There, but for the grace of god, go i?

Karalee · May 26, 2004

Theres an indian bum around here that hangs about the walmart. He smells of alcohol constantly. Sometimes him and his buddy sit at the entrance/exit of the walmart where there is a traffic light with a sign saying "Homeless and Hungry, please help" but the thing is they dont hold their sign, they have it attached to the end of a broomstick and somehow have made their sign into a tripod. I clicked wait for the light to turn green for this reason.

PS. He and his friends sometimes sit next to another bum that has a sign that says "Need brain surgery - Please Help!"

AMcNeice · May 27, 2004

If I have any food in my backpack(which most of the time)I'll usually give them some, most of them won't take it though as most of them don't want carrots or celeray sticks.

If they're begging for money they're asking the wrong person as I'm usually flat out broke. (freaking tution bills) . I might give them the spare change in my pocket but thats about it., can't afford to give them anymore.

Just depeneds on how I'm feeling.

havoc · May 27, 2004

Hey Orie, Thank your BF for the Cliff bar offer... I would have taken it but i really do dislike them!

Around Portland people make a career out of begging. When i hop on the Ross Island bridge i see the same guy thats been there for 8 months. He has a 1 liter of pepsi, and a pack of cigarettes sitting beside him. He can't be that desparete now can he?
I remember watching like Dateline or 48 hrs, or something. They once spotlighted career beggers. One guy claimed to pull in over 60K a yr. He drove a nice car, supported his family, and even bought a boat off his begging plunder.
I actually saw something similar out on 185th in hillsboro. Getting on to Hwy 26 there was this guy that had been there begging for like 6 months. I got on the freeway every day, so i saw him quite frequently. There is a stop light onto the freeway so it gets quite backed up during rush hour. Anyways, i noticed accross the onramp (There is a Target store there) a newer Chevy Malibu. Every day i drove by and sw that same car parked there. One day i thought to myself jokingly, "I bet its that begger dudes car." So anyways a couple weeks go by. One night after work i decided to go out, so i hoped in the car and drove onto the freeway. At the onramp i noticed that the guy wasn't there, i thought "thats weird, there are still cars around" Then i remembered my thought a couple weks before, and as i turned my head around, sure as **** i see that begger dude climbing in his new Malibu. I was so shocked i started laughing.
I don't know the circumstances behind why the guy was begging, but it was obvious that he was supporting at least a car payment on it. As i am sure there are people that really need help out there, i am sure that there are also people looking to exploit help from others. I am not qualified to determine who is who, so i just go about my business.

Walt · May 27, 2004

Car payment, heck, it's probably paid for!

danalec99 · May 28, 2004

Toby, so what would you do?

Osmer_Toby · May 28, 2004

i'm the one who checked the box give 1-5 bucks. specifically, i gave him $3.

danalec99 · May 29, 2004

Osmer_Toby said:
i'm the one who checked the box give 1-5 bucks. specifically, i gave him $3.

And is that a routine?

Osmer_Toby · May 29, 2004

well, i don't see homeless people routinely, so i'd have to say no, it's not a routine.

joseph · May 30, 2004

Panhandling: Selling "feel good" i.e. the donor buys a "feels good" after donating to the homeless with the appropriate sign. Hey, it's a gig.

Osmer_Toby · May 30, 2004

joseph said:
Panhandling: Selling "feel good" i.e. the donor buys a "feels good" after donating to the homeless with the appropriate sign. Hey, it's a gig.

just a tad cynical, methinks :wink:

Jeff Canes · May 30, 2004

Most of the time when in the car, I drive on. Sometime I will give spare change or a dollar.

After leaving the baseball games at the University of Miami I stop at a convenience store near the park. There a guy that sits outside the store begging. I usually give him change. Sometimes I see him in the store buying a beer or Dominos next door

In Broward (county north of Miami) there is a group selling a new paper called the Homeless Voice the guy that run the so called paper, has homeless people sell his paper for $1 and collecting donation, he gets a cut of sales LOL, also has an old motel that he use for housing, charge $7-10 a night for bed and food

This link is to CNN report on the group
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0101/06/smn.03.html