The Phantoms of Lewiston

Over at the Lewiston Sun Journal, intrepid reporter Mark LaFlamme spent some time this past December musing on the whereabouts of the well-known people of the Lewiston streets. Portland has many of its own, definitely room for another article there!

Wither the phantoms?
By Mark LaFlamme
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 05:00 am

Nameless friends, where art thou? For so many years, you were ubiquitous and you fascinated me, but now you have vanished like migratory birds flown off to some unknown land.
[...]
I haven't seen the Flag Man in months, maybe a year. I wonder where he has gone and whether he is properly equipped with the American flag that so comforts him.

I don't see the Twirling Lady so much, either. Since 1994, I watched her floating along the sidewalks, moving with a concept of time that is wholly apart from what the rest of us know. Every 20 feet or so, she would pause and consider the ground beneath her. She would spin in a lazy circle there on the sidewalk, her quiet charm to ward away whatever evil she had spotted.

I know her name is Nancy and I know she likes grilled cheese sandwiches. But I don't know where she goes for long stretches anymore than I know where butterflies go when it rains. She is there one day and gone the next, another phantom with a back story I might never hear.
[...]
Read the full article here: [Source]