#panhandlers

Been doing some fall cleaning around the home. Finding things to toss out or put out with a free sign on it. I happened to uncover some huge bags of rubber bands. I'm talking big and bulky bags. You know like the kind you might find at some surplus office supply outlet. I must have picked them up at some weird liquidation sale for next to nothing. (I just must have forgotten about them. How did I do that?) But hey I'm talking tens of thousands of rubber bands of different shapes and sizes. Plus many many colors. The minute she saw them my wife wanted me to toss them in the garbage. I asked her, "Are you nuts?" No one in my family would toss away rubber bands like that. If my relatives found out I can hear it now. He must be like Elon Musk or Bill Gates. He is so rich that he can just toss rubber bands around like nothing. He's probably even lighting cigars with hundred-dollar bills. Nope, I'm not tossing away good rubber bands. I asked my wife if she uses rubber bands. She said she hadn't used a rubber band in years. I explained how I use rubber bands all the time. I believe every home should have 3 things: paper towels/toilet tissue, double A batteries, and rubber bands. ( Jeez didn't you ever watch MacGyver on TV? Half the time his gimmicks were made with paper clips and rubber bands.) After giving it a bit of thought I told my wife with Halloween Trick or Treat Night coming up I'm going to have two bowls, one with our candy treats in it and one with a bunch of those colorful rubber bands. Then kids can take a candy treat and a handful of rubber bands. My wife made this sour face and said fine but you're working the door for Halloween this year Buster. I told her "Fine! I can't wait to hear the parents continually saying: "Hey what a cool idea." The kids can even go home and make their own little rubber band ball. Boom. I also think I'm going to put some of my gazillions of rubber bands in tiny snack bags and when I see a homeless person panhandling I'll pull up and toss them some change and a bag of rubber bands. I think they'll love it. They can use the rubber bands to hold the sole of their shoes on or create a makeshift belt to hold up their pants. I asked my wife if she'd go along with me to hand out rubber bands to the homeless. She said she wanted no part of my community outreach with my rubber bands. I did call my youngest daughter and told her my rubber bands for the homeless idea, and asked if she'd ride along with me while I did it. After she laughed for a minute she said: "Sure Dad, I'll go with you. Hey, you could end up on the news. I will expect you to treat me to Starbucks afterward." No problem honey, being charitable makes me thirsty too.

"Refuse Panhandlers Is Advice Given by Employment Officer," Kingston Whig-Standard. 1933-05-24. Page 14. ---- A great many complaints have been received recently about panhandling from door to door by single unemployed men and transients. Major Stroud has asked the Whig-Standard to request the people of Kingston to stop giving money to men who come begging at their doors. A camp has been established at Barriefield by the Government to take care of these single men and Major Stroud is having difficulty in getting enough men to fill. He needs between thirty and forty men tomorrow morning and does not know how he is going to get them. The Government camp, it must be understood, is operated on a strictly voluntary basis. Men don't have to go there and many men are refusing to go because they feel they can do better begging from door to door. This camp has been established by the Government to take care of the unemployed single men in this district and if they refuse to go to camp, they are deserving of no sympathy from the citizens of Kingston. Major Stroud will appreciate it if, when men come to the doors begging the householders will refer the men to Barriefield Camp. Barrlefield Camp is proving a big success. These men who are established there like the life and feel that they are being fairly deal with. They are given army rations, clothing and boots and an allowance of twenty cents a day for cigarettes and tobacco. The working hours are from eight to twelve and from one to five. The evenings are free and those in charge endeavor to make them pleas ant. A radio has been installed and a number of magazines and books have been donated by citizens. What Major Stroud in his capacity as Government Employment Officer, would like to point out, is that when people continue to respond to door to door appeals, they are simply standing in the way of Government plans to take care of single unemployed men. He hopes therefore that from now on he will receive the hearty co-operation of the citizens in getting the camp filled up as quickly as possible. "FATHER OPPOSES SON ON RANGES," Kingston Whig-Standard. 1933-05-24. Page 14. --- WINNIPEG - Fine markmanship appears to run in families. The St. Charles rifle range here saw nine fathers on one butt shoot shoulder to shoulder with their sons. Lieut. W. Worsick, Winnipeg Light Infantry, and his son George took first place for high scoring with 34- 33-32-99 and 31-33-31-95 respectively. And the success of Sergeant J. H. Neats, Winnipeg Rifles, second. high scorer for the day with 34-33-30 -97, may have been due to the cheering of his four-year-old son when his father made the white sign come up more often than any other competitor on his target.

Be firm, show confidence and keep moving...

When it comes to panhandlers I'm not the most giving person in the world.  Part of it is it seems those asking for handouts are everywhere.  This asking for money has gotten so bad that I've almost gotten numb to it.  Every store asks me at the checkout if I'd like to round up my total and give the extra change to some needy outfit.  I don't do it as often as I used to because I'm tired of being asked for my spare change.  I've wanted to ask the cashier if they could round my total down a dollar because I'm short a bit of cash?  I'm sure the next person will round up and cover it.  Trust me security would be over and I'd be out the door in less time then it would take you to say troublemaker.  My wife came home from work the other day to tell me her panhandler story.  She had just got to her car and unloaded her groceries into the trunk at the grocery store.   As she got in the car and was getting set to leave, a lady approached her drivers side window and asked her if she had any money she could give her.  She said she needed money to feed her children.  My wife (Who has a much bigger heart then I have.)told her she didn't have any cash but had just purchased an eight piece bucket of fried chicken and some potatoes to take home for dinner and she was welcome to take it  The lady goes I gotta feed my children I need cash.  My wife told her the chicken is already cooked and you are welcome to any of the groceries I have in my trunk to take home to your family.  The lady just yelled at my wife I don't need your food I need money.  I'm going to go somewhere else to see if I can get money.  My wife said the women seemed high.  Obviously she wanted money for drugs not food.  I finally had to ask my wife the big question.  Honey if the panhandler would have taken our fried chicken and potatoes, what would we have eaten for dinner?  She said it would have been a "Fend for yourself night" in the dinner department. Wow, I'm sorry that woman is on drugs, but I'm glad she doesn't like chicken.

I was out with my wife the other day and while in the car we passed this homeless person well actually I'm not sure they were homeless but they looked like they lived a lot on the street.  I threw out some comment when I saw them and my wifes reply was "Oh that's my favorite hobo."  I asked what she was talking about and she said how of all the hobo's she sees during the day he's her favorite.  He just seemed like a nice, kind street person.  I told her this was the first time I had heard anyone refer to someone as their favorite Hobo.  No one has a favorite hobo.  Would you watch a TV show called "My Favorite Hobo?"  No!  She just said: "Whatever, he's my favorite."  I have a new perspective on those who look like they live on the street or have signs asking for money.  Now I have a person I know who claims every one of those panhandlers are running a scam.  His one line is how I'm sure that guy has a Ferrari parked around the corner he drives home.  Sure I can believe some could be but not all.  I try not to harden my heart towards all of them.  That's not the type of person I want to be.  I spotted a lady with a sign on a street corner yesterday and she was holding a sign for money, but she also was clutching an oxygen tank with the tubes in her nose.  I had never seen that before.  I would have given her a couple bucks but I wasn't in a lane near her.  I did see this lady walking along the road who looked kind of rough but as I got closer I noticed she was sipping from a McDonalds cup.  I then thought okay she's hydrating with a drink for Micky D's she's alright.  I then thought if we could just get each homeless person a nice sports bottle, (one that has a straw with it.) I think this would be a pick me up for the homeless.  Heck if I saw a group of homeless people walking down the street sipping on a drink from their sports bottle I wouldn't be so worried about them.  Hydrating the Homeless is the name for this movement.  I'm thinking one of those street people clutching a jazzy looking sports bottle and attempting to hydrate would make them seem not so desperate.  I can picture a mom driving her kids to soccer practice and little Timmy yells out to his mother, "Hey mom that guy sitting in front of that tent near Arbys has the same sports bottle I have, how cool."  Yep a solid sports bottle with a straw could change the whole scene.  I have a couple spare sports bottles I've put in my car.  Next time I see a homeless guy I'm going to pull over and toss one to him and say "No need to thank me, just keep hydrating this summer"  

Photo: Walker Evans via Metropolitan Museum of Art