Am I Cynical, Smart, or Both?
This after/evening as I was leaving my local Kroger with dinner fixin’s, cat food, and kitty litter, I was approached by a young man asking for food.
He gave me this seemingly well rehearsed speech about the local churches refusing him food and how his father was diabetic and needed to eat.
He then asked if I could give him some food. He specifically said, not money, just food. It had been four days since he and his dad had eaten.
I am leery of panhandlers and don’t take too kindly to these tactics. But understanding some people are struggling, I pointed to the Panera Bread across the street and mentioned that they are very good about giving away their day old products at the end of the day. Perhaps he and his dad could go there and ask for something.
His reply caught me off guard and proved that my cynicism was well founded.
“Yea, we went there yesterday and all they gave us was bread.”
I said I was sorry, he mumbled some comment about me be a cheap ass cracker, and I got in my car and left.
All they gave you was bread? Yesterday? I thought you hadn’t eaten in four days.
Plus, Dad over there has lit a new cigarette from the one he was smoking. If you are so hungry you are concerned for your diabetic Dad’s life, what the hell is wrong with bread and where did the money come from for the Newports? At four bucks a pack you could buy quite a bit of food at Kroger if you are truly hungry and willing to stop smoking. Can’t quit? Okay, how about going over the the Speedway and buying the subgeneric $1.50 a pack cigs and spend the rest on food?
I noticed as I was driving away the guy who approached me and his “Dad” had approached two separate people. Divide and conquer I suppose. One woman gave the older guy a $20 bill.
What a scam. I fought the urge to tell the woman it was a scam - as she paid $20 to feel like she made a difference in some one’s life - and I suppose it was worth the price. It’s just too bad she wasn’t helping someone who needed the help.
3 years ago