Tramps

[snotmonkey]

When i was a kid there was a tramp that stood outside macdonalds drinking tennents and swearing at anyone. the story was that he was a school teacher that lost his wife and children in a car crash, he has a huge house and loads of money in the bank but he wants to live like that. now in a different town i hear exactly the same story about another tramp. does anyone else know of the same story, is it the same all over the country?

[michaeltidd]

Yeah same or similar story all over...and don't you just love them! Our resident 'tramp' (who happened to be a woman) died a couple of years ago - it was all over the papers, she was that well known. Sadly, without an obvious replacement I feel like we lost a bit of the town.

[sft42]

I have a very similar story. I was sitting in the botanic gardens in glasgow revising for some exams and what i thought was just another wino sat nearby. He asked if i was enjoying the book i mumbled something back and then he said his pupil's never liked it. It transpired he had been a head of department who's wife had just upped and left him taking the kids and his life had fell apart. Well in the space of a couple of hours the guy taught me more about Shakespear than i had learned in the previous couple of years and i never forgot and tried to find him to thank him (as i passed) but i never could find him again. Was his story true?? I don't know and i was alone so no-one can verify this but i know in my heart that this happened and probably happens a lot more than we think.

[andyp]

Exactly the same story for a tramp who lived in the shopping centre in Irvine in the late 70's early 80's. After he died the truth emerged that he'd been alcoholic since 16 and never married, had kids, taught or had any money.

[xyzzyplugh]

I also met an erudite alcoholic tramp. He died in the gutter. Yet while alive, I saw him most days for about 6 months, we talked sometimes but nobody else seemed to care about him. His death was articled in the local news, that 200 people attended his funeral. Astounding.

[Cetti]

It does seem to be the way of most tramp stories - coming from wealthy backgrounds, but events in their lives lead them to opt out. In my own town one died after many years on the road travelling with his best friend - his dog. Apparently he also came from a very wealthy family - the bit that really got to me was his dog also died the very next day - from a broken heart.

[whocares]

Standing outside McDonald drinking Tennents and swearing at people - Sounds like a good life - anyone know where I can enrole at Tramp school?

[morpheus]

This story has all the hallmarks of the standard urban myth.Everywhere I've ever lived this tale seems to crop up.Could it be that society in general still stigmatises mental illness and therefore subconsciouslly inserts a"reason" to why a certain individual is the way they are?

[whiskygalore]

Our local tramp also hung around McDonalds. My mum told us that he was Mick Fleetwood (from the group) and that he'd had a nervous breakdown and shunned fame and success to live a simpler life. What's worse is that I used to repeat this as fact to anyone who'd listen and only realised in my teens that my evil mother was winding me up.