One of downtown’s most highly visible characters is in jail
after vanishing from sight last month.
Morgan Hill – One of downtown’s most highly visible characters is in jail after vanishing from sight last month.
Morgan Hill police arrested 49-year-old John Cary, a.k.a. “the Leaf Blower,” June 4 for violating terms of his probation.
He was arraigned June 14 in San Jose and is serving an eight-month sentence in Santa Clara County jail until February 2008, said jail spokesman Mark Cursi.
During the past eight years, Cary became a familiar sight to downtown merchants and shoppers after he started sweeping sidewalks on Monterey Road in exchange for money, food and cigarettes. An insatiable talker who frequently wore a smile, he embraced a community that accepted his checkered past of alcohol and drug abuse – which he openly acknowledged – because he wanted to make a positive change in his life.
“I don’t know what he did in the past, but I know he’s trying to make up for it,” said Charles Weston of Weston Miles Architects Inc. Since 2003, Weston and his wife Lesley Miles have let Cary park his 19-foot-trailer next to their offices at the Granary on Depot Street.
“I would always see him on my bike ride to work, blowing leaves downtown,” Weston said, who hadn’t known about Cary’s jail sentence. “I think anytime someone is put in jail it’s kind of sad, especially for something that happened in the past. I still think he’s a good person.”
Some merchants worried for Cary’s safety after his sudden disappearance, unaware of his trouble with the law.
“We were all worried about what happened to him,” said Mary Alice Ritti, who works at The Colory paint store, one of the stores that paid Cary to keep the sidewalks clean. “Everyone on the street was asking if he had gotten sick, or had left town … you’d see him everywhere and then he was gone.”
A slender, but solidly built man whose blonde hair was often crew-cut and whose hands bore callouses from years of labor, Cary could often be seen riding his bike around town when he wasn’t blowing leaves and picking up trash. He often stopped in stores and businesses to greet people he knew and engage in friendly, if not eccentric, conversations.
But not all merchants appreciated Cary’s gift for gab and his soliciting for odd jobs. Occasionally he would be asked to leave the premises, Ritti said. Additionally, John JH Kim, who owns Simple Beverages & Cigar, expressed mild frustration because he had given Cary a cash advance to keep his parking lot clean through August.Â
Ritti said other merchants gave Cary advances, too, but she said many considered the payments to be charitable.Â
A number of people just relished having him around as a colorful character who made downtown a bit more unique.
“I think those who know John understand him,” said Donna Brodsky, who works at BookSmart. “We all liked him. What’s there not to like about John?”
