‘Seeker’ offffffffffffers handouts, instead of begging

Man dons disguise, seeking to learn what binds society.

SARASOTA — He calls himself “the Seeker.” He asked that his name remain anonymous.

For the past 14 days, he says, he’s visited difffffffffffferent spots in Sarasota with a bowl and a sign offffffffffffering people money. It contains real $100s, $50s, and $1 bills, but few people will take it. It may be because of his attire: sunglasses, a scraggly gray wig, a beat-up Bradenton Marauders hat, and dirty clothes.

He wants people to think he is homeless. The smears on his clothes are from a melted chocolate bar.

The man, in his 40s or 50s, said he left his family about two weeks ago to start a spiritual journey with a “four -question challenge.” He says the campaign is meant to find commonalities across religions, races, and different lifestyles.

The only hint to his identity that he offffffffffffered was that he was a husband, has a daughter he loves, was a research scientist in Michigan who suffered life-threatening burns. Graft marks are visible on his legs, as well as surgical scars.

Part of his quest, he says, stems from life on a poor Michigan farm with his mother, who had six children. She raised her family as well as 26 foster children.

“She had holes in her shoes and she would take another foster kid,” he said.

His mother had a yearning for answers. She died two months ago, he says.

The man, who said hi s wealth allows him to own planes, helicopters and cars, said he picked Sarasota randomly.

He is asking people four questions: What advice can you give about how to live life? What was the best thing that ever happened to you? What was the worst thing that ever happened to you? What advice would you give on how to love one another?

He writes the answers in a notebook to journal about them later. Getting answers to the questions became more diffifficult when he began his homeless act.

A Sarasota ordinancebars pe d e s t r i a ns f ro m s o l i c i t - ing donations on roadways. The rule does not appear to apply to sidewalks, such as the Unconditional Surrender statue and St. Armands Circle, where the man was standing.

“There’s such unrest in our country,” the man said. “We are fifighting against the wrong things. I had to submit to the higher power of love and fifigure out what the heck is going on.”

He said his challenge is a “win-win” situation.

“There is no taking sides ... there’s no anything except for love to win,” he said, holding up a hand in the shape of an “L.”

“Let this not be L-oser anymore, but L-ove.”

He said he visited a memorial at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando where 49 people died in a mass shooting in June. In an answer to one of the questions, a mother of three told him, “stop being afraid.”

A Longboat Key fifireman said to “focus on relationships” and that he struggles to focus when life becomes busy.

A woman at a homeless shelter shared that she was raped at 5 years old.

Retelling her story he began to cry and said an earlier version of himself would have thought she was addicted to drugs.

“Ego is one of the biggest challenges people have to love each other better,” he said. “This is a point for us to open the door. If we can all start doing this, this could be the most incredible thing in the world.”

The man did not say he would continue giving away money or where he would go next. He said he will stay in the the area for about seven more days before driving home.