Made in the Shade

It’s a long way from the days when Scott McLaughlin made his living traveling the antiques and road show circuit.

McLaughlin said, “Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City. The full circuit.” McLaughlin laughed out loud at the recollection then added, “I was a strong, young man, I did all the heavy work.”

It’s midweek, about midday, when a buyer in a car calls out to McLaughlin, who is napping.   He’s laying on cardboard, at the base of a solitary jacaranda tree, in the mottled, sparse shade that’s no match for the sun.

At 64, McLaughlin struggles to rise from his slumber. As he does, he barks out to no one in particular, “Ten and $20. This one with the feathers is $25.”

Soon, he’s wide awake, engaged, and full of stories. After nearly two decades on the circuit he recalled some of the many famous persons he’s met or dealt with.

“Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Walter Matthau, Jonathan Winters.” He adds, “Cher loved fabrics.”

These days, McLaughlin is sober, has a case worker and is living in temporary housing, waiting for a permanent place to open up.

When asked why he sells lamp shades, instead of panhandling, the native of Indianapolis, Indiana replied, “I’ve never been that kind of a person, to just hold up a sign with, ‘Help, homeless.’ I couldn’t do it.”

And just then, business picked up and McLaughlin turned away, his attention refocused, his eyes bright and animated, “Ten, $20, and that one on the end is $25.”