Remembering L.A.’s Panhandlers Past and Present -- Where Are They Now?

The L.A. Downtown News’ annual “Best of Downtown” reader survey includes, along with the usual categories, “Best Panhandler.” I’m stumped because most of my favorites seem to be gone, like the guy who used to greet people leaving the Times building with, “Hi, professionals. How about a quarter?” (As you can tell from the amount, this was several years ago.)

Nor have I seen the character who tried to adapt to the modern age with a sign that said, “www.50cents.com” (this was not quite so long ago).

Also missing is one moocher on Spring Street who was so lazy he drew a circle on the sidewalk and instructed passersby to drop their coins in it. I liked his attitude.

I even miss the guy who was so shabbily dressed one day that I gave him some clean jeans from my car trunk.

Several weeks later, I saw him and asked how the jeans were.

“Oh,” he said casually, “I throw out all of my clothes after three days.”

Maybe he didn’t know I was a professional.

Unreal estate: Today’s showings (see accompanying) include:

* A waterfront estate with some unexciting suites (Trini Marquez of Sky Forest).

* A Huntington Beach estate with a less-than-thrilling diving area.

* A Dana Point apartment that you would be advised not to leave because things are too exciting on the street (Jami Culbertson of San Juan Capistrano).

* And, finally, a motel with beds that would seem to be king-sized (if not exciting) (Gene Doss of Diamond Bar).

Random niceness: I mentioned the case of the Drive-By Samaritan: A passenger on the Pasadena Freeway jumped out of a car in stop-and-go traffic and closed a driver’s trunk in the next lane.

Which reminded John Wilcock, publisher of the Ojai Orange, of a scene he saw in Ireland.

“As I was watching a farmer herd a flock of sheep down a country lane, I noticed some of them began to stray at an intersection,” he said.

“Just then, a passing car stopped, the man leaped out, opened a door and out sprang a sheepdog, which urged the sheep into the right direction. Man -- and dog -- got back into the car, which drove off.

“A Drive-By Shepherd,” Wilcock concluded.

miscelLAny: Another annoying development in television sports is the baseball fan seated behind home plate who calls friends on a cell phone to alert them about where he or she is and spends most of the game waving at the camera.

The waving is hard to ignore, but at least you can’t hear the conversation. No one speaks into a cell phone that loudly.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.