Well-dressed begger says good clothes help

DETROIT, July 9 (UPI) -- A well-dressed Detroit panhandler says his silk suits and London Fog trench coat, all obtained for free from a Catholic church, help him make money.

Kirby Jack Green, 58, told The Detroit News he has been able to collect enough, an average of $150 a week, to pay for a small apartment to stow his wardrobe. He works the sidewalks around city hall, waiting for drivers or pedestrians to ask for directions, and then adds a request for bus fare to his response.

Green keeps his wardrobe in good shape, using an ironing board and iron obtained from the church as well as duct tape and safety pins. He shaves carefully every morning using a donated razor.

"What's the old saying? Oh, yeah, one man's garbage is another man's, uh, clothes, I guess," he told the News.

Green said his uncle used to panhandle on Woodward Avenue, using dark glasses and a cane to convince passers by he was blind, which he was not.

"I'm a criminal," Green said. "I'm a panhandler and I lie. I don't need money for the bus and I think that God must be ashamed of me."