Bobby Hise: ‘I Feel I Have a Place’ in Eagle Rock

As winds of up to 80 miles per hour swept across Southern California Monday, uprooting trees and threatening power lines, many of us walking or driving around probably felt vulnerable to injury.

Driving up Eagle Rock Boulevard trying to survey the damage, I spotted a familiar figure to the east of the street: Bobby Hise, the well-known Eagle Rock High alumnus and international athlete who has been living on the streets of the neighborhood for the past 11 years.

But there was something odd about Bobby on this day, I noticed. He was seated on his wheelchair about 400 yards north of his usual location near the Eagle Rock Emergency Pet Clinic. I noticed, too, that someone else had occupied Bobby’s position in front of 4260 Eagle Rock Blvd., where a 50-unit senior citizens apartment complex is being constructed.

I went over to say hello to Bobby, as I do from time to time—like a lot of other people who walk up and down Eagle Rock Boulevard. Before I could ask him why he had relocated to his current spot on the street, he volunteered that he had moved just today, Monday, to get away from the guy camped outside 4260 Eagle Rock Blvd.

Bobby explained he had allowed the man to move in with him three days ago. "But he keeps sleeping around when people are going to work and getting back.”

I asked what was wrong with that, and Bobby said: “It’s the best way to get a ticket.”

Turns out Bobby has been ticketed thrice over the past two weeks by the LAPD, including once for having an open container, he told me. “I quit drinking,” he said, but “I was using this beer can as a water cup and they gave me a ticket for it.”

Over the years, said Bobby, he has got numerous tickets. “They can’t arrest me because I’m old and disabled,” he said, adding: “People who are not disabled and don’t work go to jail all the time.”

Watch the accompanying video to see why Bobby Hise chooses to live in one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the neighborhood.