The Guy who lives in the Alley

The center of our solar system is the sun. The center of Anchorage, Alaska for many folks is Darwin’s Theory. It’s a small, old bar that has colorful history and draws amazing people in. For me, it’s a wealth of stories and characters that make the Alaska experience full. Just last night, I was standing in the alley outside of Darwin's with two friends talking about work and life. Suddenly, there was a shuffling and grumbling sound and out of a tiny space between the walls of two buildings, a man came bounding out. As if he was already in our conversation he questioned, “Yes, but what are you doing about the guy who lives in the alley?” We’re not talking about the alley where we were standing that is wide enough for garbage trucks and large vehicles, we’re talking about a space about a foot and a half wide between two brick walls. He looked like a wild man with one eye glazed over with fear and the other swollen nearly shut from a punch that caused a red and purple mash that hurt to even look at. My friend Mark said, "What about the guy living in the alley?" The wild man seemed like he wanted to express something to us but all he blurted out was, "I didn't ask for that". With genuine concern I asked, "What happened to your eye?" He replied, "My roomate did it." I quickly added , "You have a roomate in there?" We glanced at the dark space between the walls, then back to the wildman. Exasperated he said, "No, before. Can't you help a guy out here?" Mark handed him ten dollars as we started back in to Darwin's Theory. The wild man's mouth fell open as he was computing Mark's kindness. He didn't follow us in to the warm bar, but he ended with, "I didn't ask for this. Hey, don't tell anyone you saw me here".