Stick
On the much-requested (via that “Suggest A Story” link on the right) topic of notable strangers seen around Atlanta, I offer you Stick the Samurai. I first saw him in Little Five Points, near Sweet Lime, where he was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk tying on his Japanese sandals. (I think. I may have added those in my head.) Since then, I’ve seen him in Midtown, too. He’s a pretty big guy with a graceful walk and a nice attitude, in my experience. You’ll know him by his big “rice-farmer’s hat” and, sometimes, a bokken. (Again, I think — in my imagination his vigilante adventures require him to travel with a little more gear than he probably does.)
Does he walk the Earth, like Caine in Kung-Fu? Does he mentor lost children in bushido? Is he hunted in the night by silent flocks of ninja, lining the rooftops and perching on streetlamps like birds? I like to think so.
We gave him the name Stick based on a guy we used to know in Chicago, who camped in the front yard of a local house and walked around with a broken broom-handle. He, in turn, got his name from the sensei who taught Daredevil his legendary martial arts know-how. In truth, I know next to nothing about him, except that he sometimes eats at Whole Foods.
If you’re reading this, Stick, I’m sorry for the stuff I got wrong.
Dude is at whole foods for hours at a time on the weekends. I see ol’ Stick regularly.
I posted about my personal favorite local notable stranger, The Sheriff of East Atlanta, a while ago: http://atlanta.metblogs.com/archives/2006/09/the_sheriff.phtml
Is Stick this guy’s actual name? Did you try to find pics of him on Flickr? Might be interesting.
Yep about him being at Whole Foods. He’s there every weekend.