Have I Seen You Before Somewhere?

blog entry from my blogspot...

Hey lady facing me in Burger King in the ugly t shirt, and shorts... playing with that $100+ cell phone... haven't I seen you before?

As I sit here, blogging away and checking for cheap gas before I hit the grocery store, I swear I've seen that lady before.

She looks an awful lot like the lady that was begging for gas money about a week ago at a ChicFilA in town. She came up to me, teary-eyed, begging for money for gas. I explained I would give her gas, if she'd wait for me to order, but no cash. I've done service work in NYC, and I never gave their beggars cash, but offered food if I thought they were real.

The lady said she'd wait while I got my food. Even pointed out her car to me. I bought my chicken caesar wrap, decided $25 was generous enough, and left with my order. When I got outside, she was gone. No car, no lady. I went to two neighboring stations, and still no lady. I laughed it off, figuring she was begging for cash, and her SO, whoever it was, was T'd off I didn't give her $$.

Now she's sitting over there, looking awful uncomfortable. I guess it would be hard to eat Burger King fast food, and stare at the person that offered you good will. Especially since I saw her & two other men get out of that four-door F150 (with a U-Haul car trailer hitched up behind it).

I don't like being taken advantage of... but right now, I'm awful glad she didn't wait around for the gas, because I'd be over there, asking for my money back.

Angel, I've been in your position. We're assualted all the time with these people in parking lots. DH always smiles and steps aside while I let loose LOUDLY that if they continue harrassing people, I will be calling the police. They ALWAYS disappear within seconds. LOL

We had a guy come into the store where I worked and start looking at Men's Fragrances. He looked at a couple and then asked the girl to hold one gift set for him. He was wearing an old army peacoat and carried a beat-up duffel bag. I thought he looked familiar but couldn't place him. He left the store and returned about 1 and 1/2 hrs later. He bought the gift set with a wad of one dollar bills. NOW I placed him! He's the guy that sits on the freeway off-ramp and begs for money! He had gone outside and begged for money so he could buy cologne!?!?!?!? I had to laugh but I was angry at the same time.

they are all over t. signs say work for food yeah right the have cig. big cold pops from qt. i can't have cold pop i just get by paying the utilities sit beg no i will make it for extra's they can do something.some even have big bottles in paper sack---beer. ugh. they have new cars around corner told nice homes . so.

OMG- the best was a guy in San Antonio, begging while WEARING A BLUETOOTH DEVICE. Seen June 28 2008.

OMG is right. What the hey!?!?!?!

although the guy begging for cologne money is right up there!!

Oh, it made me so mad! LOL I wanted to go stand beside him with a sign that said "Don't give him money! He buys beer and cigarettes with it!"

Hee hee He might have been the best smelling bum around there though!!!!
Our county just banned panhandling last year. Before that we had regulars. One 40 ish woman was clearly not all there, but a cop friend say she buys crack. Scratch her off the list. She had a regular spot, which she decorated with trash. Wierd. And she wouldtalk at the traffic and always had something stuck in her teeth, a la the sideways rose stem idea but of course not a real rose. The only one I gave to was a guy in 90 plus heat, I gave a dollar cuz I figured he could at least buy a bottle of water and not pass out into the moving traffic.
One homeless type guy, hanging outside my favorite littl local convenience mart, was mush more polite than the guys at work inside, who were openly discussing prostitution in Vegas whle I got my bread and milk. Small store, had to walk right by the counter coming in and never more than 20 feet from the guys. Twas a thought provoking little experince. The 'bum' never asked for money either.
One guy I wish I had given to.===I twentyish guy with a big real backpack, in a grocery parking lot, at night. He stayed well away and just asked if I had any spare change. Since it was dark I wanted to hustle into my car and lock up. He said thanks anyway. I wish I had locked up, then maybe asked about him. He looked like a young,-finding- himself type guy. He was gone before I collected my thoughts though.

Admittedly there are people out there who DO need our help but the majority are just making fast , easy, non-taxable cash. I've spoken to officers who tell me they make upwards of $500 a day! I don't make that!

The worst, however, are the ones who make a dog sit in the heat/cold/car exhsust with them.

OK folks- Sucker of th Day here. Just a littl tiny thing so I ddn't earn sucker of the Week Here's my day
Went to the Big City with DD. Wlaked three blocks from Metro to place we were going. Wlaked apst a guy who was asking for 60 cents. (to make bus fare or somethin I suppose was the story) So with several other people apparently familiar with the area also jsut ignoring him, and trying to train DD to not be gullible and naive, I ignore him too. Then several hours later, am getting out of my car at small rundownish suburban strip shopping center. On my way into the bank with my mom so she can cash a check. Young guy asks for $1.72 cents for daughter's prescription. Guilt from the 60 cent guy still fresh. Correct amount of loose change weighing down my pocket. Having admitted here I have only given one dollar in all the time I remember Hate to seem so unfeeling as to question sick daughter story. What if there really IS a sick girl, maybe at least she'll get med now. (Instantly go thru these things in my brain ) So I gave him the change. Heck, whats 1.75 these days anyway? nothing.
Mom had the last laugh--she said--If he just wasn't smoking that cigarrette maybe he could buy his daughters medicine- yup the poor 'desperate' guy had cig money, ugh. When we got done in the bank I looked for the guy, There he was, just sitting down on the bench at the grocery store with a small refillable water bottle. He kind of waved at me as I stared at him. Like what? " Hi, naive woman, here I am relaxing" Sheesh I feel like stalking the shopping center now and watching him. Why was I so easy??? Why did he have to ask a total stranger? Why was he four stores away from th RIteaid- wouldn't you be in the store asking people. if you were so desperate that you had to get it just then from a stranger?
It reminds me of the time some woman asked me for 2 bucks for prescription money and I had no cash at all on me. Later I saw that she actually worked in the hospital that I was outside of.. Incredible.
I'm just gonna stop carrying any money.

It's so hard to know who really needs help & who doesn't. I was approached in another town by a young man carrying a one gallon gas can. His story was that he was from out of town also & had ran out of gas. Nice, friendly guy about my son's age so I gave him $2 - - enough to buy a gallon of gas back then. Then I watched him wander through the strip center begging from everyone else he passed. Hmm The gas can was a nice touch. I gave with good intentions, so the shame is on him.

I don't have a problem giving, but I don't give cash. If they're hungry, a mcdonald's hamburger should be appreciated. If they need gas, me pumping it into a can or a tank should be the same.

If they want cash, it's so they can manage it. If they're truly at a point to be begging for anything, there were probably some money management issues in the past. So rather than trust them to manage my donation, I'll offer up something physical instead.

Best sign I ever saw was a guy in either Dallas or Austin I can't remember which..the sign simply said "Why Lie, I want a beer" I was laughin so hard I almost couldn't drive. Needless to say I gave him a buck for the laugh, all the while my DH was being pissy about it.

For the most part I'm like AngelSong, I'll put gas in your car, buy you a box of crackers and and sandwich meat etc but not money. I worked for the Red Cross during both Katrina and Rita and really lost a lot of faith in people at that point. I saw people who would lie, cheat and steal to get more more more. You could hear all types of sob stories about what they had lost but when you tried to help it became very clear that all they wanted was a hand out not a hand up.

Unbelieveable- I just saw that I Need a Beer guy here in Baltimore a few days ago!

I like Angelsongs method.

I'm very disappointed to hear the Red cross story.