Don is a face many people in Columbia, Missouri, have seen. He’s got long sliver hair, often wears his Vietnam Veteran hat proudly, and can be seen around the city with his bubbles. “It is never too late to have a happy childhood”, Don often says when whisking bubbles into the wind.
Don is a lot more than just the townie. He’s a man who has lived a lot of lives in his 77 years on earth- and he is happy to tell you all about them. He’s a storyteller at heart. Whether it is recalling for the third time about how he lost all of his possessions in a fire or singing a parody song he wrote about Donald Trump avoiding the draft.
When you see Don at his home, it reflects his persona as the singular man who creates bubbles on the street corner. He lives alone, didn’t know he had a daughter until a few years ago, and his home is filled with what he calls “collections” of things he’s saved from the dumpsters around town. But, the more you spend time with him, the more you’ll see that people do know him beyond the “hippie bubble man”. He has friends he plays volleyball with weekly, he is a part of the Vietnamese and Cambodian community and has friends who visit him while on the town.
Ultimately, Don is the best personification of a townie. He is personable, kind and always around to the people of Columbia- whether he considers them a friend or not.
Don is a lot more than just the townie. He’s a man who has lived a lot of lives in his 77 years on earth- and he is happy to tell you all about them. He’s a storyteller at heart. Whether it is recalling for the third time about how he lost all of his possessions in a fire or singing a parody song he wrote about Donald Trump avoiding the draft.
When you see Don at his home, it reflects his persona as the singular man who creates bubbles on the street corner. He lives alone, didn’t know he had a daughter until a few years ago, and his home is filled with what he calls “collections” of things he’s saved from the dumpsters around town. But, the more you spend time with him, the more you’ll see that people do know him beyond the “hippie bubble man”. He has friends he plays volleyball with weekly, he is a part of the Vietnamese and Cambodian community and has friends who visit him while on the town.
Ultimately, Don is the best personification of a townie. He is personable, kind and always around to the people of Columbia- whether he considers them a friend or not.
Don Jourdan, 77, walks back to his house in the reflection of his red truck’s window on Sept. 2, 2024, at his home in Columbia, Mo. Don’s mind reflects the many lives he has lived. He was a handyman, a farmer, a model rocket restorer, a Volkswagen mechanic, and more. He’ll jump from story to story, sometimes losing the thread, often telling you about a bygone era.
The inside of Don’s red truck - parked in his Columbia, Mo driveway on Sept. 2, 2024- is messy and unorganized. Inside his home and in the front seat of his truck has reminders, post-it notes, business cards, flyers, calendars and notes about what is going on around town. Don is a townie in his heart of hearts, trying to be a participant in the world as much as he can.
Don points to a house across the street from his on Sept. 2, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. He tells a story for the third time about how his deceased neighbor Bill Griswell helped him restart his life after his land in Centralia burned down years ago. His house, backyard and truck are full of things he has recently “saved” from the dumpster, as he puts it. He is a “collector” according to him, saving things he deems not worthy of the label of trash. “America is a throwaway society. What is that place anyway, ‘away’”? He wouldn’t call himself a hoarder, but he “Can’t help it. Just the way the boy is.”
Don reads from a mindfulness book by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh in his home in Columbia, Mo, on Sept. 2, 2024. Despite being a war that many protested, Don sees his time spent in Vietnam as one of the best experiences of his life. When recalling his time there, he doesn’t look back on the war or the horror that happened. He thinks fondly of the language and culture of Vietnam that he learned and has integrated into his daily life.
The Adams Family and other First Friday onlookers watch Don as he wafts his bubbles into the air on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in downtown Columbia, Mo. Don is known among Columbians as the “Bubble Man.” He says that bubbles are a universal joy that can be spread far and wide to all people. Although he stands solitary on his sidewalk corner on Orr Street, friends and his fellow townies find him to catch up on life.
