Charlie

aka the "Stick Man." He was wandering down the corridor of a center that provides one square meal for the less fortunate in D.C., wielding a rather large stick (see extra). So, of course, I had to ask what that was about :)

Charlie picks up branches he finds interesting in nearby woods. He then smoothes them down, and decorates them with whatever materials he comes across. Up until recently, he had a rather large collections of these walking sticks (he showed me some pix on his phone), thus his nickname, but he decided he would give them away to anyone who'd ask about them (no, I didn't take his stick). He has a favorite one with which he won't part: it roughly looks like a dog and he calls it "Lit'l Bear."  Says kids love to interact with it. 

He was very articulate and I'd have loved to know what the rest of his story was, but he had some place he needed to be :)