Echo Reporter Talks to Well-Known Homeless Man in the Community

In the past few years, many trips to Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana have consisted of the sighting of and the confusion about a quiet and respectful old man. This man’s name is Bill. He’s a homeless man who has been a curious topic of our town for many years. Few people have much of anything against him. There exists mere curiosity about his story, a story I have been determined to learn for the past couple of months.
Many simply watch and wonder. Most people just stick to the fact that he’s a mystery to our town. Freshman Madison Harrison said, “Every time I’ve seen him, he’s usually sitting on the curb with a coffee cup beside him. He’s usually kind of staring off into the distance like he’s thinking about something.”
So many locals are curious about Bill’s life, though very few of them have taken the notion to try to figure out the truth. There are many rumors out there about him. The most common story that many people probably hear is that Bill is in fact, a very rich man. They say he comes from a considerably wealthy family. There are, of course, questions that arise from that theory; why would such a wealthy man be quietly living in the streets of our Urbana?
Another very common story is that he was one of the millions of soldiers who represented our country in the ominous war in Vietnam. Many people use this theory as the reason for his solitary way of life.
Bill is the perfect counterexample to the typical stereotype of a homeless person. Most people look at someone on the streets and assume that he or she is an alcoholic, drug addict, criminal, etc. Bill, on the other hand, is respected throughout our city and those surrounding as well.
After weeks and weeks of attempting to contact Bill, I was finally able to do so. On Friday, May 13, Urbana High School Journalism Advisor, Erin Ludwick and I took a walk around Urbana to find him. At both Lincoln Square and the Courthouse, people seemed to scoff at our questions, sending us everywhere and nowhere at the same time. After about 30 minutes, we finally found him.
Sitting in the comfortable air conditioning of the Urbana Fire Department, there sat Bill. We offered him a cup of coffee and his eyes lit up right away. While drinking his coffee, Bill told us some things about himself.
Bill came to Urbana as a child with his parents. He went through school, he finished high school and continued on to receive some university education as well. After time at a university, he spent some time as an X-ray Technician. This information may bring even more questions to our community. Why is Bill on our Urbana streets if he was once in the medical field? He told us that after his short career, “I [Bill] reduced myself to the streets.”
On these streets, many people see him; many do not understand him. He must had been through a lot of things in his life because he told me that, “I take all day long to rough and reject hammers from my birth.” The interpretation of his words could be taken many ways.
Despite Bill’s different and shy nature, he is a very nice person. Calling me “ma’am,” shaking my hand, and saying thank you for the coffee proves his nice nature. Though this search didn’t bring up much more information about him, I could see in his blue eyes what kind of person he really is.
I saw memories in his eyes as he thought of what to say to me, and true joy when I told him about the fact that there are many people in our community that respect him. Freshman Joseph Kirby said, “He is the best homeless person in the world and I give him a dollar every time I see him. He’s really nice.”
Getting to know Bill can be a great experience, as it was for Ms. Ludwick and me. It’s amazing how a simple cup of coffee could make his day.

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Hannah Mohr

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