointed at me, but showed not a trace of panic. At times when I’m asleep, they graze within a very few feet from my sleeping form, as evidenced by the fresh piles of deer scat I find.
Odocoileus hemionus
When I walked into the day room at BSH, by contrast, the homeless guests of that fine establishment were loud and ignorant — as if staff had passed out several cases of Duck Commander wine after the Free Dinner last night. BTW, that brand will soon join others featured on this website.
At least the toilet stall graffiti artist hasn’t been around this winter; he would use his own feces (presumably his own) to smear images on the inside walls of stalls in the men’s restroom. Do you still feel like donating to BSH after reading that?
Speaking of beasts in human guise I haven’t seen lately, where is Filthy Phil? He had taken up residence last Fall on the bench at the University Hill bus stop, and was visiting Norlin Library occasionally, the dumpster-diving stench a being sure indicator of his presence there even before my eyes would spot him. I haven’t noticed him lately, anywhere. I still recall how a nice lady would bring a cup of hot coffee and a fresh pastry to Filthy Phil as he lounged in front of the Main Branch Library back in 2009 and 2010, when I still patronized it. He NEVER said, “Thank you.” Then, one day she came walking up and she overheard this nut ranting about the International Jewish Financiers directing Boulder PD to harass him when he loitered on Pearl Street Mall, rummaging through trash barrels. The nice lady stopped bringing coffee and pastry to Filthy Phil after that . . .
Me, I prefer the company of wild critters which generally behave better than the transients in Boulder, CO:
Bums in Central Park circa 2010