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His mother died when he was 19, and Atkinson, who’s six-foot-seven, found work at a series of big-and-tall clothing stores. Until several years ago he worked off and on as a bouncer at nightclubs all over the north and south sides. Owners sought him out, he says, not just because he was big but because he was diplomatic. “The thing with being a bouncer is keeping the peace,” he says. “You’ll fight if you have to, but I think as a bouncer I’ve only had like maybe six fights. Usually the only ones that really try to fight are the little short guys.”
Early on Atkinson developed a problem with drugs–crack and cocaine–never in short supply when he was working the clubs. He says he spent a few months in jail in the early 80s for kicking in someone’s door. “In my delusional state I thought I heard my girlfriend having sex in a neighbor’s apartment.”
Atkinson continues to move in and out of homelessness, however, and standing on that corner is taking its toll. He suffers from the painful effects of peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the legs, and he’d like to find a different way to get by.
Atkinson aims to launch a full-time catering operation on the north side. He first needs to draw up a business plan and save for liability insurance so he can rent a kitchen and start applying for loans.
