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Panhandlers


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Went to Kroger couple days ago. This guy pulls right up next me to and said he was out of gasoline.

I pointed to the gas station that was right there. He said he needed gas money. I do not cater to panhandlers, especially when they are driving a NEW MERCEDES!

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Wow.

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19 minutes ago, Whiskey Business said:

Went to Kroger couple days ago. This guy pulls right up next me to and said he was out of gasoline.

I pointed to the gas station that was right there. He said he needed gas money. I do not cater to panhandlers, especially when they are driving a NEW MERCEDES!

 

Sometimes men aren’t too bright, do you think he was using that as a pick up line? 

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I've told people to pull up to the pump and I'll put $20 on it.  If they refuse, well...

As to the "
when they are driving a NEW MERCEDES!" I learned the hard way that circumstances can change in a heartbeat.  Might could be the person had a decent job, got rid of his clunker and got a decent vehicle, then PRESTO!  company closes.  No work and his only asset is that car that he owes on.   

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I had a lady come up to me Tuesday near a gas station as I was out for a walk. She said her and her family were stranded, out of gas and they were in from Hawaii but they had no cash and their credit and debit cards wouldn’t work. She seemed absolutely desperate. I gave her $20. She said she was going to go get a pen and paper and take down my address so she could send the money to me once she got all situated. I told her that It was okay, just help someone else out someday. 

She genuinely appeared to need help. When I went by that gas station 10 minutes later her mini van was gone. The minivan she motioned at when she was asking me for money looked brand new. Probably a rental. There were a couple of kids in the van.  
 

Much too often I encounter scammers or just plain scumbags. I don’t pay them any mind, for the most part. Especially the buttheads that are smoking or drinking a beer from a bag. 

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There was an article a few years back about a woman who came to the same off ramp every day. Morning rush and then the evening rush. Someone followed her back to her new $70K SUV. She confessed to making about $50K/year doing nothing but this. Tax free by the way.

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Reminds me of working in San Francisco in the mid- 80's, early 90's in San Francisco.

 

I commuted from Vallejo (about 32 miles door to door - but often taking 2 1/2 hours+ each way).  I was guaranteed to be hit up at least once on the 3-block walk from the BART station to my office.  Sometimes almost aggressively.  A buddy once told one bum "Sorry, man!  I just gave the last of my cash to that other guy back there!"

 

"WHAT?  What guy?  This is MY spot!!"

 

Bob pointed to some other bum and the fight was on!  ^_^

 

 

 

 

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I've twice encountered a version of the scam Whiskey Business reports. It's different than the 'gas can/stranded' approach.

 

A guy in a very nice car and dressed in good business attire rolled his window down as I was walking by. He apologetically told me that he was headed back to Seattle (30 miles), but he'd forgotten his wallet and he was close to being out of gas. Could I give him ten bucks? Sure, and I did. He thanked me and said he'd 'pay it forward'. 

I knew such things could happen and I thought no more about it.

 

Just two weeks later, I was in the Costco parking lot, and the exact same thing happened, but this time it was a well-dressed attractive woman in a nice car. Suddenly it was clear that this was a scam, and a pretty good one. I didn't give her the 10 bucks.

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:FlagAm: The opening line used on me at the Fry's fuel station is, "I don't mean to bother you."  My instant reply is,  "Then don't."  The look on their faces of immediate shutdown is PRICELESS.

Spreading cheer and happiness everywhere I waddle.

Chas B:D

 

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I've heard the "I need gas" scam so many times.....

 

I worked as the "ground guy" on an electrical bucket truck for several years. Easy job, didn't really have anything to do unless troubleshooting or disconnecting the pole was needed. Anyway, working in the parking lots of various properties, we'd get hit up by someone with a "story" about once a week. It got to the point that when I saw them walking up and before they could say anything, I'd ask "Hey man, do you have $5.00 that I could borrow"? Nine out of ten wouldn't know what to say and walk away. One guy actually gave me $5.00 but came back in about 10 minutes and asked for it back. I gave it back to him although I made like I wasn't going to for a few minutes.

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3 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

I've told people to pull up to the pump and I'll put $20 on it.  If they refuse, well...

As to the "
when they are driving a NEW MERCEDES!" I learned the hard way that circumstances can change in a heartbeat.  Might could be the person had a decent job, got rid of his clunker and got a decent vehicle, then PRESTO!  company closes.  No work and his only asset is that car that he owes on.   

 

If you want pay for their gas then go inside and pay. Skimmers are a thing. A guy approached me that needed just 5.00 in gas but only at a certain pump. I refused.

What am I, an idjit magnet? Wait, don't answer that.

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1 minute ago, Whiskey Business said:

 

If you want pay for their gas then go inside and pay. Skimmers are a thing. A guy approached me that needed just 5.00 in gas but only at a certain pump. I refused.

What am I, an idjit magnet? Wait, don't answer that.

 

Yep.  "Put 20 bucks on pump 9, please. "

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When I was but a wee engineering intern many years ago, I was going out to visit a customer with the president of our company.  We stopped for lunch and there was a guy begging for cash.  Jack (my boss) whipped out his business card and handed it to the guy.  He explained that he was a president of a company that wasn't a mile from from there.  If that guy came to see him, Jack would give him a job.  They guy thanked him and took the card.

I mentioned that was cool and Jack just laughed.  He said he had probably given out 100 cards in the area over the past few years and never once did anybody show up looking for a job, but if anybody ever did he would give them a job.

 

Occasionally somebody will ask for money for food and something about the way they ask or look will cause me to offer to take them into the closest place and get them a sandwich or burger.  I never give cash.... except once in Las Vegas.  There was a guy on the street with a sign that said "I aint gonna lie, I wanna beer".  Truth in advertising will catch my attention every time.

 

 

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I occasionally give a fiver to a beggar. I make a quick decision about the person, that he may need it for food. If I think so, I give him the five and don't worry about whether I'm right or wrong. Err on the side of charity.

 

I make it 5 because it's enough to buy something to eat, but not enough by itself for drugs. Twice I've actually seen the person head into a fast food place with the fiver.

 

To me it's a Matthew 25 thing. Not that I do it a lot....

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One of the scams I've run into lately is arriving at a gas station and pulling up at an open pump, with someone in a clunker on the other pump.  They wait for me to get ready to pump and tell me they made a mistake and gave the cashier money for the pump I just ran my card on.  They then tell me I need to go to the booth and tell the cashier about the problem.  They then take the nozzle from the pump I on my side and start filling their car with it.  When the cashier looks at the vehicles they tell me no the other vehicle didn't just pay for gas and you just got scammed.

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A couple of years ago I was coming out of a supermarket and saw a guy going from car to car asking people for cash so he could get something to eat.  I  told him I had no cash on me.  The way his shoulders slumped told me he wasn't scamming.   I loaded my groceries and as I  passed him told him to meet me across the street at Carl's Junior.  He walked in about a minute after me and I told him to order however much of whatever he wanted.   Came to about 20 bucks.  Guy spent about 3 minutes thanking me and shaking my hand.   Good handshake.  Firm but not knucklebusting, looked me in the eye,  patted my left arm.  

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There's a guy that works the off-ramps in Montgomery.  He moves around town a good bit since I've seen him up near the mall and down at the East Blvd exit of I-85.

 

I came by him about 7 pm one night and he had his little sign folded up and his backpack on walking away from the off ramp.  He walked up to the next light and got into the passenger side of a SUV stopped at the light. 

 

It was a brand new Lexus.

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One of the exits at the local Wallyworld used to have a guy or gal begging for money. Around the corner at another entrance is a Burger King. A Red Lobster is also nearby. People would go by BK ot RL and buy the guy/gal a meal rather than give them cash. 

 

I happened to be going by one afternoon sitting in the passenger seat of the company truck. Gave me a good view of the deep road ditch right beside the spot used by the panhandlers. Must have been 2 or 3 large trash bags of food containers / drink cups in the ditch. Most looked like they had not been there more than a day. :(

 

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A few years ago I stopped at a large Braums on the West side of Oklahoma City.  There was a four way intersection there, and a panhandler on each corner.  While we were eating, they had a shift change and four new panhandlers came out to change places with them

 

Duffield

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Guess I have mixed feelings on this subject. Back in the early 80’s I had just started my first business and I needed a two-way radio installer because I was tired of working 12-16 hours a day 7 days a week. I was at a lumberyard picking up some bags of cement so that we could pour a small tower base the next day and a couple in an old beat up VW van with two kids were parked in the parking lot. When I was loading the concrete bags into my truck the guy came over and helped me load the remainder of the bags and told me about the families predicament while we worked. Turns out they were on their way out to California from Florida when the engine started giving them problems. My shop was just down the street so we were able to get it down to the shop and secured for the night and I had a friend that owned a trailer/RV park that I called and he had a small camper that they could stay in for the night. The guy offered to help with the concrete job the next morning so the next morning, bright and early I picked him up and put him to work. Long story short he turned out to be one of the best two-way radio installers and then later on technicians that I’d ever been around. 
 

My ex brother in law was befriended by a street person that hung around his business back in the 80’s also and after meeting the guy a few times I just didn’t trust him but my ex BIL and his wife thought this guy was a jewel. Well the BIL and his family had a mother in law hut in the back yard and they rented it to the not homeless anymore guy and decided to leave the guy in charge of their place while they went on a vacation back up to Wyoming to see the families. They got back a couple of weeks later and the house had been cleaned out, even the clothes in the closets and laundry was gone as was all of the furniture and appliances and the homeless guy. When they caught the guy my ex BIL refused to press charges.

 

Back when Sports Authority was still open in Escondido I drove my wife and two of my grandkids down there so that she could buy them soccer stuff. I stayed out in the car. While I was sitting there a newer Cadillac pulls up beside some bushes along the road and a rather overweight couple climbs out dressed very shabbily and loads a bunch of homeless type looking stuff out of the trunk into a couple of Target shopping carts that they had stowed in amongst the bushes. The Caddy takes off and the couple resume their homeless charade on their favorite street corner.

 

I’ve told my wife on a number of occasions that one of these days when I get really bored I’m going to dress like I always do and make a sign up that says “ Not homeless, not hungry, not sick, don’t drink, don’t smoke but I want your money” and see what happens. 

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You simply have to judge the situation, when it presents itself, and make a decision as to whether it is legit, or not. 

Having said that, it is super easy to make the wrong call. 

I have done that, when working in downtown Dallas, and later, downtown Ft. Worth. 

I will not give them money, it's too easy to go around the corner, and buy drugs, alcohol, or tobacco...but I will buy them a meal, or put gas in their car, if they convince me what they are saying is true.

It may not be true, but some folks are excellent liars. 

I figure it this way. One day we answer to a higher power. Whether you believe that, or not, doesn't matter...the passing of time, will reveal the truth. Anyway...I give in good faith...or reasonably pretty-good faith. If they abuse that, then they don't have to answer to me. I have enough to answer for, as it is, without having to have to answer for not helping out someone that legitimately needed the help.

I try, and want, to err on the side of doing the right thing, in cases like this. I believe most of us do. 

 

W.K. 

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7 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

I've twice encountered a version of the scam Whiskey Business reports. It's different than the 'gas can/stranded' approach.

 

A guy in a very nice car and dressed in good business attire rolled his window down as I was walking by. He apologetically told me that he was headed back to Seattle (30 miles), but he'd forgotten his wallet and he was close to being out of gas. Could I give him ten bucks? Sure, and I did. He thanked me and said he'd 'pay it forward'. 

I knew such things could happen and I thought no more about it.

 

Just two weeks later, I was in the Costco parking lot, and the exact same thing happened, but this time it was a well-dressed attractive woman in a nice car. Suddenly it was clear that this was a scam, and a pretty good one. I didn't give her the 10 bucks.

I used to go up to Maryland and visit my cousin on some weekends when I was in the Navy. I almost always left to go back to Norfolk around 10:00 PM. I liked the back roads and always stopped in Port Royal VA to stop and get coffee. One night I was approached by an older gentleman who asked me if I had noticed a brand new Lincoln Continental back by the bridge. I had not and said as such. He told me that he and 2 friends were coming back from a Baltimore Colts game and his car picked up some road debris that took out the rear seal on the transmission. Then he asked if I could give him and his companions a ride to his house. I said yes and off the 4 of us went. There were me and the 3 guys all in my 76 Honda Civic. I am 6'2" and weighed about 250  but those 3 made me look slim. Anyway we were tooling down the back roads and I was going about 15 miles over the limit and the guy mentioned that he saw a lot of speeding tickets in his court from this very road. I didn't let up. I told him that I seldom saw Law Enforcement on this road at this time of night on Sundays. His house was a bit out of my way but not by much and easy to get back to Norfolk. When I let them off I pulled into a driveway that had a mailbox with Judge So and so on it. Then I knew he wasn't kidding about the speeding  tickets. He offered me $10 for the gas and I refused 2 times before accepting. This was 1977  so $10 wasn't too bad. I guess not everyone is a scammer but there are lots out there.

 

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I don't give a penny to these people! You just don't know if they're truly in need or not. There's been reports of people begging at freeway exits that put in a day's work and walk to their car afterwards and go home to a fairly nice house or apartment. They could also be begging for drug or alcohol money! 

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There was a story years ago about scammers dressed in suits asking for cab fare in Chicago. They would get $5-10 at a crack. Turns out they would pull in about $40k when most folks didn't earn $20k. 

Last time I gave anyone money it was to a guy asking for exact change for a fan belt. The parts store was across the street. It was the best one I ever heard.

When I worked in Phoenix, professional beggars often drove to their location and set up shop. One guy would pull off his prosthetic leg and get in his wheel chair. Those guys/gals would be interspersed along with the crazy and homeless. A coworker fixed bag lunches and would give them away during his lunch hour. Some refused, some accepted and then threw away and others gratefully ate them.

When help wanted signs are everywhere, there are far too many beggars. I donate to food charities and let them deal with it.

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8 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I don't give a penny to these people!

 

 They could also be begging for drug or alcohol money! 

I don't wish to be an enabler for someone with a substance abuse problem either.  

 

But on a couple occasions in Baltimore I have bought food for somebody that was begging.  I think I bought some gas for someone one time in Baltimore.  We can practice charity but nothing says we have to contribute to people's problems.

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Howdy,

I am always concerned about the guy grabbing me or my wallet.

I tell em I havent worked all year.

True. Im retired.

Best

CR

 

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