By Fiona McKenzie
Staff Writer

Every town has a group of individuals known as the “locals.”

East Stroudsburg has quite a few recognizable faces who roam around the Burg’ every day. One of these familiar faces is Mike Strunk.

Strunk is a local Chinese delivery man who has worked for Golden Star on Crystal Street for about seventeen years.

When asked why he has stayed with Golden Star for so long, Strunk responded with, “I love everything about Chinese people, that’s why I do it.”

Strunk is known as the “town loiterer.” He earned this title by spending most of his time at different popular locations around East Stroudsburg.

These locations include, EB Tattoo shop, Tattoo Shop Alter, Earth Lite and the Pocono Cinema and Cultural Center.

“I go places to play Devil’s advocate, I like to pester everybody.” Strunk comments about the reasoning behind his loitering.

When asked where his favorite spot to loiter is he replied with, “Pocono Cinema, it’s a sweet little bubble, smack in the center of the place I work, it’s nice to have that space to loiter and make conversation with all the workers.”

Strunk is originally from Saylorsburg but has lived in the Poconos, Philadelphia, New York, Rhode Island, and Portland, Ore.

He comments on his moves saying, “I hop around from City to City until I get tired of the “hoity toity”, I don’t want to die in the Poconos, but I believe I am doomed.”

Strunk has a wife, Renee and a little girl. Although he refers to Renee as his wife, they are not legally married.

Instead, they had an American-Indian ceremony performed since both Strunk and Renee are of American-Indian descent.

Strunk’s own words and his personal quote to live by is, “I want to be the first lemming to run and the last to go over.”

Next time you order from Golden Star, your food could be delivered by one of East Stroudsburg’s most well-known locals, or as he refers to himself, “The Loitering Devil’s Advocate.”

Email Fiona at:
fmckenzie@live.esu.edu