There’s a homeless guy (a different one) who schleps around my neighborhood. I saw him sleeping on a flattened cardboard box a few blocks away the other day. Most of the time I see him, though, he’s awake and active.

Unlike the other homeless guy I wrote about months ago, who always bummed cigarettes off people, this current guy usually asks people for money or food. And, he walks really slowly, dragging his right leg as if it’s injured, which makes it harder for people to ignore his requests — with his bad leg, it literally takes him longer to go away.

I was sitting outside one day a week or two ago and the homeless man approached a couple — a man and a woman — at the table next to me. I didn’t hear what the homeless man said, but I did hear the response of the man seated at the table.

“Didn’t you ask us for money last time we were here? Then you shamed us for not giving you enough? Please go away.”

I stifled a laugh at that.

Most of the time, though, this homeless man is fairly successful with Starbucks patrons. I’ve seen him with sandwiches, coffees (iced and hot), chips,  pastries of all kinds. This man has sampled more of the Starbucks menu than me.

Interestingly enough with all this, despite seeing this dude at least three times a week for the last couple months, he’s never once approached me.

I have theories.