August 27, 2012 at 2:11pm 49 notes
skid rowcomedylos angeles
Source: Los Angeles Times
A resident of L.A.’s skid row finds comic relief: Elzie Alexander, who’s lived on L.A.’s skid row 12 years, leaves his legacy as a comedian by sharing the repertoire of jokes he’s collected all his life. This stuff we’re quoting below isn’t funny, but it’s worth reading: “You’re going to do stuff you’re not proud of,” he said of his rough past. “But there’s no inherent respect in starving to death, either. Sometimes you have to do it.” On the corner where he passes his afternoons, the ground smells of sweat and urine. On this day, two police officers make an arrest nearby while on another part of the sidewalk a woman staggers by like a zombie — her head down and eyes fixed on her bare feet. A few feet away, a 32-year-old man yells and writhes on the pavement. Heroin withdrawal, Alexander said, adding, “The trick is to respect the guy no matter what he’s going through.” Photo credit: Margaret Cheatham Williams / Los Angeles Times

A resident of L.A.’s skid row finds comic relief: Elzie Alexander, who’s lived on L.A.’s skid row 12 years, leaves his legacy as a comedian by sharing the repertoire of jokes he’s collected all his life.

This stuff we’re quoting below isn’t funny, but it’s worth reading:

“You’re going to do stuff you’re not proud of,” he said of his rough past. “But there’s no inherent respect in starving to death, either. Sometimes you have to do it.”

On the corner where he passes his afternoons, the ground smells of sweat and urine. On this day, two police officers make an arrest nearby while on another part of the sidewalk a woman staggers by like a zombie — her head down and eyes fixed on her bare feet. A few feet away, a 32-year-old man yells and writhes on the pavement. Heroin withdrawal, Alexander said, adding, “The trick is to respect the guy no matter what he’s going through.”

Photo credit: Margaret Cheatham Williams / Los Angeles Times

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    Photo credit: Margaret Cheatham Williams / Los Angeles Times “There’s nothing wrong with not having anything,” he said....
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    “There’s nothing wrong with not having anything,” he said. “A lot of people don’t have anything. But if you don’t have...
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