Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
It's a conductor's baton. A slim bone reed around 15" long and thinner than the average twig. It can't hurt anyone and would likely break in half if he tried slapping it on a rock. It was a gift from one of the patrons of the town squares, when they saw him pretending to conduct the band without one.
I believe his name is Neil (someone mentioned it in the other thread). He's completely and entirely harmless. He isn't on drugs, and doesn't drink booze at all. He carries a backpack with a 1-gallon jug of water in it, which he drinks from throughout his time there, which averages around 1.5 hours in an entire night. He does screech when he's grokking the music, usually to the beat (THREE TWO ONE!) and sometimes without words, just noise. It's jarring but most people who are regulars there are used to it.
While a few people complain, most people either a) tolerate it, or b) are cheered on by HIS enthusiasm and in awe of the fact that he can maintain all that movement without keeling over.
He's also a nice guy in general, and if you ever attempted to talk to him, he'd usually be happy to have a conversation with you. He also accepts elbow-bumps of greeting, being mindful of social distancing and not masking.
He also sweats profusely after he's been dancing for awhile, so it looks icky but it's really all just sweat.
He says he comes to dance as his primary form of exercise, it keeps him healthy. I think he's terrific. We call him Backpack Man.
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Sounds as if he may not be "wacko", just, ah, enthusiastic?
One thought. I used to have a conductors baton. They can give quite a swat without braking, and with a stabbing motion, intentional or accidentally, could easily take out an eye or penetrate body tissue (think brain or heart or lung). Potentially quite lethal even if not thought of as a weapon.
Enjoy his "dancing", but keep your distance.