BigDandLilD
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
- Messages
- 6
Nothing more Berkeley than stepping over panhandlers on Telegraph on your way to class.
When I shop in Valdosta, GA you see the panhandlers on most corners near I-75. Funny thing is they have cigarettes, a dog, and I've seen them head to the motels nearby in the early evening. I've also seen the same ones on different corners, almost as if they all rotate corners corners with each other. This especially happens in the winter when it's warmer down here
I worked the road as an LEO for 29 years. Most these folks are trying to get money for their next high, but there were a few hardships over the years that were genuine and I found myself paying out of my wallet for a motel room and a meal for a family more times than I would have liked to, but I always left with a smile.
It was also common for the Officers in the various jurisdictions to toss in and help families in need.
I worked the road as an LEO for 29 years. Most these folks are trying to get money for their next high, but there were a few hardships over the years that were genuine and I found myself paying out of my wallet for a motel room and a meal for a family more times than I would have liked to, but I always left with a smile.
The jurisdiction where I worked had a program that enabled officers to sign for a hotel room for a one-night stay (or a weekend if it happened then) and they were to contact Social Services the next working day who would then make other arrangements. Because of abuses (many of the same "customers" repeatedly) they later kept a list of those who had used that resource in in the past and failed to follow through. Those people were then denied the hotel stay and left to their own devices.
The program seemed to work well and helped those who had a genuine problem while weeding out the repeating freeloaders.
I read an article a couple of years ago that was interviewing professional beggars in a large west coast city. One guy claimed to clear 80k per year in a good year for a few hours of begging a day. Morning and evening rush hour plus lunch break. He didn't have a drug problem. This was his full time job. He did it because it paid better than a minimum wage job and was easier.
Someday I imagine if you tell a beggar you only have a credit card, they will whip out their iPhone and use a credit card processing app to take your "donation".
Sounds like an Early Retirement strategy.
So I am driving to the lake (skis in the car) temps are below zero and I see a guy walking 2 miles from town with a gas can on a cotton hoodie and cotton gloves. I think "holy bleep, this guy will be dead before he gets to town." Sooo I pull over and offer a ride to the gas station in town. He's shaking like a leaf very thankful. And adds he has no money for gas. His pipes are frozen in his house .... So I give him 10 bucks and the ski gloves (my backups) off my hands. Drop him off at the gas station. Was feeling pretty good about it. So talking to a local he says "oh, that's Joseph. He's always walking with that gas can. I've picked him up a few times. But not any more." Fast forward a couple weeks ... I am driving to the lake, there he is walking with his gas can. I waved and drove right by.
So I am driving to the lake (skis in the car) temps are below zero and I see a guy walking 2 miles from town with a gas can on a cotton hoodie and cotton gloves. I think "holy bleep, this guy will be dead before he gets to town." Sooo I pull over and offer a ride to the gas station in town.
He's shaking like a leaf very thankful. And adds he has no money for gas. His pipes are frozen in his house .... So I give him 10 bucks and the ski gloves (my backups) off my hands. Drop him off at the gas station. Was feeling pretty good about it.
So talking to a local he says "oh, that's Joseph. He's always walking with that gas can. I've picked him up a few times. But not any more."
Fast forward a couple weeks ... I am driving to the lake, there he is walking with his gas can. I waved and drove right by.
I read an article a couple of years ago that was interviewing professional beggars in a large west coast city. One guy claimed to clear 80k per year in a good year for a few hours of begging a day. Morning and evening rush hour plus lunch break. He didn't have a drug problem. This was his full time job. He did it because it paid better than a minimum wage job and was easier.
Someday I imagine if you tell a beggar you only have a credit card, they will whip out their iPhone and use a credit card processing app to take your "donation".
That is a great story, and I agree with Mulligan lugging a gas can, underdressed in the cold seems harder than getting a job. But I think some people just get a kick out of "beating the system".
Was talking with my airbnb host in boulder the other day. It turns out his neighbor lost his $8/hour fast food job and is now begging (near CU) and bringing in $21/hour.
This is second-hand information but really makes me wonder.
Was talking with my airbnb host in boulder the other day. It turns out his neighbor lost his $8/hour fast food job and is now begging (near CU) and bringing in $21/hour.
This is second-hand information but really makes me wonder.
Tax free.
But, seriously, would you ever, under any circumstances want to make your living this way?
Being from Philadelphia every day you are faced with folks asking for money for something. It is very difficult to say no.