pistol just come to Springfield or Ozark when you get back. They are now hanging out at the 65 exits with the will work for food signs. Guess they don't know about penmac and other joints in town that will find them day jobs.

 

2 years ago on christmas break, i took my 2 sons(3 and 7 at the time) on the ferry to seattle to take them to the seattle center and aquarium. As we got off the ferry, there was a woman in a wheelchair panhandling, asking people at crosswalks for money, and when they didnt give her any, she would swear, cuss, and say some pretty nasty things. When it was our turn to be harrassed, i told her i had my young children with me, she didnt care, cussed me out something fierce. I just told her, if you dont leave us alone, i will push you and your wheelchair in front of the the next bus that comes down the street. she took off pretty quick. i dont like having to be like that, but no one is going to act like that and use that kind of langauge around my children or wife.

it doesnt matter how nice you are to these people, they are just plain nasty to you.

 

A quick little beggar story for ya ....

The other night coming home from work, this scraggly looking, one armed, drunk woman (hooker ?) kindly "poured" herself onto the bus I was on. The sleeve of her sweater (the one without anything filling it) got caught on the door of the bus and there she was wobbling around, mumbling something incoherent and tuggin' somethin fierce trying to get loose. When the sleeve finally came loose so did she and the contents of her plastic grocery bags ... wine bottles and hair rollers rolling all over the bus floor. She finally plopped in a nearby seat next to some young german guy (who looked less than enthused at her presence and smell) clothes all disheveled and hair all jacked up. (Looked like a Sailor after a good night of liberty in the Phillipines !!)

Everyone just looked at her with disgust and shook their heads. I mean, you could actually see the poison darts coming from these peoples eyes !!

At that point, she must've asked the young guy for money or "something" ... he jumped up and started SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS at her . So she slinked into a different seat ... and spent a good 15 minutes turning circles in her seat trying to use the little nubby arm to put her sweater back on. (I couldn't help but start gigglin at that point )

She stayed until the last stop (my stop) and I thought "Oh boy, this is gonna really be messy trying to get off the bus" .... NOPE !! She whipped off the bus and was up on the train platform in the blink of an eye ... making her rounds to everyone there asking for something. I tried like heck to get away ... but she motored around pretty good .

This is the only time I have been approached by a beggar over here. I will rarely run from anything ... but I gotta to say that I was more than just a little freaked out when this scrawny, stinky, drunk woman started chasing me down the train platform with that flapping nub .

No offense if you happen to have a nub or know someone who does.

PISTOL

 

I don't have any time for panhandlers. Period. But those folks playing instruments and dressing up that Pistol was mentioning are called "Buskers". It is their job. Most if not all, will have purchased a license to ply their "trade" and in all liklehood had to pass an audition to prove that they have enough talent to entertain on the street and accept donations.. It is getting more common in North America too.

"Will work for ....." isn't an accepted talent level.

 

Panhandlers can be dangerous.
I had one come up to me and demand money. When I said I didn't have any to spare he began cursing me, and pulled out a knife.
I pulled the pump out of my truck, soaked him with fuel, and held up a lighter. He hauled edit and I never saw him again.

 

jeez........ and i thought pulling back my coat alittle to let someone see the pistol was aggressive.

 

i like how my budddie cliff handles it. when they come up and ask him for money he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a handful of change and throws it across the parking lot. then he tells them work for it, I did.

 

I had a guy in Birmingham AL jump in my truck in the drive through and ask for$20 to help him get a hotel room because he has been outside for so long. The thing was he was VERY large and had on a VERY large gold chain after I told him to get out of my truck and pawn that chain, he moved closer and proceeded to tell me how I was going to give him some money. When he looked up and began to stare down the barrel of my Colt 1911 his whole personna seemed to change it was "sorry Sir" and "yes Sir" and he ran faster than anyone i had ever seen. I called the cops and they found him outside a bar close to the same drivethrough later that night waiting on drunk people to come out so he could rob them. They told me he also had a big knife on him. I am really glad I had a CCL after that episode.

 

The pump was already in my hand, so I pulled it, rather than showing the gun on my hip.
I wouldn't have done even that, if he had taken no for an answer.
Screaming blasphemies at me, and pulling out a kitchen knife 10 inches long caused him to exceed my personal limit. I splashed him pretty good, and pulled my lighter out.
He shut up the second the fuel hit his pants, and turned and ran the second he saw the lighter. Wow.
This was in my pre-diesel days, so that high test would have made an impression on him.
I am basically a nice quiet guy.
I only do what the voices in my head tell me to do.

 

Gasoline panhandlers are one thing when they make their pitch at brightly lighted gas stations, but the desperate panhandling crackhead "tweakers" are the ones I worry most about when they approach me and my family in the almost 1 mile long combined parking lots of shopping centers like Barnes-and-Noble, Home Despot, Academy, HEB Grocery stores, Wally World etc. Their appearance speaks volumes.. Scrawny, hyper, drawn facial features, virtually no teeth left in their head from the effects of Meth. The "tweakers" are always directly asking for $$ and a few of them have been the ones that have turned really "ugly" when you tell them "no". The last two times my whole family has been cussed out for not "helping" was in the combined parking lot of Barnes & Noble and Home Despot by a really rough looking "tweaker" and the other time was just a real fruitcake who kept loudly cussing us for all she was worth as she walked away still looking back over her shoulder screaming invectives until almost out of sight.
They don't hang around too long in any one store's parking lot to get the security folks alerted...

The last panhandler I just rebuffed(this past Sunday night) was boldly leaning up against a column right outside of Barnes & Noble. He had a tiny dog on a leash and kept the dog out in front of him so the families with young kids would see the dog and the kids would go "Awww, how cute!" which would then help make his pitch. Even my 11yo twin girls know better than to say or do anything that would help allow him to make his "pitch". Being in an area with rather mild winters, we get an influx of bums during this time of year.

K.

 

please dont think i was bashing you, definately not. you have the right to do whatever you need to when protecting yourself, after all, he had a knife. I just thought the gas and lighter was WAY effective.

 

Formerly the cheapest diesel in town, ($2.35/gal) was in an especially BAD part of town only one block away from "Loaves and Fishes" rescue mission etc. I was always highly paranoid about stopping there for diesel expecting to get a gold-chain wearing, knife wielding "guest" in my truck at any moment. They are now much higher priced now so I'm not tempted to stop there anymore.

K.

 

I'm a panhandler, but only when I am in the Kitchen!!

 

We don't have many PH's here in my neck of the woods....Anchorage is a different story. But back when I dove truck long haul it was every place you went you were hit up, anything an everything was offered from guys selling guns to girls selling beavers...did you know you can buy a beaver in miami as easy as you can in chicago...I think they were lying, bet they were muskrats...they all had a racket from unloading your truck to polishing your truck, very little out right beggin.

 

I have to agree somewhat with LJTyre and a few of the others. I try to help but I never give cash. I have given actual food before and also Mickey D gift certificates. I will give them $3 worth of gift certificates. That will buy them a couple of things on the $1 menu and a glass of water. I also tell them how to get to Catholic Charities in town. I do contribute money to CC's and they run a food bank and a second hand clothing store. They also screen the folks looking for help and never give out cash. They will give out groceries and Gas vouchers for someone traveling through. The ones that want cash don't go there. I also know that there are some people who really do need a hand from time to time. And I don't want to see them not get help when really needed. Just my .03.