A cheerful sight in Old Colorado City

Yesterday I shot a sweet little wedding in the Garden of the Gods, and decided to skip busy Fillmore Street or Uintah Street and go through Old Colorado City instead to get home. I'm glad I did, because the Wagon Man was out there in the late afternoon sunshine, spreading his cheerful message with a wave and a smile. Be positive, everyone!

Wagon Man and Wagon Lady are back!

Many of you probably recall my posts about "Wagon Man", Phillip Cargile, the eccentric fellow who spent his days spreading his message of good cheer. Phillip and his wife, Cheryl, had run into some issues with the law in Manitou Springs last year because of his tendency to walk on the street rather than the sidewalk. Soon afterward they moved back to Florida and I figured we'd never see them again. That's why I was so happy to see him last month on the west side, wagon in tow, strolling eastward on Colorado Avenue. I was so happy, in fact, that I failed to get a picture of him! Last week I spotted Cheryl downtown with her wagon and cheerful message, crossing Bijou Street. This time I was fast enough to grab a photo through the windshield (Pat was driving, don't worry!). Hooray! Welcome back, Wagon Man and Wagon Lady! We could use your positivity!

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.

Be positive!

I love this guy's outlook. I'm guessing he doesn't have the same advantages as most of us do.  I'm guessing he's homeless, actually. Yet he was the most positive guy out there today, spreading his life-affirming message on the corner of Bijou and Cascade. He certainly put a smile on my face :^)

In Visions of Cody, Jack Kerouac wrote, "Everything belongs to me because I am poor." Here's your proof.

11 Dec 2013 edit -- Here's an update on this guy: http://gazette.com/side-streets-problem-is-the-median-not-the-message/article/1510857