Comments on: Putting the “Perp” in Perpetual

By: Julianne

Julianne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:29:53 +0000

Tom & Kristy – I have also noticed that he writes a lot of things down and makes lists of peoples names… Marilyn Monroe and Frederic Remington are 2 that I remember. I was buying something at 7-11 one night and he poked his head in to tell us that Albert Einstein was responsible for nuclear weapons.

I’m wondering if he has any relation to Charles Manson.. there is a striking resemblance!

By: kristy

kristy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:03:20 +0000

I live in Twin Towers and see this guy pretty much every day. He is practically a resident. My husband and I call him Cast Away (if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know why). He is generally pretty quiet. Recently, I found a piece of paper he posted. It was a list of things to ponder and there was no cursing or anything particularly disturbing about the questions themselves. The paper is at home right now but I remember that some of the questions included:
* What country was the brassiere invented in?
* Can a Great Dane breed with a Yorkshire Terrier?
* Can a man swallow food if he is hanging upside down?

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:08:03 +0000

I see this guy all of the time. I started calling him Wallballman because of the same reason people call him “Socks”. He reminds me of playing wallball when I was in middle school. He always has random words written on paper that you can often find on the ground in the parking garage by Tastee.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:29:53 +0000

I spotted this guy on Monday, June 22nd, walking south on Georgia Avenue from Fidler Lane to Colesville Road. As he was walking he was intensively “reading” a sheet of paper upon which were line after line of scribbles.

Working at the MLK Library where I deal with people like this every day, I know them when I see them. This man really needs to be on medication but in all liklihood will never receive it.

It is all so terribly sad…

By: Sligo

Sligo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:05:42 +0000

In olden times, the original Silver Spring McDonald’s was a magnet for these types.

By: Debbie Cook

Debbie Cook — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:40:47 +0000

I wonder if this man is a client of the Shepherd’s Table, it’s not that far a walk from the Perpetual Bldg.
I haven’t seen this type of thing for a while in Downtown. I thought the Fenton Street 7-Eleven was the preferred hangout (near that funky, weird little store that sells alcohol).

By: Nancy Nickell

Nancy Nickell — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:41:09 +0000

In this increasingly anti-social society, we will mock people, erect statues of them, anything but assist them in living a productive life. A humane institutional setting might be the best place for him. But such a place is expensive, and does it even exist?
In the 1980s and early 1990s, I encountered many men who behaved similarly. One even grabbed me one evening as I emerged from at Metro stop and intimidated me into signing a petition and giving him $5.
Yes, these people are making the people around them suffer. More treatment slots for mental illness and substance abuse is sorely needed. And we must preserve the housing we have. How many homeless people are crazy to start with? How many go crazy after living on the street?

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:50:09 +0000

It seems Socks has some lucid moments now and then. That having been said, I know plenty of people from this area who thought he was not worth the Han Solo treatment he’s received.

By: Socks

Socks — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:19:38 +0000

David,

One would hope we are celebrating something other than Norman Lane’s alcoholism and homelessness with that statue. How do we find out? Let’s hope it’s not just modernity being self-congratulatory. William Blake would be pissed.

Socks

By: David

David — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:46:19 +0000

In an earlier post, I mocked this individual but now have thought better of it. There’s nothing funny about mental illness and homelessness. This person was not destined to be in the position he is now and it is a tragedy that he is. Who knows what contributions he would have made (or could still yet make) to society if he got the treatment he needs.

Along these lines, I’ve long been perplexed over Silver Spring’s romantic treatment of Norman Lane (aka, the Mayor of Silver Spring, a homeless man and and “town drunk” according to the statue of him in an alleyway off of Georgia Avenue). Maybe I had to have been there, but what is so charming about homelessness and alcoholism? I’m all for remembering the contributions of members of our community, regardless of their status in life, but it the local view of the Mayor strikes me as a bit rose colored.