Crazy. Weird. What’s his problem? Village Idiot. These names or titles come to mind when folks who see someone who does not ‘conform” to the norm, Who defines the norm, is beyond me, but that is the truth.
On Friday, July 23rd, I was lucky enough to see the second screening of a local film called, “Vincent: A Life in Color.” This film is about Vincent P. Falk. You may have seen him for a few years on the Chicago local news casts of NBC or CBS, or walking down your street in Chicago, or perhaps waving at people as they take a boat tour. Well, waving is an understatement — it starts out as a wave, then it turns into him spinning around and taking off his brightly color suit jacket and waving it to the boat tours as they come under a bridge in the Chicago River in the Michigan Avenue area.
He’s been called an urban legend and even “Riverrace,” a play on Liberace, because of the brightly colored suits he wears and hangs our on bridges downtown.
His life story is a sad one, but he makes people smile and even makes himself happy with his “side work” as Chicago’s River Boat Tour Greeter.
If you happen to be in a city where this film is playing – I urge you to go see it. It brings “into focus” a man’s life-struggles with losing his family, living with blindness and so much more.
So before you write off a someone who may be dressed strangely walking down the street, take a moment to think – is this person just being weird or are they unique in some way.
LINKS
http://www.vincentalifeincolor.com/
http://vpfalk.net/