Walk down any street in any big American city and a panhandler is bound to ask you for spare change. The beggars have all manner of excuses to wangle the cash out of you.
An old familiar one,
"I'm a quarter short for the bus."
Curiously, if you offer up a bus token, they balk.
Ah, gotcha!
Then, there are those who dash up to you excited and out-of-breath with a gas can in hand, alleging they're stranded because they just ran out of the pricey fuel.
Judge Judy would retort,
"Do I have stupid written on my forehead?"
I find it refreshing when a beggar is truthful, though.
One guy crafted a sign that requested "spare change for beer".
Ha, I expect his honesty paid off.
Maybe not.
Many are reticent about giving on the street; especially if a down-and-out individual has liquor on their breath.
People worry that if they hand over a buck or two the recipient will go off to the nearest convenience store, buy cheap whiskey, and go off on a binge.
Some agonize over parting with the moolah.
Am I really helping such a person, an inner voice whispers from the depths of their soul.
Maybe you're better off taking their hand and escorting them into a restaurant nearby and treating them to a nutritious meal.
I understand Johnny Depp does that.
Others rationalize that if you cave in, panhandling will proliferate on the streets.
When I was in San Francisco a few months ago - excessive begging on Market Street caused some to urge an ordinance banning the down-and-out from asking passers-by on the street for spare change - because the practise affected the quality of life, they claimed.
It appears that some didn't mind leaving their hearts in San Francisco, but thought twice about parting with their cash in the windy city.
In contrast, poet Maya Angelous once said,
"I have found that among its benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."
Meanwhile, there are those who prefer to give to a charity, instead. At least the money is going to a worthy cause, they speculate.
With brisk fall days just around the corner, I suppose it's the appropriate occasion to suggest that caring individuals consider spending a day at a local homeless shelter to help serve food to the needy.
In my view, when I hand money to someone who's down-and-out on skid row - at least I know the cash is in hand - and it's not siphoned away by administration costs of an organization over-bloated with staff and expense accounts.
Gee, it appears that a simple act of giving on the street is so much cause for consternation!
Others, like John D. Rockefeller, Jr. perceive it this way:
"Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege."
By the way, the scriptures heartily urge to "give alms to the poor".
"Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who give them."
(Tobias 4:7-11)
But, some judge, nonetheless.
That's one of the problems with begging on the street.
An individual can't help but wonder; is pan-handling just a scam for lay-abouts to avoid work?
In Toronto, there was the infamous case of the shaky lady, which caused quite an uproar a few years ago.
Residents of the fair city couldn't help but notice as they walked by an elderly woman at the corner of Young Street and Bloor in the downtown core that she shook violently and appeared to bear the burden of a troubling disabling disease.
Of course, the image of the poor soul was enough to cause passers-by to dig deep into their wallets, and graciously offer up a fistful of coins of the realm.
Unfortunately - at about dusk one day - an idle stroller spied the shaky lady turn a corner into an alley, then hot-foot it to the rear of a building where she hopped into a late-model car and sped off.
Miraculously, all the shaking and trembling simply vanished.
Oh my gosh! Was there healing power in that hard-won cash?
Once followed by the startled citizen - who was moved by the insatiable urge to uncover the truth - it was determined from some expert clandestine snooping that she comfortably resided in a modest bungalow in the suburbs.
Ah, the shaky lady was not doing so poorly, after all!
The incident was reported to the local newspaper. Within days, the poor woman was the subject of a glaring expose featured on page one of the Toronto Sun.
Needless to say, the woman became the scorn of the city.
Golly, they tarred and feathered her, then sent her packing.
Quite medieval in scope, don't you think?
When she trundled off to Montreal, she thought she had escaped everyone's wrath, until a visitor from Hog Town spied her on the street there shaking up a storm.
Ah, you got it; she was exposed there, too.
Well, that was a bit heavy-handed - mean-spirited, too - if you ask me.
But, it's a dilemma for some.
Who are the needy, truly?
And, is your money being extracted from you dishonestly?
Oh, don't get so confused or downhearted.
Show compassion, continue to give alms to the poor, and follow the Golden Rule.
If the masses were enlightened about the fact that when a dollar is given to one needy person, it is rewarded by the Lord tenfold, I expect the citizenry would be handing out the greenback right, left, and center, eh?
But, the truth of the matter is this.
To God, anonymous giving is the most Sainted!
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:1-4)
In the final analysis, if you let the heart lead, you won't go astray.
What are a few cents, after all, in the grand scheme of things?
"Let not your hand be open to receive and clenched when it is time to give".
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