He was more than just a "recorder" (his word) about his life. His life was limited when compared to most people. He really only dabbled in the down side of life. He never lived on a real skid row, never hitched, never, ever, had on a boxing glove, never washed dishes (he feared that job with a passion), never drove a truck, never was "on the road" nor was he ever a hobo or a tramp. He had to be drunk to go out on the streets. He was only out of the Los Angeles area wandering for about a year which he did by riding buses and passenger trains. He mostly looked on life from a distance. The little things in life that happen to everyone, in his, he blew up into mythical proportions. He was blessed to write good lines about life and we all agree he did it well.
      He was also lucky enough to run into someone who actually did the things or had close contact with people that did things that Bukowski wrote about in his novels. He dedicated a book of poetry to the man which cannot be found today. It mysteriously disappeared out of all records.
      The man was known as 'Kid Red', 'Stranger Red' or 'Over Coat John'.
      I will refer to him as 'Kid Red'. He was (is) a moody, withdrawn, sensitive and sometimes violent person who could also "flair" with genius acts and words. I ran into him at a hobo cowboy poetry reading in Elko, Nevada in the mid-1980's (he was there for the free food). I immediately recognized him as one of the many forgotten people who passed thru Bukowski's old front apartment during the '60s. I had visited Bukowski often during weekdays and sometimes weeknights when he wasn't working. A lot of people visited the old apartment near Normandie and DeLongpre. Sometimes I would arrive and 'Kid Red' would be dramatically (out of his shell) entertaining Bukowski. I personally heard Bukowski say once, "Red is the only guy that can make me laugh."

'Kid Red' was the ultimate outcast; literary intellectuals just seem to love to study, write about and glorify in some way these types. Having gone only to the 6th grade in school, he was in life from a different perspective than Bukowski. He was born to a renegade Jewish woman who had rebelled against her family almost all her life. Late in life she took up with a hillbilly "lounge lizard" in Indiana. They never married. She had a kid (Kid Red). Several years later she had a mental breakdown. She was committed to an institution where she later died. An uncle on the father's side took the child (Kid Red) with him drifting the USA in the late 50's. The child really never fit in anywhere. Sensitive and observant, he spent most of his youth and his life bewildered and trying to survive in his own way. Growing to young manhood he was constantly hassled by authorities because he was so young and withdrawn. He stood out living as a tramp alone and at other times in an older age group. Wandering America's highways and byways, walking, hitchhiking, riding freight trains, sleeping in city doorways and camping along rivers and streams was unusual for one so young in those days. He told Mr. 'J' (the poet) that he was mentally ill in those days and probably still is.
      Bukowski was introduced to 'Kid Red' by Bob Garcia who today works as a P.R. man in the music business around L.A. Starting with Notes Of A Dirty Old Man, Bukowski used 'Kid Red' as a source of material and a model for his character in his novels. Clear into the 80's and 90's, even in poetry and stories about his own life, Bukowski injected events, sex action descriptions, jail and prison experience, opinions on life, triumphs and defeats - all that came out of 'Kid Red's' own life.
      When Bukowski was with 'Kid Red', he was always urging him to talk about anything and everything. He liked to ply him with beer during marathon talks at the old apartment on DeLongpre. I remember Mrs. Bukowski fixing delicious hot coffee during the early A.M. for the crowd as they were fixing to leave. 'Kid Red' spent time shopping with, dining out with and even going to the race track with Bukowski. A later lover of Linda King's stated that she mentioned, "Bukowski was fascinated by 'Kid Red'". At a fete held at Barnsdall Art Gallery in L.A., I personally overheard Bukowski saying, "'Stranger Red' is my best friend".
      At the hobo poetry reading where I ran into 'Kid Red', we talked for over a half hour. I told him several films were made about Bukowski's life and he had become somewhat famous. The 'Kid' thought Bukowski had died during the mid-70s. Here are some excerpts from the verbal exchange:

• "Bukowski implied to me that he was dying from terminal cancer; that is the reason I was always entertaining him."
• "He was always talking about death. He would have committed suicide if Linda King had not come along when she did. She got him out of it."
• "They told me he was wise and gifted. I was confused by life and still am. I thought he could explain things to me but he always wanted me to rap about anything and everything that came to my mind."
• "Mrs. Bukowski was the only noble and self-sacrificing person I saw surrounding him."