To most Chattanooga night owls, Sandy the Flower Man is an icon of the downtown scene.
A local florist called him an "institution." Longtime fans go so far as to call him a legend.
The Southside native pedals the city streets on a bicycle most evenings, often wearing a black cowboy hat or pageboy cap and a sleeveless vest showing off lean, muscled arms. In colder weather, he'll sport a suit, to which he adds buttons and other accessories.
Strolling through local restaurants, bars and pool halls, the 52-year-old handyman and military veteran carries a bouquet of flowers, a gentlemanly air and an easy, 100-watt grin.
"He's so highly visible and easily tens of thousands of people recognize him just from being out for so long," said Eddie Bridges, a bartender at JJ's Bohemia who said he's known Sandy Bell for 20 years. Mr. Bell attended Mr. Bridges' wedding earlier this year.
This winter Mr. Bell was diagnosed with colon cancer, and the news came as a shock to countless Chattanoogans, many of whom don't even know his last name and have only traded theories about his roots.
A handful of Mr. Bell's admirers, including Mr. Bridges, organized a benefit to help pay his medical bills.
After four surgeries and with a few more chemotherapy sessions to go, Mr. Bell's medical bills exceed $44,000, Mr. Bell said.
The benefit - scheduled for today at JJ's Bohemia and other local spots - has taken on a life of its own, organizers say.
More than 500 people have already responded to a Facebook invitation to the main event, which will feature a silent auction and performances by local musicians and bellydancers at JJ's Bohemia.
Local musicians also will play free shows at restaurants and bars, including the Pickle Barrel and Aretha Frankensteins, in exchange for donations for Mr. Bell.
Dozens of businesses have donated to a live auction - open on eBay through July 31 - with prizes including an Ocoee River rafting trip, an acupuncture session and a gift certificate for St. John's Restaurant.
Mr. Bell said he is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, during an interview at JJ's this week.
"I can't fathom it," he said. "You guys just took me in. ... I look at you guys as family."
PETAL POWER
Mr. Bell says his relationship with flowers began on a whim.
Walking downtown one night in the 1980s, he plucked a few flowers from the ground beside him. Soon after, a woman approached and asked how much to buy one.
As he remembers it, he replied, "I'll appreciate whatever you give me." She gave him a few dollars and moved on.
Ever since, he's gathered up bouquets - he usually gets his blossoms from local florists, who pass along the flowers they plan to throw away - and ambled the streets of Chattanooga, passing out flowers and sometimes accepting cash in exchange.
Mr. Bell said he's collected many books on flowers over the years and has learned all their Latin names. He says he can't pick a favorite because he loves them all.
"I've learned to make gorgeous bouquets," he said. "It's where my heart is. I must admit, I'm good at it."
Mr. Bell, whose real name is Oterius, grew up with three brothers and three sisters, and he graduated from Howard High School in 1976. He picked up the nickname Sandy as a child, when he had sandy-red hair.
"Everybody always has loved him," his mother, Dorothy Bell, said. She lives one floor above Mr. Bell in the Mary Walker Towers. As a child Mr. Bell was smart, "happy-go-lucky" and loved riding his bike, Mrs. Bell said.
"He always has been outgoing and helping people and not asking for anything," she said.
Soon after high school he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He enlisted for three years, traveling to Okinawa, until he was honorably discharged in 1982.
But he faced an uphill bureaucratic battle to claim his educational and health benefits, he said. A Veterans Administration social worker is now, decades later, helping him to reclaim those benefits that could help pay for his medical bills.
For six or seven years in the 1980s, Mr. Bell was homeless, living under bridges and sleeping in empty houses. He's worked as a handyman for many families in the city, washing windows, cleaning houses and cutting grass, he said.
"I do everything but cook," he said.
Mr. Bridges said Mr. Bell's "magic" lies in his attitude.
"He's perpetually positive," Mr. Bridges said. "It's extraordinary to me to see somebody who has cancer who is still able to smile at every single person he sees. He brightens the day of everybody he comes in contact with."