This is Evald.
I remember this man from my childhood. He was a well-known character. The clothing was the same all year around including the feet warped up in newspaper and plastic bags, maybe with sandals added in the winter.
He collected garbage and ate leftovers he found in the bins. It was rumored that he had a fortune on the bank.
He was the kind of character that kids like me avoided, but there are no stories that he ever offended anybody, or was drunk for that matter.
I remember when my dad took this picture, with me hiding behind daddy, shy. Evald caught my dad aiming with the camera and wanted money for the shot. I think he requested a hundred but settled for twenty. My dad got his picture – with Evald posing for the shot, but better than not at all.
He was well aware of his status as well-known, unique character.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if he was proud of it too.
One observed a couple of tourists feeling sorry for him and offered him a bag of cinnamon rolls. He didn’t accept them.
He died in 1999 at the age of 89 years old.
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