Who is Bummerman?

Coincidence or not, I meet Bummerman every time I post a blog about him. My first post on him can be found here and the subsequent one here. I met him this time under the same bridge he used to live few months ago. I was on my way home to my car on a chilly Thursday evening.

I said 'Hello'. He remembered me quite well and said 'Hello, I haven't seen you after we met at the park'. I was pleasantly surprised to hear him remember me and our conversation. I asked him what he was up to these days. He replied that he is reading Sociology and Political Science. I said to myself 'Sociology. Interesting coincidence.' I on the other hand, have seen him couple times, but I was either in a rush to go to work or he was sleeping until now where we were both in between our next scheduled rush hour.

He said that he is trying to catch up on his reading. I asked him if he attended college. He said he did for a short time at Temple. I asked if he thought about going back and completing college. He said, he had thought about it, but it gets difficult to go back to college after a big break like the one he has taken as 'they make it difficult to take back students like him'. I took his 'they' as University admissions.

I asked him where he has been living these days, he replied 'Here and there, I try to sleep in the day and walk around with my bike in the night'. I saw his bike loaded with his belongings leaning on the fence under the bridge and a backpack next to him on the ground. I remember that the other side of the fence used to be his home for a long time and how he would keep the block clean for pedestrians like me.

He asked how my work was. I said it was fine and that I was heading to my car. I saw the traffic on the interstate behind the Schuylkill River in front of the brightly lit Philadelphia Boat House Row. If you have not been to Philly, Boat House Row offers a spectacular view of a row of Regatta clubs brightly lit whose shadow fall in the Schuylkill River.

I saw the traffic and said that is where I am headed and I am not much interested going there, though I have to. He then said 'Are you still analyzing'. I was shocked a bit to hear that question. For a moment I thought, did he suspect me of analyzing him. It took me only a second or two to understand what he meant by that. I recollected my previous conversation with him where I stated that I was a System Analyst. I described my job and what I do at my client’s location. He remembered all that clearly and was only inquiring about my job casually.

He had no hidden agenda behind that question. I on the other hand, had an agenda. I am only talking to him because I want to know about, his past, his present and most importantly the circumstances that lead to his current state. I felt largely guilty for trying to find about him and write about him without his consent. Am I subconsciously seeking guilt pleasure of peeking at a different world and a different life that he is part of and one I want to study? Having recovered from the shock on being asked the question, I replied that work is still the same old and nothing was new there. It was getting late and the traffic was only getting worse.

I said my goodbye and before I walked past him, I remembered that I need to know his name. I asked 'What's your name? I forgot'. He replied Roy. I asked ‘What is your last name?’ to which he answered Gibson. So there it is Roy Gibson. I shall address him as Roy from here on. He patted me on the shoulder and said 'Take care and drive safe'. I said 'Take care' and walked off from there towards my car thinking about the three hour drive that I was about to take. The impending road rage consumed my mind and all the guilt I felt a few moments ago was long forgotten.