"Leslie dress-up magnet keeping Austin weird"

[ceile]

Now I get to decide what Leslie wears. Leslie is a homeless man who dresses in women's clothing and is kind of an Austin institution in and of himself.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=177440

[Fleshdancer]

1. SWEET!

Gotta love Leslie...in some weird Austin sort of way. ;)

[Madrone]

2. Nuh UH!!!

I was just given that last week! :D I haven't given him a space on the fridge yet though. I was told he also runs for Mayor each election.

[ceile]

3. That's so cool!

He ran in 2001. I watched some of the debates and well....let's just say public speaking is not Leslie's fortay...

[jobycom]

5. Not a good public speaker, but he has style!

And he occassionally winds up with a lucrative income. A few years back he went through a popularity phase that netted him a string of endorsement appearances. I remember one ad that had a picture of him, and ran something like "Yes, that's a man. Yes, he has great legs. And yes, he makes more than you!" I don't even remember what he was advertising.

Interesting person, to say the least. And he is a person, not just a sight gag.

[ceile]

6. Yeah, that's kind of why I have a bit of a problem

with the magnets. I know he needs the money, but is he being exploited? Laughed at? Taken advantage of? Like you said "he's a person, not a sight gag."

[jobycom]

7. Only in the sense that any celebrity is being exploited.

He does it willingly, as far as I know.

[idgiehkt]

4. this is absolutely brilliant

every town should do this. I used to work in a communally owned restaurant in my town, downtown, and we were right across the street from the square and the hotel where many of the indigent people lived. We had some amazingly colorful characters there, any one of whom would be a candidate for something like this.

[zanne]

8. He looks terrible in a thong.

Hairy butt.

[GOPisEvil]

9. Yeah, baby!!!

I gave one of those as a gift last week! (See Madrone's post above!) It's just TOO Austin! :bounce: