i received a nice rain jacket from a supplier. with the company logo on it. i am a no logo type person.
a couple of days later, i gave the jacket to an old sea dog who was standing in the rain, freezing. he looked like he could use it.
the very next day, i am driving over a major bridge in Vancouver (2nd Narrows). there's the guy! he has his feet hooked into the railing, leaning over into traffic, giving the one finger salute-with both hands-to the commuters. company logo prominently displayed. : )

A few months ago my wife was filling her car at our local Shell station. She hears a guy cussing and turns to find the dude standing right next to her with a large gas container. He grabs the nozzle out of her car and proceeds to fill his container all the while cursing at her. She was shocked and just stood there and watched him. He dropped the nozzle on the ground and strode away all the while cursing at her. She said that she was too scared to even yell out for help.

There was a roadside stand in our neighborhood a couple weeks back. Elementary grade kids selling magazines for prizes - fundraiser for the school. Yep I'm a total pushover for kids, don't need any magazines but left a $20 for their effort.

I do the same...as in, girl scout cookies.
I buy them and give them to my widower neighbor.
Or cake/pie for a church, etc.
But goons on the street, nope.

We have a big problem with panhandlers in the Santa Clarita area. Men and women holding signs with a couple of kids standing around (shouldn't they be in school?). All the lettering on the signs seems to be done by the same person. They look Hispanic but I've heard they are Gypsies who panhandle all over So Cal and pool there money together.

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Yep. Gypsies.

Why restaurants let these guys in to pester their customers sure beats the heck outta me? Eating with the family a few weeks back, this dude came up to us with a little cardboard in hand, (from table to table) completely cut us off from our conversation asking if we can donate to whatever fund, human trafficking or who knows what? he just wouldn't go away no matter how many times I say no donations and no money. Finally I had to raise my voice and had to get the manager. I did notice some people were nice enough to give this guy a few bucks.

Whenever I think about donating to beggars I think back to this.
This asswipe sits by the shuttle entrance at Grand Central every morning with his rat dog begging.

This bum boasts he makes $200 an hour panhandling | New York Post

Nuff said.

Ok I never think about giving money to beggars, I work for a living, but the rest stands.

Many years ago, when I was an undergrad (and they allowed smoking indoors), we used to hang out at the student union between classes. Every day, we would see a street person picking through the ashtrays for cigarette buts that were long enough to smoke. One day, we decided it would be nice to help the guy out, so we bought a fresh pack of cigarettes, and, when he came by searching the ash trays, we gave it to him. Well, he was very appreciative, and said thank you a hundred times, and walked away. We felt pretty good, actually, because we made the guy happy. But then we watched him go over to a corner of the building, sit down, and proceed to smoke all 20 cigarettes non-stop, one right after the other. It took him about 10 or 15 minutes, and they were all gone. He then went back to searching the ashtrays for butts! I guess it explains why he was living on the street, as he had no concept of planning or saving. This was quite an education for us; I've never forgotten it.

A lot of these people are mentally ill. Years ago they would have been inside an institution.

Most likely mentally ill.

This guy, I don't have such a problem with. At least he's performing. I'll give money to Buskers. The better they are, the more I'll give.

yup.
they closed all of the institutions in Vancouver.
the premier referred to this action as a "failed social experiment". nevertheless, he left the institutions closed.
the streets (here) are filled with the mentally ill. self medicating.
a recent study determined that 80% of the women on the streets were sexually abused as children.
i was involved with some film production work at the largest institution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverview_Hospital_(Coquitlam). in the late 1980's. trust me. those folks did not/do not belong on the street.

I'm in downtown Khobar at the Five Guys (just opened up) and there's a guy standing by my car. He asks can I help him, he has no job, no friends, no place to stay, etc. really laying it on thick. So I give him 10 riyals ($2.50).

He says, no he doesn't need money, he needs a plane ticket out of here! I ask where does he live. Pakistan! That's a first. I guess he thought since I had a company car (Aramco) I'm rich (he's right about that). Not rich enough to buy a total stranger a plane ticket from Saudi to Pakistan!

And he can forget about eating at Five Guys. It's 40 riyals for a cheeseburger!

I was in the drive through line at Tim Horton's when this homeless looking guy came walking up. I thought he was going to ask for money but he went straight to the garbage pail and started rummaging for coffee cups that still had a bit of coffee in them, which he then proceeded to drink. I called over to him and gave him some money to get a fresh cup and a bite to eat. Coming around the corner I see him coming out the door smiling at the bagel and coffee in his hands. Made up for all the times I got taken.

That's a grand feeling that I've known infrequently.
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I remember watching this gentleman on the Phil Donahue afternoon show as the attendees stood up and pitched for his money. He would listen to their story and either refuse or tell them to see him after the show. One black fellow wanted several thousand $$$ to attend a culinary school and P. Ross granted him the money.
This is the same fellow who would walk around and give a silver dollar to just about anyone.
I always thought that if I won a mega-million dollar lottery that I would grant super low interest loans to those that I knew who wanted to buy a house. Not just give them the money, but to have them be responsible to their agreement.
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Percy Ross, 84; Loved Giving Away Money - latimes

Friend of mine was CHP. He hit the lights on the freeway and the perp took the offramp, then turned off the ramp and pulled into a Donut shop. Said he was looking for a safe spot for the trooper. He got a ticket. My bud thought he might as well go in and get a cup of coffee and there he saw a guy he sees every morning panhandling at the entrance to said Freeway. Guy offers to buy him a cup and whips out a wad of cash. Frank about crapped. Said he had a couple hundred bucks. Had a good morning he says.

If you look closely, his iPhone is hooked to the speaker. When his hands stop moving to reach out and grab money, the accordion music continues to play.


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