oooh... now you have to do an interview with the Dollar Lady!
Well, Al has been affectionately known as "Al the tumor guy" for a lot of downtown folks familiar with him. I plead guilty.
He really can be a very nice guy, he always asks me if I still have my girlfriend, and tells me I should marry her. One day I walked in to Kathy's Diner for breakfast and Al was there eating. He saw me and yelled out "Hey, you've been giving me dollars for years, now I'm gonna buy you breakfast". I tried to dissuade him of course but he insisted and I thanked him. I ordered coffee and toast to keep the price down. A day or two later I saw him and he asked me for money, but I told him that I didn't have any at the moment. He got mad and said "BUT I BOUGHT YOU BREAKFAST". Man, that went on for months afterwards. He finally let it go.
Richard, that is a GREAT story, thank you for sharing it!
I've often heard Al referred to as the Basketball Thief. Don't know when that name started.
Al was convinced that a friend of mine (who's since moved out of town) was a doctor who had apparently once treated him and told him to quit drinking. Every time he saw my friend in town (pretty much daily) he'd shout, "THERE'S THE DOCTOR! THERE"S THE DOCTOR!"
After a while, my friend started playing along, and asking Al about his health, telling him to take care of himself. He was probably one of the only people Al never hit up for money 
wow guys, great stuff here. I wonder if we can keep this up. Anyone else want to share this personal experience with Al?
I'm guilty, too, of calling him Tumor Man. Sorry, Al. But he really should do something about the thing.
I used to give him $1 when I saw him (things are a little tight now, though). I gave him $5 once, because I didn't have change and I was feeling generous. he started calling me "the richest guy in town." I hated that, LOL.
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