The Little Bum of St. Joe's

From: 
Story type: Ghost
Location: New York City
Source: Form Submission

I live in New York City. Three times in over the past 30 years, I've encountered what appears to be the spirit of a man who disappears as quickly as he appears. The encounter is always in the same place, in Greenwich Village on Greenwich Street between Christopher St. and West 10th Street. The time is always between dusk and evening.

The first encounter was in the late '60's or early '70's. A friend and I were walking on Greenwich Street one evening when we saw, about 50 feet or so ahead of us, a man who looked to be panhandling. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties or so, "down at the heels," somewhat unkempt and with the shadow of a beard. He was short and had a swarthy complexion, dark hair and large dark circles under his eyes. My friend and I agreed to try to avoid this guy and we veered sharply to the curb as the panhandler made a beeline towards us with palm extended. We were getting ready to brush him off when he got right next to us and our initial aversion to this creature melted into such a loving feeling for him. We both suddenly wanted to give this derelict every dollar we had and yet he'd barely uttered a word. My friend bought out her wallet and was about to give him the entire contents but he REFUSED to take it! He did accept a few dollars from her. I seached my wallet and purse but could only find about 60 cents although I knew that I'd had several dollars with me as we had been heading out for coffee and dessert. The bum took the 60 cents as I apologized for the paltry sum. He shook his head sadly and said "ah, that really is too bad". We wanted him to accompany us to the restaurant but he refused saying that he, "could not stay". We turned away briefly wondering about this myterious man. When we turned back to see where he may have gone, he had disappeared, nowhere to be seen. (I never did find that missing money). The second encounter I had with this little tramp was in the '80's after shopping on Greenwich Street. He approached me at the same spot, I again had the feeling of tremendous empathy for this man and again the money that I'd thought I'd had on me was not to be found. Again, I could offer him only a few pieces of change. He again looked at me sadly and remarked, "that's really too bad." I turned quickly to try to see where he was off to and again he was nowhere to be seen.

My last encounter, so far, was in the mid '90's. This time, knowing that I would be passing that same area, I took pains to hold a couple of dollar bills in my hand, inside my pocket. I met him again, and as I made to give him the money that I'd had in my hand, my hand came up empty. This time I told him that I'd put aside money for him but that I was sorry but I had lost it yet again. This time he just shook his head sadly. I went to look in my wallet when he stopped me and told me that it wasn't necessary. He walked away just out of my sight when I turned around quickly to see that he had vanished for a third time. A man who had been standing nearby said, "where did he go"? Of course, I had no answer. During the span of these three encounters, over these past thirty odd years, I have aged but he has not. & I feel as though I've encountered an angel and I've been found wanting.