Homeless man shoeless again !

blunomore

blunomore

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/nyregion/barefoot-homeless-man-says-hes-grateful-for-boots.html

After Officer Lawrence DePrimo knelt beside a barefoot man on a bitterly cold November night in Times Square, giving him a pair of boots, a photo of his random act of good will quickly took on a life of its own — becoming a symbol for a million acts of kindness that go unnoticed every day and a reminder that even in this tough, often anonymous city, people can still look out for one another.

Officer Lawrence DePrimo received widespread news coverage for his generosity, but little was known about the man he helped, Jeffrey Hillman.

Officer DePrimo was celebrated on front pages and morning talk shows, the Police Department came away with a burnished image and millions got a smile from a nice story.

But what of the shoeless man?

For days, his bare feet — blistered and battered — were well known. Yet precise details about him proved elusive.

His name is Jeffrey Hillman, and on Sunday night, he was once again wandering the streets — this time on the Upper West Side — with no shoes.

The $100 pair of boots that Officer DePrimo had bought for him at a Skechers store on Nov. 14 were nowhere to be seen.

“Those shoes are hidden. They are worth a lot of money,” Mr. Hillman said in an interview on Broadway in the 70s. “I could lose my life.”

Mr. Hillman, 54, was by turns aggrieved, grateful and taken aback by all the attention that had come his way — even as he struggled to figure out what to do about it.

“I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?” he said. “This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.”

He did not recall the photo being taken but remembered well the gift from Officer DePrimo. “I appreciate what the officer did, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “I wish there were more people like him in the world.”

At another point he said: “I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost.”

Mr. Hillman said he came to New York about a decade ago and had been on the streets most of that time. He moves about Manhattan, he said, not frequenting any particular neighborhood. On Sunday, he was making his way from the Upper West Side to Times Square.

If it rained, he added, he might seek refuge on a train.

Mr. Hillman said he was from South Plainfield, N.J. He said he joined the Army in 1978 and served as a “food service specialist” in the United States and Germany.

He produced a worn veteran’s identification card that confirmed his service.

Mr. Hillman said that he was honorably discharged after five years and that before he became homeless he worked in kitchens in New Jersey.

He has two children — Nikita, 22, and Jeffrey, 24 — but has had little contact with them since a visit three years ago, Mr. Hillman said.

He was reluctant to talk about how he ended up on the streets, staring blankly ahead when asked how his life went off course.

After a long pause, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”

Since Mr. Hillman’s bare feet became famous, other people reported seeing him without shoes — one even after Officer DePrimo’s gift — and one woman said she had bought him a pair of shoes a year ago. Whatever the case, Mr. Hillman seemed accustomed to walking the pavement shoeless.

He was panhandling on Sunday night and carried a cup with a few coins inside.

The story seemed to dominate the city’s attention late last week. Speaking of Officer DePrimo on his radio program last week, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, “That’s what they’re trained to do — help people.”

Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly expressed his appreciation by giving Officer DePrimo a pair of department cuff links during a private meeting on Thursday.

Officer DePrimo, 25, who lives with his parents in Suffolk County, rocketed to national attention after the Police Department posted the photo of him and Mr. Hillman, taken by an Arizona tourist, on its Facebook page.

On Sunday, Mr. Hillman was spotted by Jamie Seerman and her sister Samantha near 79th Street and Broadway as they were shopping for a Christmas tree.

As he was being interviewed, several people noticed him.

“What happened to the boots?” one man asked.
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Not really unexpected.. he would be a target with shoes worth that much.
 
“I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?” he said. “This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.”
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yup- this is the mentality that keeps the poor poor
 
ave said:
yup- this is the mentality that keeps the poor poor
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Wait. What?

A poor guy is wrong for wanting to gain something out of a story about him, which websites and newspapers are earning money from?
 
zolly said:
Wait. What?

A poor guy is wrong for wanting to gain something out of a story about him, which websites and newspapers are earning money from?
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Yes, he contributed nothing to the story. It was basically all about the other guy's (somewhat misguided) generosity.
He did nothing but sit there.
 
Somebody gave him a pair of boots out of the kindness of his heart. He probably pawned them for booze money, now that the story gets out he feels done in? How the hell is he worse of now due to the story? Fscking bleeding ass liberal hippies thinking the world now owes the man something because he was a beneficiary of a good deed :confused:
 
He would have been deserving of a piece of pie if he has passed the shoes on to someone who may have been more needy as he clearly doesn't have a problem with not wearing shoes. Instead, they are hidden away not being used, if that is indeed the case...what a waste.
 
Give a homeless man a shoe, and he'll wear it for a day. Teach a homeless man to make shoes and send him to China.
 
Merlin said:
WtF? Um, does he whip out his iPad and scope himself out on Youtube and all of these websites, or what?
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We had a thread about homeless people with smart phones and iPads not so long ago. These people are connected.
 
Was a great story.

Who knows what the guy did with the shoes.

Good for the cop on trying to help. That is where is should have stayed.
 
ToxicBunny said:
...he would be a target with shoes worth that much.
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Agreed he would be putting his safety on the line.

Garyvdh said:
Probably sold them for drug money.
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Probably so.

Merlin said:
WtF? Um, does he whip out his iPad and scope himself out on Youtube and all of these websites, or what?
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Just taking a guess here. Maybe because because the story went viral and reporters have interviewing him all week. Maybe because the people he encounters daily in Manhattan have asked "Hey aren't you that homeless guy I saw on Youtube?"

Rosaudio said:
Was a $100 pair of boots really necessary?
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I read that he got a significant discount from the nearby Sketchers' manager once the manager heard what he was trying to do. The manager let him use the employee discount. How nice.

ponder said:
Somebody gave him a pair of boots out of the kindness of his heart. He probably pawned them for booze money, now that the story gets out he feels done in? How the hell is he worse of now due to the story? Fscking bleeding ass liberal hippies thinking the world now owes the man something because he was a beneficiary of a good deed :confused:
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:erm: ranting people foaming at the [virtual] mouth
 
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