Coat Hanger Boy

We were in the car today, and Aimee brought up a character from our past: Coat Hanger Boy. Coat Hanger Boy was a resident of the Apartment Complex where Aimee and I lived when we moved to Maryland from NYC.

I first learned about Coat Hanger Boy from the noises he made.....beeeep beeeeep beeeeep, like when a truck backs up. This peaked my curiosity of course, so I looked looked out the window to see the cause of the ruckus. My first image was that of a little boy with his arms extended out, holding on to a white Coat Hanger. Coat Hanger Boy was outside all of the time, alone. He was about nine years old.

Soon after that, we saw Coat Hanger Boy pretty much all of the time. Sunday morning, taking the dogs for a morning walk? Coat Hanger Boy was there, making odd motions with his Coat Hanger and these beeps. Saturday night? Arriving Home from work on a Tuesday? Coat Hanger Boy.

As we came in frequent contact contact with Coat Hanger Boy, we learned the reason for the Coat Hanger. The Coat Hanger was a steering wheel of a truck. Coat Hanger Boy would pretend he drove an 18 Wheel Rig. How to I know it was an 18 Wheeler? Because of the way he'd hold the Coat Hanger. When he'd make the beeping noises, he'd also extend his arms way out and proceed to make theatrical circular motions, just like when a Trucker is trying to make a turn with the huge steering wheel that all 18-wheelers possess.

Every time I saw him, I would ask him a question:

"Whatcha Hauling?"

"Hey, watch out for that building!"

"Do you need any amphetamines to stay up for 36 hours?"

Well, maybe not that last question. He always answered, but not about the truck. The truck belonged to his imagination only. I was part of the real world so he never would acknowledge what he was doing. He'd talk about his uncle who took him in or his new nephew. Reading between the lines, I could tell this kid came from the inner city and really didn't have a permanent family thus far in his life. Plus, he was also outside all the time, so it was clear he had no supervision. Of course, I looked after the little s$!t whenever I saw him.

Regardless, we found Coat Hanger Boy to be the most entertaining thing about our Apartment Complex. Why? Because there was a kid outside all the time, with a coat hanger, making truck noises, in the middle of an Apartment Complex. The Kid was louder than a real 18 Wheeler!

About his name, Coat Hanger Boy. This wasn't a name shared just between me and Aimee. I actually called him "Coat Hanger Boy." If I saw him across the parking lot, I would shout "Hey, Coat Hanger Boy! Keep on Truckin!"

Then one day, it seemed that we never saw him again. Life just went back to normal. No more beeps. No more of me or Aimee calling to the other to go to the window as we tried to stifle our laughs to get the words out. He was gone.