The_Dean had been walking a while now, collecting his thoughts. Up one street, down another. Stopping once in a while to listen to men and women speak on street corners. He passed by the coffee shops, since he didn't care for them. He liked some of the people, mind you, but didn't like the tone of some of the conversations there. He had found an open area that would serve his purpose and talked a gentleman there into letting him stand on the back of his flatbed truck. After climbing onto the truck, he cleared his throut and addressed anyone that was in the area.

"Good afternoon, ladys and gentlemen."

The_Dean paused as he took out a cuban, lit it and took a few quick puffs before turning his attention back to the crowd he was attempting to get the attention of. Only a couple had kept their attention on him as he lit the cigar. The rest were already bored and going on with their business. Dean chuckled as he pulled the .38 out of his wasteband and fired a shot into the air. The startled look on people's faces was priceless, and he definitely had their attention now. 

"Takes a fair bit to get and keep people's attention now-a-days. For those that do not frequent the coffee shop, this is the extent of their social networking, other than the odd letter. Should men be defined by a few words they happen to share on a street corner? What about the quiet ones who rarely speak in public? Must there always be noticable length and depth to their contribution to this obviously much too overlooked social venue? Must every word that comes out of their mouth be related to 'this thing of ours'?"

"I have had a couple debates in these streets already, and plan on having many more. I'm here for the long haul, so you all will have to get used to me, like it or not. I've already befriended a few brothers and sisters and hope to meet more in time." 

The_Dean takes a couple long draws from the cigar before continuing.

"As for the hecklers that seem to show up quite a bit saying such and such doesn't belong here or there; if you put that energy into starting your own conversations you might get better feedback. A wise man once said that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. I would change the 'nice' to 'pertinent' but you get my drift. I have much more I want to talk about, but we'll start with this."

The_Dean rests against the top of the truck's cab as he waits for anyone to remark or reply, still puffing away on the cuban cigar, leaving trails of smoke and blowing smoke rings.