A Holiday Catalog of Bumming

Justification: "This can happen to everyone. I'm living proof of it. This can be considered a job, just like anything else. What I do with the money is survive."

Side biz: He reaches into a backpack and pulls out a fistful of mall-kiosk-like beaded necklaces. "I make jewelry. I'd like to do this to support myself. I try to when I can. I use turquoise, amethyst and silver. When the fountain is going, I sit out there and I try to sell stuff." But when the fountain is turned off in the winter, his clients disappear. "I try to do it honestly before I do this."

Claim to fame: To be part of a time-honored profession. "Regardless about how society feels about this or how you feel about this, it's been around since the beginning of time. What are the oldest professions in the Bible? Prostitution and beggars."

Political affiliation: "Independent, because I don't like the way they treat this planet. The pollution of this Earth means all we're doing is polluting ourselves. It's because there's so much emphasis on money. Without it, you're nothing. With it, you're something."

Best street Zen: "Whether you are paying the rent or paying the dope man, when people give from their heart, they are being loving."

Name: James ³J-Wizz² Hathorn

Age: 35

Tenure: He started "breakin'" when he was 12 years old. "Over the years, I just pretty much refined my own style."

Distinction: He dances like he's being electrocuted.

Tools: CD player wired to 23-year-old "ghetto blaster," water jug, sweat towels, business cards that read "Street Dancer 4 Hire. Cheap But Not Free"

Hangouts: In front of Burberry on the Plaza, First Fridays and Westport on weekend nights.

Smells like: Pipe smoke and sweat

Odd detail: Wears matching mauve slacks and button-up shirt; smokes pipe tobacco between sets.

Formal education: "Yeah, I ain't no dummy." Says he was valedictorian of Lawrence Gardner High School for young men from the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex in Topeka; some community college at Penn Valley.

Previous gig: None

Average take: $100 per weekend

Best take: $600 in one weekend during the Plaza Art Fair

Trade secret: "I came up with this philosophy: People will give if they want to. For a while, when I started doing this, people wanted to take my picture but not tip me. I would stop and smile at them and say, 'If I'm good enough for a picture, I'm good enough for a dollar.'"

Justification: "I can't have a job. I receive disability."

Side biz: Private lessons, $15 a session

Claim to fame: "Last year was my first major competition at the Best of the Best on 24th and Prospect. I had the talent, but I didn't have the skill. Out here, it's halfway disciplined. There are a lot of moves you can't pop. It's more of a grab-me-by-the-face-and-shake-me kind of style. My expression is always changing." He points to a Highwoods Properties security car as it rolls past. "Even they love me."

His rules: No pics without tips. Wait to ask questions until after the performance.

Best street Zen: "I get all kinds of remarks from people like, 'He looks like he's having a seizure. He looks like he's smoking crack.' I just ignore them and let them go on their way. I'm like, 'You can't do it.'"

Name: Nancy Keyes

Age: 39

Tenure: Eight years

Distinction: Clarinetist

Tools: Clarinet, travel mug of coffee, pink lawn chair, a hubcap for a bucket and a paper sign that reads "Please Help Feed Family of 3."

Also plays: Soprano saxophone "like Kenny G"

Now playing: "The Little Drummer Boy" — "Right now, I'm pretty much doing Christmas stuff."

Favorite song: The Pink Panther theme

Other crowd pleasers: "Moon River," "Georgia on my Mind," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" — although, she says, "The local meteorologists don't care for that one!"

Hangout: In front of Z Gallerie on the Plaza

Smells like: Cigarettes

Odd detail: Smokes a Vortex Light between songs.

Formal education: High school, two years of trade school for "medical assistance"

Previous gig: Telemarketing — "It was a hassle."

Average take: $30 a night

Best take: $200 from one person — "That was actually a priest that I knew."

Justification: She says she pays the rent for an apartment at Rainbow Towers, which she shares with her disabled husband and a cousin.

Claim to fame: "I know 50 songs, easy."

Political affiliation: "Not Republican. I tell you one thing, I definitely was happy to see the Republicans out of the office. Anytime the Republicans are in office, bad things happen."

Best street Zen: Music is tough any way you go. Even if you play in clubs, it's tough. Be patient. It's just like fishing. Sometimes you can be having the worst luck you ever had, and something will happen.

Name: Billy Ray Harris

Age: 49

Tenure: Seven years

Distinction: Beggar

Tools: No cup, just a straightforward question, "Can you help the homeless today, sir?"

Hangout: Slumps against the garbage can near Tommy Bahama on the Plaza

Smells like: Garbage

Odd detail: Wears perfectly white sneakers.

Previous gig: House painter

Claim to fame: "I was already written about by The Kansas City Star [in 2004]."