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On what grounds did the City of Waterloo earn its distinction as an "intelligent city" â€" certainly not on the ground of cleanliness? Clearly, the judges who awarded this distinction to Waterloo were not escorted along the corridors of Columbia and Albert streets. These streets and others like them surrounding our two universiâ€" ties are a disgrace. And as the popuâ€" lation of both our universities increases, so, too, does the garbage that is strewn all over the front lawns of (buildings owned by) absentee landlords. Naturally, this garbage ... ends up blowing, or is dragged by animals, all over the neighbourhood. City council must resolve this dilemma and swiftly. Students occuâ€" pying a house have no vested interâ€" est in keeping it maintained. _ To witness what were once careâ€" fully groomed lawns in wellâ€"estabâ€" lished neighbourhoods deteriorate A landlord has the responsibility to his tenants, and to adjacent propâ€" erty owners, to maintain his properâ€" Time for leadership campaign. As you might expect, I get a lot of attention durâ€" ing this week. To be honest, that is not a bad thing. Who doesn‘t want to be told they‘re doing some good? I also get a lot of questions. So this week, like most bad websites in the world, Frequently Asked Questions about the poster boy. What it‘s like to live in a tent 1. Where do you go to the bathroom? Potential answers: «1 don‘t. * Over the edge of the board. * Into a coffee cup. * In the onâ€"site trailer. 2. Do you really sleep up there? Yes. I have never missed a night, although there have been a few nights when I‘ve wanted to be elsewhere. And more than a couple when I‘ve been up in the midâ€" die of the night strapping down tarpauâ€" lins or rebuilding shelters. 3. Do you get a lot of sleep? Depends BC on a variety of things. If the weather is I chilly, it‘s OK right up until the moment my large butt finds its way out of the sleeping bag â€" then you wake up in a hurry. Same thing if the ambulances are fairly frequent. Of course, I‘m only 10 feet from King Street, so there‘s a significant amount of road noise. Plus, the guy who lives in the tent won‘t turn off the radio. _ On the other hand, if the weather‘s nice, sleeping is actually not that bad. 4. What‘s in your tent? A variety of equipment I don‘t really understand but I am told allows me to get on the air all the time. (It is better, in this busiâ€" ness, if you don‘t allow the "talent" to actually touch anything). A sleeping bag. A very nice single mattress. My suitcase and a coffee maker. (The Tim‘s at the hospiâ€" tal doesn‘t open until after I get up). There‘s a heater available just in case. There is just enough space for me, given all the electronics stuff. 5. Can I come up and take a look? The answer4 have been told to give is no, for insurance purposes. Sometimes though, it happens. Can‘t tell you when. s you read this, I am comfortably ensconced in my patio home, just in front of Grand River Hospital, for the annual KOOL FM Poster Boy The time has come for the city to show leadership in cracking down on this travesty. City crews need to be on these streets not just in the spring but yearâ€"round because the universities are open for business yearâ€"round. into garbage ghettos is heartbreakâ€" ing and depressing for the residents who have lived on these streets. Then a simple calculation of the tax bill goes to the landlord. â€" It is only when he or she sees that taxes have increased substantially that there will be any incentive to arrange for a groundskeeper. Thank you for your horrifying ediâ€" torial cartoon remarking that university students are less valuable than backyard chickens. Thank you, because it gives a clear indication to your readers of the attitudes we have to get past for this city to flourish. Cartoon sends wrong message BRIAN BOURKE COMMENT 6. What‘s your favorite moment? I enjoy meeting listeners from all over southern Ontario. And hearâ€" ing their stories. I also like talking to the kids who come down. 7. What‘s the most difficult part? Strangely enough, it can be hearing those same stories. Canâ€" cer is such a devastating disease, and so wideâ€" spread, that it‘s easy to relate to what people tell me. Having had both parents die of canâ€" - cer, it also holds a special meaning for We all hope our kids will learn from digging into charitable causes. Last year, one young man, Josh Proksch, came down as a representative of Waterloo Oxford school with a donation. Ten years ago, when he was just five or six years old, he was running a lemonade stand for Poster Boy. It‘s cool that he‘s still helping. lJ A few years ago, I told a reporter 1 couldn‘t imagine still doing this when I AN was 50. Since that milestone is just a RKE couple of months away, I guess that + mark was missed. That‘s OK. I realized the other day there‘s an entire group of children in the area who have grown up with this campaign, and that‘s a very neat feeling. I know my own children, who have spent half their lives involved in the Poster Boy campaign, continue to give of themselves in the community. I hope you get the chance to come down and say hi. It‘s always nice to meet a listener or a reader. Brian Bourke, a member of the 105.3 KOOL FM morning crew, can be reached by email at bbourke@koolfm.com. H. Mason Waterloo There have been plenty of times when I‘ve needed a few minutes to compose myself, and even then I haven‘t always been successful. 8. What do you eat? For the last few years, it‘s been off the hospital menu. It‘s both delicious and nutritious. L could really have anything I want, but with the lack of movement and exerâ€" cise, it‘s best to just eat light. Otherwise I will morph into a huge tub of goo. Living in Waterloo for five years, I have never received an insult like this. I take this personally because stereotypes and prejudice do cause personal implications. I suppose I was less valuable than chickens when I was going doorâ€"toâ€" door with local police officers talking to students about the bylaws. Or when my friends pick up litter in the city, propose environmental soluâ€" tions to Laurel Creek, provide jobs and research to the community, shop at local businesses and volunâ€" teer to feed the poor. With messages like yours, it is no wonder some of our brightest stuâ€" dents don‘t remain here. Residents of Waterloo, let‘s reject this ageism. Let‘s come together to create dialogue and solutions. We‘ll do it proactively. R For the record, I support the choice of citizens to produce local food with backyard chickens. But how does the Chronicle proâ€" pose we nip this student bugâ€"eating in the bud? B CHI Waterloo To anyone who spends enough time in uptown Waterloo, he‘s known as the I Need $2 Guy. But in recent weeks, that has changed. _ s â€" His handmade signs, written in black marker on the back of pizza boxes decorating his overstuffed shopping cart, now read I Need $1. This apparent deflation puzzled me â€" why would his price drop when prices for everything else go nowhere but up â€" so I tracked him down to ask him about it. "I started out by asking for $5 years ago," Anatole Rybas told me this past weekend. "But that didn‘t work so well. Then I changed it to $1, and that worked great so I upped it to $2. Now I‘m back to $1 â€" I think I‘ll make more that way." On a good day, Rybas said he can make $100 or more, with his best payday being $460. Some days, he makes almost nothâ€" ing. "It always ranges, l never know," said Rybas. "There‘s a guy who works up at the funeral home who gives me $100 every time I see him." . Rybas told me that long before moving back to Waterloo, he worked jobs in Vancouver wearing sandwichâ€" boards, waving to passing motorists, dressed as a giant rooster. Before that, he was a student at the University of Waterloo, getting his masters degree in Russian literature. "It doesn‘t matter how much I get though, I spend it right away. Mostly on beer," said Rybas. "I like to drink every day â€" no drugs though. I used to wear a sign that said, I Need A Cold But it was his battle with the bottle, â€" Rybas said, that took him down this MAR path, and keeps him in trouble. "The ww cops arrested me last night and threwâ€" me in the drunk tank," said Rybas, showing me his ticket for being intoxicated in a public place. "I have 165 unpaid tickets for being drunk in a public place, and half a dozen fines for pissing in public," he laughed. "But I‘m not out to bother anyone." 0 As far as beggars go, Rybas seems to be one of the more wellâ€"mannered ones, with his warm smile and a sign that reads, Thank You â€" God Bless You! Another sign reads, Worker, Gardener, Worker Wants Work. "I was recently offered a job in Siberia working for an oil pipeline," said Rybas, whose roots are in Russia. "But I‘d need a passport and papers. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cosâ€" monaut." Rybas said it‘s crazy how generous folks can be coming out of the pubs on King Street in Waterloo at night. "They‘re in a good mood and some of them will pay me $10 for my sign." "Here, I get an Ontario disability cheque. I told the doctors I see aliens, entities, ghosts, devils and manifestations when I drink whiskey. I told them I‘m crazy," Rybas said with a smile. "I‘m pretty conspicuous around here. with my cart and signs â€" people recognize me," said Rybas. "I sometimes have four guys trailin‘ me wherever I go â€" they want me to buy them beer so they can drink with me in the alleys." It‘s in the alleys, behind the restaurants and stores on King Street, where Rybas said he gets most of his meals. "You wouldâ€" n‘t believe how much good food is thrown out at the end of the day." At night, Rybas sleeps on the floor of a friend‘s room in a boarding house, and when the weather‘s warm, he sometimes sleeps under the stars. Next month, he‘ll be turning 56 and said he‘s just thankful to be alive. "Anything above ground is a good day." "I was thinking I could hang out in front of the Russian embassy and make a sign in Russian that says, I Need $2. Maybe I could make more money there." J guess it‘s a sign of the times. _As for his plans for the summer ahead, Rybas is cantemâ€" plating moving to Ottawa.. oo Marshall Ward is a visual artist and independent filmmaker, currently teaching life drawing at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hotmail.com. A sign of the times? WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, April 23, 2008 * 9