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Talk about a fine start to a Sunday ...

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by mike311gd, Nov 25, 2007.

  1. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    A good point, Eagle. One I hadn't really considered, as I don't generally walk at night.
     
  2. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    The tennis balls crack was a joke, nothing more. But yeah, had he asked for a couple bucks to buy a sandwich, I might have been more willing to give. One guy came up to me a few months ago and told me he needed money because he and his girlfriend needed to get home. I told him I only had a 20, so we went into a store to break it. Then he said, "Thanks, man. I really need a pack of cigarettes." I told him the same thing I said this morning, "I'm sorry. ..."
     
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Can't even buy wine that early on Sunday here. Tell them you won't see them on the way up.
     
  4. Can't buy wine here at all on Sunday.
     
  5. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    You can buy wine all day, every day here.

    And I'd rather keep the damage to the dome at a minimum. The guy wasn't a dick. He was just frustrated, and I don't blame him.
     
  6. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Damn, I thought you had gotten laid this morning.
     
  7. I don't begrudge Mike not giving a homeless guy money. I normally don't.

    In fact, I usually just tell them to keep their distance. I had a friend mugged that way.

    Yet, I did give a guy $2 today. He was pretty clean cut and asking for cab fare because he had a $300 check that couldn't be cashed until tomorrow. I really didn't believe a word of it and turned him down the first time. But then I watched a couple of wealthy looking guys giving him a hard time about it, and I changed my mind.

    They could have said no without being demeaning about it.
     
  8. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    Angola's a funny guy.


    I was in New Orleans for a high school trip about a decade ago, and this guy came up and wanted some money. He was pretty creative about asking, though one of the kids with us didn't think so. ...

    Dude: Guys, I need your help. I'm $1.86 short of a pack of cigarettes, a six-pack of beer and a cab to New York City. Can you help me out?
    John: Wait. That doesn't make sense. How can you be $1.86 short of all those things?
    Dude: I don't know. I just am.
    John: So why don't you forget the beer. You'll have plenty of extra money.
    Dude: No way, man. I need my beer, ya know?
    John: So don't buy the cigarettes. They're not good for you anyway.
    Dude: Yeah, I know. But I'm craving them now.
    John: Well, can't you take a bus?
    Dude: All right, kid. Look. I just want to get a drink, but I thought this would be a more interesting way to go. So can you guys spare a few bucks?

    We all gave the guy a couple bucks. We figured, why not? He made that day worth it.
     
  9. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    wb, i know what you mean. last week i gave a woman a dollar outside the courthouse after initially rejecting her request. i watched her while i waited for my bottle of water at a coffee place and saw a bunch of suits seeming to give her a hard time. so i gave her $1 on the way out. she said she just wanted to buy a cup of coffee. i don't give a shit what she wanted to do with the $1 or what she eventually did with it.
     
  10. KG

    KG Active Member

    Alcohol actually lowers the body temperature, even though it makes you feel warmer. They would have been better off physically using the money for coffee or something, but the warm feeling from wine would probably last longer. Still if the guy was willing to be that honest, and if I had it to spare, I probably would have given him the money.

    About six years ago, I was gambling with how late I could pay my utilities (without them getting disconnected), because I was flat ass broke. I gambled a little too much with the electric company and they ended up disconnecting my service. I had paid my bill before the disconnection date, but it was with a check. Until the check cleared their bank, they wouldn't consider the bill paid. They disconnected my service on a Thursday morning and the check cleared Friday. They didn't have enough service techs to reconnect it that day, so I was stuck the weekend without electricity. The situation was my fault entirely, but unfortunately it was January and cold as hell.

    The electric company didn't give a damn about the fact that I had no other source of heat, because if I had paid my bill earlier in the first place, I wouldn't be in that situation. They might not have cared, but it was certainly a humbling weekend for me. The first two nights were really cold, but I slept in the den, which was a small room, with every oil lantern and candle I owned burning for a little bit of heat. Sunday night was so cold that I caved and slept in the car with it running for the heat.

    I can't imagine what it would be like to not even have a small room you can somewhat warm up with a bunch of oil lanterns and candles, or a car to sleep in with the heat running when it gets too cold to handle. If I were on the streets, I'd probably resort to alcohol too. Being hot is uncomfortable, and you can die from it too, but being cold is damn near unbearable--especially if you don't have any way to warm up.

    They may be at fault for their current situation, but I really feel sorry for homeless people throughout these upcoming months that can be brutally cold.
     
  11. Cansportschick

    Cansportschick Active Member

    Mike I would have offered them free passes to the World Toilet Association Conference.... ;D
     
  12. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    mike,

    you really need to get an mp3 player. a homeless person ought to be ashamed asking for cash from someone lugging around a walkman cd player.
     
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