I have a new favorite person

His name is Leo Stoiler.

I observed him at the Daley Center last Friday. I was waiting in line to pick up / pay for some copies of a judge's order, and he was standing behind me. I didn't really notice him, except that he looked a little crazy and disshevelled.

Anyway, one clerk opened up a new register for "free filing only" and he jumped at the opportunity. Within seconds the clerk rebuffed him by revealing that what he had was not free. Accordingly, he returned to line...hey, he's cutting in front of me and the woman in front of me! She and I looked at each other, exchanging a "is this guy nuts?" look. Just as I'm about to say something to him, he gets down on one knee and spreads his papers on the floor in order to sort them.

At this point a collective "what the fuck" permeates the atmosphere. I use this opportunity to get a better look at the whacko. He's not that unusual: burly, mid-50s, longish tennis ball haircut, standard-issue glasses, tacky tan suit. Kind of like a 1950s car salesman or something, but not that well composed. He's tossing his papers into two separate piles, just kind of getting organized there on the floor.

The woman in front of me leaves to do something else, which means that when I am eventually called to the counter, I am standing next to him. I hand my order form to my cashier and he leaves, giving me three minutes of surreptitious spying on this oddball. I see that he is filing a lawsuit, and the plaintiff's name is "Leo Stoiler". I also hear the cashier ask for the attorney code, and he responds, "Pro Se." That means he will be arguing on his own behalf in court. Later the cashier asks, "How much?" and he responds, "Ten million." That's right folks: this guy is suing someone/something for ten million dollars, and he's NOT GETTING A LAWYER. And he himself is not a lawyer; if he was, he would have an attorney code.

Sharing the money with an attorney is a lot better than NOT GETTING THE MONEY AT ALL. Dumbass.

Anyway, once all his forms are filled out and filed, the clerk asks him for money. At this point he begins a laborious explination of why this filing should be free. Unfortunately, I had to leave at that point and could not monitor his further attempts to interact with humans. But I want you to know, Leo Stoiler, that I love you.

Shine on you crazy diamond.