I sat down next to this hobo on a subway platform earlier tonight. He had one of those stenches which clears out entire subway cars, but something about what he was doing made me sit next to him anyway. He had a few suitcases and he was scrawling in a large lined notepad. On the other adjacent seat to him he had a selection of trinkets, including a large toy airplane. 
 
So anyway this notepad was inside a large ring binder. There were also 5 other notepads in the binder, each of them numbered. I managed a quick peek at what he was writing. It was the number 643,807. Above it was the number 643,806. Above that was the number 643,805. I wasn't surprised to see him write the number 643,808 next. And then it dawned on me what was in the other notepads. 
 
I was mesmerized by this methodical scrawling for a good 10 minutes. The look of determination (or resignation?) on his face was part of it. And then he stopped. Opened up one of the suitcases a little way, and put the toy airplane back in it. I just managed to catch a glimpse inside. There were more notepads 

He reminds me of James in the FSF... 

craigb
He reminds me of James in the FSF... 

Hey...there's method in my madness.

He's the real world bapu - keeping his own post count 'cos he doesn't have a computer.

Maybe he was counting the number of people looking at his notebooks. ;-)

Beagle
Maybe he was counting the number of people looking at his notebooks. ;-)

It's possible. I think everyone who passed him was looking over his shoulder. 

I used to love taking the subway in Manhattan ... many years ago, after several strange, yet typical, events occurred to us while wondering around NY we got on a crowded weekend evening subway.  I said to my wife, it just can't get any weirder.  Seconds later, a man with a life sized paper mache Dan Quayle squeezed into the subway car.

I've seen it all on the NY subway. Back when I first moved here I was still partial to a bit of herbal entertainment and taking the subway stoned was an experience which ranged from enthrallment to outright horror. But really, the weirdest event was being accosted (befriended?) by this far-out hippy with acid burnout eyeballs and Grateful Dead badges over every part of his clothing. After raving to me about the usual psychedelic stuff for a good 15 minutes, to the point where I was looking straight ahead and thinking about something else, he pulled out a piece of paper with a website address on it. "This guy," he declared, "taught me everything I know about pharmaceuticals." I glanced down, out of politeness more than anything, and saw the URL of the website of a friend of mine all the way back in Newcastle, England. I told him I knew the guy. Both our minds were blown. It's a small world.