The Wagon Man

I first blogged about this fellow in August of 2012, and I didn't know anything about him other than he'd recently begun walking around downtown with a placard emblazoned with the words BE POSITIVE in large block letters, dragging a train of wagons behind him. I found him to be inspirational, because I surmised (correctly, as it turns out) that he was homeless at the time, yet he had a great attitude despite his disadvantages. I've since learned that his name is Phillip Cargile, but he's been dubbed Wagon Man by the press and local residents, and the nickname seems to have stuck.

Lately, Mr. Cargile has been in the news because he's insisted on walking on the streets of Manitou -- and when I say streets, I literally mean he's refused to used the sidewalk, and instead walks in the actual road. This, of course, can be dangerous, even though Manitou has a very low speed limit for motorists (20 miles per hour on the "strip") and there are always plenty of pedestrians about. Because of his tendency to jaywalk, he's received a few tickets. Many locals have protested this as unnecessarily draconian, and Mr. Cargile and his wife do not have the means to pay the hefty fines. Last month he went to court to face the charges on most of the tickets, and because of a vague loophole in the law, he was found to be not guilty. (You can read "Side Streets" Bill Vogrin's brief account of the trial HERE.) He received an admonishment from the judge and from his wife, urging him to stay on the sidewalks.

And so the Wagon Man is once again free to roam Manitou with his wagon train.  I saw him the other day and snapped this photo as I drove past. Hooray, he's on the sidewalk!

April 16, 2014 edit: Alas, the Wagon Man and his wife have moved back to Florida! (In fact, they moved two days before I posted this picture.) We'll miss him and his positive message around here. You can read more about this latest development HERE.