Ray
I've noticed recently that I miss Ray.
No, not Ray the movie.
No, not Ray the fencing instructor.
I miss Ray the homeless panhandler.
It is not an uncommon site in my neck of the woods to see a (presumably) homeless person set up camp on the median strip by a popular or crowded stoplight. Usually they have a blanket or two, some water, and a cardboard sign telling the world a little bit about their plight and asking for help.
Some people become very jaded about these "panhandlers", and you hear everything from "junky" to "alcoholic" to "I heard on < insert news source here > that these guys make over $40k a year with this scam". You get lots and lots of opinions and even some research on the subject.
Well, instead of scoffing and walking away here is a sure fire method to determine if your friendly neighborhood panhandler is "the real McCoy":
Give them some food.
You know, a couple of oranges, maybe some parmalot. Squeezable peanut butter and jelly and some enriched white bread. Nothing with seeds, no apples, sometimes teeth can be in bad shape. On a 100 degree day a sno-ball doesn't hurt either. You'll find out pretty quick who needs food and who needs $$ for their next score. You'll hear everything from:
God bless you, sir.
to
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
Ray was the former, not the latter, and he'd been around the median near my house for the better part of 2 years. Summer or winter. I saw him on snow covered median strips and I saw him sitting there in the rain. He was the postman of panhandlers.
I haven't seen him in a few weeks. In fact, it just registered in my brain today on the way to work, that he was missing, and had been for some time.
I will choose to think that he might have found better luck on a different median strip. Or, perhaps, he hooked up with some adult education or care facilities and no longer has need for a median strip. Or, best, he was one of the ones who made $40K tax free a year begging dollar bills on a street corner and just retired to tahiti.
Yup. That is what I will choose to think.
You should check out the Homeless People's Network. It's a different world out there.
No, not Ray the movie.
No, not Ray the fencing instructor.
I miss Ray the homeless panhandler.
It is not an uncommon site in my neck of the woods to see a (presumably) homeless person set up camp on the median strip by a popular or crowded stoplight. Usually they have a blanket or two, some water, and a cardboard sign telling the world a little bit about their plight and asking for help.
Some people become very jaded about these "panhandlers", and you hear everything from "junky" to "alcoholic" to "I heard on < insert news source here > that these guys make over $40k a year with this scam". You get lots and lots of opinions and even some research on the subject.
Well, instead of scoffing and walking away here is a sure fire method to determine if your friendly neighborhood panhandler is "the real McCoy":
Give them some food.
You know, a couple of oranges, maybe some parmalot. Squeezable peanut butter and jelly and some enriched white bread. Nothing with seeds, no apples, sometimes teeth can be in bad shape. On a 100 degree day a sno-ball doesn't hurt either. You'll find out pretty quick who needs food and who needs $$ for their next score. You'll hear everything from:
God bless you, sir.
to
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
Ray was the former, not the latter, and he'd been around the median near my house for the better part of 2 years. Summer or winter. I saw him on snow covered median strips and I saw him sitting there in the rain. He was the postman of panhandlers.
I haven't seen him in a few weeks. In fact, it just registered in my brain today on the way to work, that he was missing, and had been for some time.
I will choose to think that he might have found better luck on a different median strip. Or, perhaps, he hooked up with some adult education or care facilities and no longer has need for a median strip. Or, best, he was one of the ones who made $40K tax free a year begging dollar bills on a street corner and just retired to tahiti.
Yup. That is what I will choose to think.
You should check out the Homeless People's Network. It's a different world out there.
posted by Ed at 11:45 AM
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