That's George

BRISTOL, Tenn. – If you’re cruising down State Street in front of Liberty Tax Service, you might get to see the green blur that is George Brooks at work, hopping and twirling to Elvis music as he draws attention to the business.

He’s an eye-catcher all right. People honk, wave, laugh and even give him the “you’re No. 1” salute. But then again, Brooks’ job is to get attention.

“I just can’t stand there,” Brooks, 55, said about his self-styled, free-form dance steps, which include a lot of head-shaking, strutting and extracurricular “Saturday Night Fever” hand and arm movements.

“I’m a big Elvis fan, and I love to dance,” he said. “I’m required to wave, but I just can’t stand there. I enjoy it, and I get the attention that way. I guess I love the attention.”

Liberty Tax Service has 12 locations in the Tri-Cities region, and each year when tax season arrives, so do the company’s part-time workers, who dress up in green garb fashioned after the Statue of Liberty. They wave to passing motorists to draw them to the business. That’s their job.

“I think that’s his form of aerobics,” said Bill Mays of Bristol, Va. “Everbody in Bristol knows about him, and you get a lot of people waving at him.”

But Brooks, in his third year of jiggling and moon-walking for the company’s 710 State St. location in downtown Bristol, takes things way past the minimum job requirements, literally wearing holes in his black dress shoes as he twists, turns and prances to music blasting through his headphones.

“Sometimes I’m changing my CD and I can’t wave, but I like to give people a smile during the day,” he said. “That’s my goal. To me, it’s all worth it if you’ve brightened someone’s day. People drive by and yell, ‘hey Elvis.’

“I’m not ashamed of it – not at all. Even if they drive by and flip me the bird, that’s OK. I got their attention.”

George’s frenetic street dancing will only be on display until April 15, the last day for most people to file their taxes.

“There’s nobody that drives by here and at least doesn’t look over,” he said. “Some hide their face with their hands, but I can see they’re looking over. Some will drive by, roll down their window and yell, ‘do your thing!’ ”

But there’s more to Brooks than first meets the eye. He’s a Vietnam veteran who says he’s seen and learned a lot. He also has a unique take on life.

Brooks said the dancing actually helps control his blood pressure. He also made his costume and is proud of the crown that he constructed from parts of a headband, a hard hat and waterproof foam. Brooks says the design keeps the crown from flopping down in his eyes when he’s in mid-boogie.

“He’s got a lot of energy,” said Paul Jones of Bristol, Va. “He used an old boombox out there last year. He doesn’t stop. I swear, he just never stops.”

Trula Lindamood, who manages Liberty’s State Street office, said Brooks is a one-of-a-kind worker.

“He’s a faithful worker,” she said. “He works in all kinds of weather – rain, snow, heat. He just keeps on going.”

The Bristol, Tenn., resident, who belongs to a Star Trek fan club in North Carolina, has been married three times and now lives alone.

“None of ’em stuck,” he said of his wives. “But I do have two children and two grandchildren.”

He made it through the fifth grade at Valley Pike Elementary and grew up in Holston Valley. He spent three years in the U.S. Army and did a stint in Vietnam as an infantryman. He now lives on disability and what he makes each tax season with the tax service.

“I’m 55, and I don’t care what people say,” Brooks said. “I’m going to enjoy life – enjoy every day like it’s my last. I learned in Vietnam that you can die at any time.”

Brooks said his arthritis gets to him once in a while, but he plans on entertaining passersby as long as he can dance.

When asked why he prefers wearing black dress shoes while making his moves, the mover and shaker answered, “I can’t dance in tennis shoes.”

Elvis is dead. Long live the new king.

ggray@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512