The herald., 1894-10-07
QUEER PEOPLE or Los ANGELES.
All About the Faddists and
Their Fads.
The Woman Who Always Rides in the
Baggage Car.
Preaching q Sermon to Boxes of Fruit.
Acting Up for a Cigarette
Helping the Saliva
tion Army.


people and Los Angeles hasn't been
skipped many times in the shuttle.
This the reader of newspapers in this
city perhaps knows, but the cranks. aa
a collective body are becoming dull,
they run along in the same old groove of
crankiness, content to be merely fac
tors in the general scheme OF crsnkdom.
It's the crank who gets out of the
groove and goes in on his or her own
hook that gets our attention and be-
comes of absorbing interest in these de-
generate days.
Los Angeles has few OF these peo-
ple-people who have one queer fad or
do one queer thing and have an absolute
monopoly on that. This fad is of such
queer nature, so outlandish or ridicu
lous that is absolutely certain no one
has ever had the same fad before, or
ever will again. That's what makes
them interesting-they are original
originality is always in demand, and
they are peculiar to the people who have
them; these fsds are.
There's the old woman who comes
down from Pasadena to Los Angeles
except in the baggage car and she won't
sit on anything except the peanut ven
der's chest. Now there's a woman with
an odd notion aud the woman aud
the notion are both interesting, in their
way.
There wasn't anything particularly
surprising in the action of the man who
gave up his seat at the Imperial Sat-
I'd irh har -,
another part of the house. His first
location was in row "13" and, of course.
he being trifls ssuperstitious, would not
like to risk himself for an hour in row
"13." Nothing out OF the ordinary in
that. however.
Bnt here's a woman who absolutely
refuses to ride anywhere else on train
OF cars but in the baggage car, seated on
the box containing stale peanuts, chew.
ing gum and popcorn bricks.
There's an unlimited chance for the
Imagination. No two persons in the
world would ever hit upon the came
solution OF the problem. Perhaps the
old woman would tell the reason if she
was approached right, but the conduct
ors say she refuses TO give any explana-
ton at all; juat says that che wants to
ride there and she proposes to, and she
rides there.
A man couldn't carry out cranky
notion like that because the conductor
would first order him out OF the bag
gage car and then if he didn't go, put
him out.
Right in line with this is the man
who always gets off the left-hand side
OF car, no matter whether it is street
car or steam coach
The street car conductors have all got
to know this man by sight, and they try
to get him sometimes by fixing matters
with the gTipman so that the left side of
the car near his seat will be up against
dray or hack or something, but no,
they can't get him to let go OF the fad.
He never has alighted from the right
side of a car to anybody's certain knowl-
edge. Down at the Terminal depot he
has been known to alight on the 'off''
eide OF the coach, wander around among
the coaches and walk way around ths
end of the long line before he would get
off on the left side. That's an interest
ing fad, too.
There is a man with queer idea
down on Commercial street. He runs
fruit stand. Every morning between 10
and ii O'Clock, when business is very
light, he gets out his Bible, spreads it
open on the show case and gets behind
the counter. There may not be per-
son in sight save himself; generally
there isn't, but he reads aloud his text
from the holy writ and, standing up be-
hind the cigar case, which serves as
pulpit, he breaches to the Assem- bled
boxes of fruit and shelves laden with
canned goods q regular sermon. He
sings eongs to enliven the occasion, and
prays for the salvation and redemption
of his audience. It's very queer pro-
ceeding. but this mans fad is different
from anybody else'f, at least, and there
fore interesting.
There was young fellow who had q
new and interesting fad, but it involved
an opportunity to get ahead of the game,
and go now all the "chappies" in town
are getting "on."
This young man would watch his op-
portunity and when anyone in his i'm
mediate vicinity lighted cigarette he
would wait until the first Whit OF smoke
permeated the atmosphere. and sud-
denly the muscles OF his face would
twitch, his teeth would chatter, his
hande open and shut conyulsively and
he would look like a man about to fail
in a fit. Some one would ask him what
the matter WAS.
"Oh that cigarette; ussd to smoke
them, you know: smoked them for
years. I'm trying to quit now, but one
Whit juet sets iue crazy. | have TO get
one lighted and draw puff or two W hen
ever | get the smell like l have now. or
don't know what would happen. You
haven't got one about your person, have
you?"
The listener produces q cigarette.
Have you got a m stch ?''
He gets match. Tnaps all he want
cd. The play is made. and he smokes
and looks for another sucker when he
has finished that cigarette. But that
fad is very common now.
But speaking about cranky people
there's fellow who comea around to
the police station about three nights in
home with him. He only lives y short
defiance up Hill street and the electric
lights make that part OF the city almost
as light as day. And it's generally early
when he goes home too, when people
are still walking ON the streets and the
houses generally lighted up.
The man says he is not afraid of any
thing, he doesn't fear being knocked
down and robbed or anything else of
that kind, but he likes the society of
policemen. He likes t, get limb OF
the law oil by himself for stroll and
hear him talk. no matter what he talks
about. and even if he doesn't talk at all,
he likes his company.
There was o tourist out here last sum