November 19, 2006
Cashy Saturday at Washington Square Park
If you were in Washington Square Park yesterday afternoon, you may have made a little money - and not from selling dimebags! The Post reports that "three Englishmen dressed like Robin Hood and his merry men started a stampede by throwing a thousand bucks into the air." Seriously. The three men, the "Modern Day Robin Hoods" of Sheffield, England, wanted "people to have a little more common courtesy towards their fellow human beings."
As the trio - two dressed in green Robin Hood gear, and another in brown Little John garb - entered the park, one grabbed a bullhorn: "What you are about to see will amaze you. We are mad Englishmen."Maybe, but in Washington Square Park when there are $1 and $5 bills being thrown around, you are never going to see people with common courtesy. Apparently kids were stepped on! Thirty-eight year old Sally Caraballo said, "I got a nasty little scrape and my butt hurts from getting pushed down... I had to fight for my free money. But I got it in the end." And Parsons student ("a poor one at that") Gabriella Horn admitted, "I think I may have stepped on a kid."The first man they approached refused an offer of five dollars.
As the $1,000 in small bills was tossed in the air, a frenzied mob soon enveloped the trio.
Before the Hoods began spreading their loot, they hammered their point home to the expectant crowd.
"There's a real lack of courtesy in the world," said Daniel, the hulking 6-foot-6 man dressed as Little John. "The world would be a better place if people were more courteous, but the English are very skeptical, so we decided to come to New York."




So I (Gabriella Horn) actually didn't say that I thought I stepped on a poor kid. The sloppy Post reporter spliced what I said with other people standing nearby. I actually said that I would use my free money to tip the next waiter/waitress I had well. And I did.
The quote "and a poor one at that" was taken from the quote "I'm a student, and a poor one at that."
Gabriella - thanks for your comment, I've revised the quote. And how much did you rake in?
$37, thanks to the wind. I tried to avoid the mob and nabbed the bills that fluttered to the outskirts. One of my friends got $50 - that was the most I know of. Another friend only got $18 and the top of her foot scraped up in the frenzy.
A pretty memorable charity event, in the end.
So... who else is wondering where Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond were on Saturday?