If the glass is half-empty, fill the other half with beer

This homeless guy is always scrounging for cigarette butts and bottles and cans to recycle. I don't know his name, but he always has a kind of upbeat attitude. When I ask him how it's goin, he replies, "I had a bad day in '71 but I'm doin okay now."

Today he said, "Some people say the glass is half empty, but I say it's half full. And if it's half empty, I'll fill the other half with beer."

On my way to Cafe West, I walk with him for a while. There's this bird that's either a dove or an albino pigeon perched on the gate outside Back Alley bar. I say, "It looks like a dove." He says, "Life is good sometimes."

I want to ask him what happened on his "bad day in '71" but I don't. I imagine it has something to do with Vietnam.