Pan-handling and beggars

[KE5FRF]

Yesterday my little boy and I were leaving the video store with a handful of DVDs and as we walked to the truck I sensed someone was following us in the corner of my eye and as I unlocked the vehicle a young man approached. In my area this is common so you automatically know what is coming next.

He politely says "excuse me" and proceeds to tell me a sob story about being from out of town and running out of gas and having no money to get home.

The kid was wearing a long Jersey and jeans. Looked like an ordinary guy if a little rough. He seemed genuinely like he was down on his luck.

I was in a good mood and had a buck or two in my wallet and was prepared to give it to him. Just as I was reaching for my wallet a gentleman and his wife walked out of the video store and saw that I was pulling my wallet out and I guess he recognized the young man.

He proceeded to say the pretty much the following:
"Hey you again? Leave that man alone. Yeah, you remember me don't you! Get out of here and go get a job or I'm going to have you arrested"...He turned and looked at me and asked me if the kid was asking for gas money and I said yes. He said, "I gave this kid money last month a few miles up the road at a convenient store when he gave me the same BS story. I've since seen him all over town peddling for hand-outs. It's guys like this that make it hard to trust anyone and hard to feel sorry for people who may really need help."
The young man had already practically run off and was accross the parking lot when I passed him driving out. He gave me the finger. Me, the guy who had almost handed him some money.

This has been going on since time began, I know. his kid looked reasonably healthy and capable. There is no shortage of jobs, even if menial labor, in this area especially since Hurrican Katrina. If I was down on my luck I would be roofing, installing insulation or dry-wall, or any manner of construction work that is in abundance here. I would be working instead of pan-handling.

Just beware. I've come to believe that 90% of these hoodlems are people you can't believe. They are looking for a fix or a pack of cigarettes. I simply can't understand the mindset of someone who has no self respect and can lower themselves to beg or steal like that. And make no mistakes, I believe that lying to beg for money is the same as stealing.

My faith in mankind is one notch lower.

[kd5kfl]

Some guy pulled the same stunt on me 20 years ago. His story was he was going to a job interview and he ran out of gas. 9:00 AM and he's the third guy that day with the same story.

I had a Jeep with a 5 gallon jerry can on the back. Full, I off-roaded every weekend. I picked up the gas can and started pounding on it, shouting "I'll give you the gas! Show me the car! Show me the #@&%ing car! Show me the mother#@&%ing car!"

The look on his face was priceless. He did not show me the car.

[n1ydx]

Almost the same thing in PA. Guy at a crossroad was holding a sign " Will work for money to feed family "

I stopped and said " I have a large yard to mow and clean up, I'll give you $50.00 for 2 hours work "

The reply - F**** K Off, I'd rather you give me some money.

Politely said goodbye.

N1YDX - Lee

[al2n]

Up here they ask for cash for food.

I always offer to buy them a meal instead of handing out cash. 9 times out of 10 they refuse the offer.

[K5FH]

A few years ago there was this panhandler who sat on a street corner in the French Quarter with a sign reading, "Why lie? I need beer!" As I remember, he got quite a bit of "business."

At least the guy was somewhat honest even if he was a shiftless bum.

Still doesn't excuse the behavior, though.

[n2ize]

I've seen a lot of pan handlers. I usually give them a quarter, or 50 cents, or a buck if I can spare it. Many of them are routine pan handlers (i.e. those that I see on a regular basis). Some genuinely want money for food, others want money for dope. I don;t care either way, I'd prefer they get their money by politely asking for it rather than by stealing or robbing someone.

What I dislike are those who get nasty if I don't give them money. I also don't like those that give me a long winded #### and bull story. If you need money ask for it, I don't care what you need it for. But don't curse me if I don't have it and don;t make me waste my time with a long drawn out story. I;d rather a guy just walk up and honestly say "hey, I am trying to get some ...food...wine...drugs...etc. can you spare any change", rather than hearing some drawn out snow-job.

I'll never forget the french foreign exchange student giving me a long drawn out SOB story (In a pathetic whining tone of voice) about how he lost his travelers cheques and how all he has is french money and how he wanted me to give him my American money for his French money. I told him French money ain't gonna do me no good here. But I told him that we could walk over to the policeman on the corner and ask him where there is a bank that will exchange foreign currency. As soon as he heard the work "police" he took off and was nowhere to be seen. #A few weeks later I spotted him pulling the exact same routine on somebody else. I walked over and said, "hey, it's been 2 weeks, you mean you didn't exchange that French money for American money yet ? ".

[kb9iou]

I always feel my pocket and go, "Yes I have plenty of change, thanks for asking."

[N0KLT]

A number of years ago I saw one of those panhandlers with the sob story about needing money for a bus ticket to get to Omaha which was supposedly his home pick the wrong pair of guys to put the touch on. This guy had just hit up a friend of mine and me as we were killing time at noon before going back to work. We said no and got the usually mumbled curse and he turned and hit up the 2 guys standing not far away in the skywalk. He got about half of his long drawn out sob story out of his mouth when he found himself assuming the position spread eagled against the wall there. Seems as though he had chosen to panhandle a couple of plain clothes cops who were out for their own lunch break. Guess our cops don't mind working their lunch breaks, they didn't even bother to call for transport for the guy, just frog marched him the 2 blocks to the downtown police station. The look on this clowns face was fabulous, especially after they frisked him down and found several joints and a quite a bit of money on him also. That was one of the more entertaining lunch breaks I had in those days.

[KL7FZ]

Quote[/b] (al2n @ July 28 2007,11:58)]Up here they ask for cash for food.

I always offer to buy them a meal instead of handing out cash. #9 times out of 10 they refuse the offer.
What time do we eat?

KL7FZ

[n2ize]

I think the best way to deal with panhandlers is a straight punch to the jaw. Then you take their money and send it to some rich guy who really needs it. I'd feel much better knowing that some rich guy is a few cents richer than to know that some lousy good for nothing disgusting bum has a few cents on him.

[KL7FZ]

Had a guy down on a corner near here with a sign that said something like "Vet needs money for food". I stopped and said I had some work and would pay him. He said to meet him there the next morning and he would work for me. He did not show up. Later that day he is back with the sign. I stopped and asked why he did not show up. Hungover, but he would definately be there tomorrow. OK I would give him a second chance. I need ed the help. He showed up! Spent the whole morning telling me hard he he could work..while taking a break every couple of minutes or so. After 4 hours he asked me to take him home as he was so wore out he could not do anymore. He asked me to drop him off at the liquor store. I refused and said I would take him home which I did. In my rear view mirror I could see him hoofing it in the direction of the booze store!
I did not hire him again. But I did watch a while and the guy was collecting a ton of money with his sign from all the gullible people.

KL7FZ

[NA4BH]

My favorite one was when the deaf guy came in to a business that I worked at, handing out the little cards. He came up to me and showed his card, I advised him to leave. He followed the instructions, and proceeded to go out side and verbally communicate with his other two panhandler friends. The funny thing, they were not looking at each other during the conversation or using sign language.

[WF7A]

Just once, when a panhandler holds out his can, rattles it, then says, "Change?", I'm going to reach in it, take some, then say "Thank you very much!"

There was an exposé years ago when a local TV crew secretly followed a panhandler around town begging for change--and getting it--then when the day was over he returned home to a well-to-do apartment complex. It turned out he lived the life of Riley--making an average of $50K/year (all tax-free, of course)--by feigning being down on his luck. He had a nice car, too!

I remember once when I was approached by a panhandler near a burger joint asking for change or food. I reached into my bag and gave him my burger. The look on his face was priceless: it looked like I had just crapped in his Easter basket.

On the other end of the spectrum...

I walked into my local bank with a c-note once and asked the teller, "Change, please." She then stretched her mouth wide with a couple of fingers and "bugged out" her eyes. I then laughed out loud, saying, "Well, I got what I asked for."

[K9STH]

The "Why lie, I need a beer" used to be displayed by a "street person" at one of the freeway exits in east Dallas. He definitely did a "land office" business. However, the City of Dallas has outlawed any collecting of money at street intersections (this, unfortunately, has stopped even the fire department "fill the boot" collections for MD). The result is that the "panhandlers" now collect at intersections that are not in the City of Dallas but are in suburbs, etc. Often they just have to cross the street to again be legal.

Glen, K9STH

[NC5P]

I was going into a Village Inn one morning and a woman came up with that old story of running out of gas. There wasn't a gas station within a mile of there and I told her I only had plastic. The plastic thing usually works but this woman became enraged and started hitting me. I just went in and she stayed outside. I told Randy the manager who went out and told her to get lost. I asked him not to call the cops because I'm sure they would have arrested me while believing the junkie woman. Us men are always predators, you know.

[kb9iou]

Quote[/b] (NC5P @ July 28 2007,17:38)]I was going into a Village Inn one morning and a woman came up with that old story of running out of gas. There wasn't a gas station within a mile of there and I told her I only had plastic. The plastic thing usually works but this woman became enraged and started hitting me. I just went in and she stayed outside. I told Randy the manager who went out and told her to get lost. I asked him not to call the cops because I'm sure they would have arrested me while believing the junkie woman. Us men are always predators, you know.
Most police departments know the local junkies and bums. You should have called the police, signed a complaint, and had her arrested.

[KI4SQT]

Saw a guy as I got off the expressway this evening, in a nice 3 piece suit, his sign read...Please help...I lost my motivational tapes...

[kb9iou]

<Moderated>
The photograph is unacceptable.

Found us one.

[kg4yus]

Panhandling...

Jose and Carlos are panhandling at the freeway off ramp.


Jose drives a Mercedes, lives in a mortgage free house and has a lot of money to spend.


Carlos only brings in 2 to 3 dollars a day.


Carlos asks Jose how he can bring home a suitcase full of $10 bills every day.


Jose says, "Look at your sign." It reads: "I have no work, a wife & 6 kids to support"


Carlos looks at Jose's sign.


It reads: "I only need another $10.00 to move back to Mexico"

[K8ERV]

You guys are giving me some great ideas-- I start tomorrow

Tom K8ERV Montrose Co.

[ka5s]

Quote[/b] (al2n @ July 28 2007,14:58)]Up here they ask for cash for food.

I always offer to buy them a meal instead of handing out cash. 9 times out of 10 they refuse the offer.
My brother used to buy large bags of Big Macs in Boston on Christmas and go around the steam grates handing out food.


Cortland
KA5S

[kb2vxa]

You haven't seen pan handlers until you've seen Gypsies. Oh, so you thought they were a myth now didn't you? These "non English speaking immigrants" hand out some pretty interesting notes in a very creative writing style like the e-mail scam from Hong Kong mentioned in another thread. Look around for her bodyguards standing at a discreet distance.

[wt0n]

http://kc0pqj.googlepages.com/Will_code_HTML_for_food.jpg

[kf6rdn]

Quote[/b] (K8ERV @ July 29 2007,07:12)]You guys are giving me some great ideas-- I start tomorrow

Tom K8ERV Montrose Co.
You can have my spot, these guys ratted me out.

[N2RJ]

I haven't given to panhandlers in a long time.

[AC4BB]

Several years ago, I had a gent ask me for money for bread because He and his Mother were starving and needed food. I said "Well. I will be finished up with my business in just few minutes and I will go to the store on the next block. And buy you bread and anything else to feed you and your mother"

"Oh,no I can do it". "And I said no trouble at all" "My mother is on a very sensitive diet". "You just tell me what kind of bread your mother needs and I will go get whatever you want and some beans and stuff too."

And I said" I will feed your hunger and not your drinking/ drug habit".

He mumbled something and walked off. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[nx6d]

This is a subject that annoys the hell out of me.

When I lived in Sonoma County, we were overrun by panhandlers. My old house was near the armory, which they opened up to the bums during the cold weather.

The bums used to troop through the neighborhood taking cans out of the recycling containers and stealing from cars. I lost an Icom 706 and an Alinco two meter radio to these idiots.

I got kind of hostile with the Santa Rosa PD over the recycling bins. They said it was a low priority and would patrol when they could. They did, and the "bumage" stopped. I even wrote a letter to the editor twice about the "homeless" wandering around in my neighborhood.

My daughter (the avatar) doesn't take any garbage from the homeless. Unfortunately, some of her friends did, and gave them money.

I always confront people asking for money. "If you need gas money, why are you wearing $300 boots?" "Get the hell out of my neighborhood". "Don't say F*** in front of my daughter". "If you're a Vietnam vet, why do you look like you're 45? What was your MOS?"

If you get in their face, they usually back off.

Most of them are either drug addicts or mentally ill. The ones that really piss me off are the young types from middle class backgrounds that are pulling some kind of Jack Kerouac "Hit the Road" experience. Losers.

Here in Modoc County, we don't have to put up with this crap. That's one of the reasons I like it here.

Dave NX6D
Tulelake, CA

[WB2WIK]

I only give money (pocket change) to those who are upfront about panhandling, and provide some entertainment.

For example, there's a guy who plays the clarinet (of all things) near a freeway exit locally. He's looking for handouts, loose change, whatever you can spare. He smiles at everybody and he's actually a good clarinet player! He's also an elderly gent, I'd guess about 70 or older.

If he plays a nice song while I'm waiting for the light to change, I'll gladly toss some money in his box. Why not? The guy is entertaining, and doesn't make up BS stories.

WB2WIK/6

[WS2L]

I don't give money to any beggers but I have offered to buy them a sandwich and a drink on numerous occasions. That pretty much tells you who is in need of money to survive from the ones who are drug addicts or alcoholics looking for their next fix.

[kg6top]

You should hear all the bs stories I hear from beggars at truck stops. They usually bother me when I'm trying to get fuel. They get the hint when I point the nozzle at them and threaten to spray them with diesel. 50 gallons per minute goes a long way! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[WF7A]

When I see or hear a street performer that genuinely entertains me I throw a few bucks into their tin. I figure anybody who brings a little beauty into the world deserves a little kindness. For those musicians who just run up and down the scales or play non-sensical tunes, I shine them on.

About four or five years ago there was a news spot about a panhandler who had a unique way of earning a few shekels: he'd approach someone and say, "I have a great joke you can tell your friends or your co-workers but I won't tell you the punch line unless you give me a buck." So, he'd launch into the joke--which was genuinely funny, btw--and stop just before the punch line. Of course you're dying to hear the punchline so you give the guy a buck and he'd tell it to you. I like that approach since it's a win-win situation of sorts.

A few months ago there was a news spot about a college kid--an English major--who parked himself outside of a supermarket with his manual typewriter and for a small fee, would write a poem about any subject you chose; it would be ready when you were done shopping. Most of the people who took him up on the offer liked what he had written, so he earned a few bucks that way.

[kd5blz]

Panhandling and Beggers
Something I just cannot stand.
My wife is from the Philippines. When I was over there in 1999 there was a guy that had to children begging for him. They were between 6 and 8 I saw him every time I saw these kids he was fairly fat and I knew he was eating good.
Then there was the old lady who was begging by hitting me in the back. I put up with it for about 3 blocks then did a military about face with pure rage and my fist balled up. The stunned look on her face was worth it.
Then I stopped at the market buying a Pineapple for those of you that may not know they grow on a stalk.
I had caught what appeared to be another begger out of the corner of my eye. I completed my purchase and was turning to leave holding the pineapple by the stalk and almost hit the begger he took off fast.
In the New Orleans area there has been the same guy begging for years. My feeling is there are plenty of jobs nd I tell them to get a job.
I will not take pity on them they are making 50 to 100 thousand a year tax free.
73,s
KD5BLZ

[W1GUH]

Quote[/b] (nx6d @ July 29 2007,12:06)]This is a subject that annoys the hell out of me.

When I lived in Sonoma County, we were overrun by panhandlers. My old house was near the armory, which they opened up to the bums during the cold weather.

The bums used to troop through the neighborhood taking cans out of the recycling containers and stealing from cars. I lost an Icom 706 and an Alinco two meter radio to these idiots.

I got kind of hostile with the Santa Rosa PD over the recycling bins. They said it was a low priority and would patrol when they could. They did, and the "bumage" stopped. I even wrote a letter to the editor twice about the "homeless" wandering around in my neighborhood.

My daughter (the avatar) doesn't take any garbage from the homeless. Unfortunately, some of her friends did, and gave them money.

I always confront people asking for money. "If you need gas money, why are you wearing $300 boots?" "Get the hell out of my neighborhood". "Don't say F*** in front of my daughter". "If you're a Vietnam vet, why do you look like you're 45? What was your MOS?"

If you get in their face, they usually back off.

Most of them are either drug addicts or mentally ill. The ones that really piss me off are the young types from middle class backgrounds that are pulling some kind of Jack Kerouac "Hit the Road" experience. Losers.

Here in Modoc County, we don't have to put up with this crap. That's one of the reasons I like it here.

Dave NX6D
Tulelake, CA
Quote[/b] ]The bums used to troop through the neighborhood taking cans out of the recycling containers and stealing from cars. I lost an Icom 706 and an Alinco two meter radio to these idiots.


They were in the recycling containers? #Funny place for radios.

Oh, now I get it, they were in your car. Anything left visible in a car can, and will, disappear.

I've gotten real good at ignoring bums or, if they're really persistent, just showing them my back.

[KD6NIG]

Quote[/b] (al2n @ July 28 2007,11:58)]Up here they ask for cash for food.

I always offer to buy them a meal instead of handing out cash. 9 times out of 10 they refuse the offer.
I had a mom with 2 kids that I offered this to and they took me up on it. Cost me about $15 at McD's. But I didn't care, as I saw it go to what she actually needed-not a bottle of booze.

But thats the only time.

I remember being asked for money downtown, offering a dollar, and being told "I won't accept anything under $5". I walked away, being cursed at as I did http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

The gall of some of them is quite amazing. Its scary, really.

[AK7V]

Here's a little something for those considering the panhandling route:

http://www.wikihow.com/Panhandle

[kl7aj]

Here's how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Offer the guy some yard work. If he runs, so should you.

"If a man will not work, neither shall he eat."

Pretty simple test.

eric

[KI4ODO]

Quote[/b] (al2n @ July 28 2007,11:58)]Up here they ask for cash for food.

I always offer to buy them a meal instead of handing out cash. #9 times out of 10 they refuse the offer.
here to. I guess they figure when I offer to buy them a meal, I'm not talking about two crack rocks and a bottle of Thunderbird http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif