Harold

4/12/11 - Week 15
There he was, sitting against a BART stairway wall on Market Street with a "Smile" sign.  I obeyed and we began talking.  I asked his name and told him about the $2 Portraits project.  He'd heard about it.  He said, "I'm Harold.  You haven't seen me?  I'm all over the internet!"  I told him I hadn't seen him but I'd give him $2 if he let me take his picture and put it on the internet.  He responded, "Hell yeah!"

Harold is 52 years old and is from a small town in Oregon.  He's pretty happy right now because he's off drugs; been clean for 5 years.  He likes living on the streets and likes playing characters and making people smile.  This summer he's going down to Fisherman's Wharf dressed as Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and make people smile.  I chuckled and said, "So you're an actor."  He replied, "Isn't everybody?"  Harold said he usually hangs out by Fisherman's Wharf during the day and sleeps by the Virgin Records on Market Street at night.  I asked him how he ended up on the streets.  "Drugs, plain and simple," was his reply.  "I don't hang out with those people anymore…oh no."

I asked him if he had any family.  Harold said he has a son, 22 who just got out of the army.  He occasionally talks to his son but hasn't seen him since his son was 7 years old.  Harold told me he had a long time girl friend who recently died of cancer.  He also keeps in contact with a brother and sister who recently found him after 40 years.  I asked him how that came about and he launched into a detailed story about his family tree that was impossible to follow.

In addition to his "Smile" sign, he had two others, "Be Happy" and "Why Lie, I Need Beer."  I told him that I met a guy down the street two weeks ago that had the same "Why Lie.." sign.  Harold said, "Oh, you must have met Brian.  I gave him that sign.  I'm worried about him since I haven't seen him in a while and he's an alcoholic."  Yep, same Brian.

Harold was definitely in good spirits.  After taking a few pictures, I wished him good luck, told him to stay clean and gave him $2.  As I stood up to leave, he told me "thanks" and "have a good life."