Every day of every week, George Ellars wakes up, gets dressed, and goes out to sell Street Roots outside the Burnside door of Powell’s. He holds issues of the paper in a plastic case around his neck and, if it’s not raining, he’ll hold a copy in his hand to make buying it even easier, “Cause people are in a hurry,” he says.
George has kept his strict selling schedule since January and has no plans of stopping any time soon. He lives a very regimented life. He was even early to our meeting. “I’m an ascetic. I like things very Spartan, very monastic,” he says.
Partly explaining George’s strictness with himself is the fact that the military has been a major influence in his life. An Army brat born in Los Angeles, George lived on American bases in Europe for most of his childhood.
“I definitely have an international view of things,” he tells me. He later would go on to join the Army himself. He suffers today from a back injury he sustained while parachuting on a mission.
But even with all his self-discipline, when I meet George he is laidback and friendly, easy to laugh, joke and smile. He nuzzles and pets Rooty, the Street Roots cat-in-residence, who vies for his attention and purrs throughout our interview. For George, the personal often becomes political, and our conversation often turns to his philosophical and political beliefs. “I think the greatest good for the greatest number,” he says.
After leaving the Army, George worked for many years as a tow truck driver. “It was a real job that had real results,” he says. “I was helping people. Every day was always something different.” A father of five, George now lives in a subsidized room downtown.
When I asked George what he most wanted his profile to say, he responded, “That all people are equal.”
I would see him put his personal philosophy into action a few days later when he marched with Street Roots in the Portland Gay Pride Parade in honor of his son. “People are people, everybody has a right to life.”
Next for George is continuing to sell Street Roots, saving up until he can move out into his own apartment downtown or perhaps even in the suburbs, and start writing more. If ever you see George outside of Powell’s, feel free to chat him up about anything on your mind. He is open, willing to talk, and reliably at his spot every day.