There were a lot of news accounts yesterday morning about an F train striking a man at the station at Houston and Second Avenue. The Post has more details.
The man, 26-year-old Alexander Flefleh, fell off the platform and miraculously survived. "He suffered head trauma, but broke no bones below his neck, said his mom, Aphrodite Flefleh of Astoria, Queens."
She also said that he lives in a homeless shelter and "suffers from seizures, as well as emotional and drug problems." The man, whose birthday was yesterday, may have had a seizure and fell.
And, as you can see from the headline, the Post described Alexander Flefleh as a "hobo."
"Birthday hobo"? Can they get any more dismissive of mental health and drug abuse issues? I can never imagine why people buy that rag, and yet I bet some of the Post's readers wish the unlucky man had died to save some of that "hard-earned tax money" people without compassion always evoke when arguing against services for the poor and the needy.
ReplyDeleteWait -- is this the young guy who has been camping out at 14th/1st for the good part of the past two years? The guy who sits outside Immaculate Conception/McDonald's? His name is Alex, and I've been increasingly worried for him over time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know he is local (tri-state) and he told me his mom can't take care of him because she has issues herself.
ReplyDeleteAphrodite is a beautiful name. I really hope this is not 14th St Alex.
"Hobo"? Who even uses that word anymore? Are we in a Preston Sturges film?
ReplyDeleteAphrodite Flefleh?
ReplyDeleteSomeone got double lucky in the naming dept.
Wow.
ps happy birthday. the gift of life, not bad.