Panhandlers. Nearly every town, community, and city has them. They are a nuisance; they are bothersome;
and they are a blight on the landscape. Oh that we could rid ourselves of all panhandlers!
Tyler, Texas, is a small east-Texas community about half way between Shreveport, Louisiana, and Dallas.
Tyler is named after president John Tyler (#10), in recognition of his having supported Texas’ admittance
into the union.
Tyler is well known for its fabulous roses, and is nicknamed the “Rose Capital of America.” One in five rose
bushes shipped across the United States, originated in Tyler. Each October, Tyler hosts a unique rose
festival.
There are other unique tourist attractions in and around Tyler, but Tyler has another very unique tourist
attraction, and people drive from miles around – yea, people drive to Tyler, from all over the country to visit
one very unique spot.
Located directly across the street from the county courthouse, within the grounds of a very beautiful
garden of roses resides the gravestone of one of Tyler, Texas, most beloved citizens. Although he has
been dead for more than 40 years, the citizens of Tyler, still take pride in his memory, and even though he
lived only a few short years, the citizens of Tyler, still pay homage to what many consider to be the main
attraction in Tyler: the grave of a panhandler!
They called him “Shorty” because of his diminutive size, but Shorty was anything but diminutive. Shorty,
although a panhandler, was small, true enough; but he had grit and determination; and whereas, ordinarily,
a panhandler detracts from the value of a venue, Shorty somehow managed to ply his trade – accepting
handouts from locals and visitors – in full view of all, while at the same time remaining a certain decorum
and air of dignity.
Shorty, homeless, with no apparent place of permanent residence, managed to survive the long hot
summers and the cold, wet winters of north-east Texas, getting by on nothing more than handouts, while
scrounging among the trash and castoffs of others in the downtown area. And even though Shorty
supported himself in this way he still managed to live well past the normal lifespan of his species.
His species – now what would that be? It is an amazing thing to learn that Shorty lived approximately 50%
longer than any other of those of his kind. If mankind’s life expectancy is 70 years, then a 50% extension on
that would put a man at the age of 105 years!
But Shorty lived for only 15 years. That’s right – the life expectancy of someone like Shorty is ordinarily
between 8 and 9 years. Shorty lived from 1948 until he died in 1963.
It is an amazing feat to live so far beyond one’s normal life expectancy. Furthermore, it speaks well of one’s
reputation that the citizens of one’s community, in which he lived would so honor him as to erect a
monument in his memory and to his honor – especially taking into account the salient fact that the one of
whom we speak was a vagabond, a freeloader, a mooch, a panhandler.
But Shorty didn’t mind. Shorty did not care what people thought of him. Shorty was happy to accept a hand
out, and of the many things that Shorty loved to eat, he mostly enjoyed the one thing that was not a handout
from the local citizens.
Oh, Shorty certainly enjoyed the “freebies” that the locals and visitors handed to him – peanuts, pecans,
crackers, nuts, fruit, etc. Shorty liked those things, but what Shorty liked the most – what Shorty lived for,
and the main reason that Shorty plied his trade where he did was because his favorite treat was produced
right where he lived: the massive Oak trees that surrounded the courthouse.
Shorty loved his acorns!
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