may be old news...

[jimpierce7]

I don't know if anybody here has seen "the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" or not. I just got done watching the movie and I loved it!

[TooLover]

I watched it about 2 weeks ago - there was a thread talking about this earlier............... what did you perceive as Mark's occupation to keep him in sunflower seeds to feed the birds and feed himself?
The fact that he took care of the birds was great, but I have questions about him as a person!
It was a great movie - made my heart happy in some parts, and brought tears to my eyes in others

[jimpierce7]

you know.........I pondered that myself, in San Francisco it could be anything. He has a guitar and can sing..........

[Willow]

I got the DVD for christmas. It was neat to watch.
Amy

[spectre]

Read the book as well, it explains a good bit more and is a quick read. He ended up co-owning that house and lives there now.

[TooLover]

But my question is - how did he afford to feed himself and the birds??????

[spectre]

Well, it was through assorted, and hardly consistent, jobs plus a combination of being likeable which led people to undercharge him consitently or to outright donate the food and seeds. I recall one story where a bird was sick and he stuck flyers up asking for money, people knew he was sincere and gave it to him. He got a lot of free things (incluidng something like 5 years accomadations, but lived VERY frugally. He kept saying he was waiting for something that (I may be remembering his wording incorrectly) was spiritually rewarding or correct for him. He never made money as a musician and after a brief attempt at it (in Seattle I think) was homeless for some good number of years. Homeless but reading philosophy so he was educated.

There was no mention of drugs, illness, or alchoholism so his lifestyle seemed to be explicitly choosen.

[TooLover]

Where he lived, they let him live there free of rent............ and when he went into the coffee shop the lady fed him free of charge. But I am still scratching my head and wondering where the money came from? A family member maybe?

[spectre]

Nope, just odd jobs here and there. The money he has now comes from the proceeds from the movie and book and he is also in a relationship with the film maker who helped gather people together to buy out the property as a whole.

[TooLover]

OMG - when he cut his hair I KNEW he was in love with the film maker - that made me cry as well............... but before that - when he first started out, they were very vague in how he made any money. At the end of the movie hubby and I were still wondering how he did it? The only thing they really explained was the place that he stayed......