Panhandler Pandemonium

This morning a girl approached me asking if I could spare "anything so I can eat." Before I could answer, she followed up with, "I'm 17, my ex beat me (she had visible beatin's on her face), I'm out on the street, anything?"

I actually checked my pockets and realizing all I had were bills that I wasn't willing to part with, I said, "No sorry"

After complimenting me on my "ink" and walking away she turned and said, "Working hard or hardly working?" To which I replied, "Working hard." Her response? "Try hardly working, it's more fun."

Now comes my callous moment, "Really? I can pay for my food. That seems like fun to me."

That seemed to give her the correct impression of my opinion of "bumming for change" and she walked away.

Not that I don't give money to homeless types, but i'm usually a lot more generous to old timers. They've lived hard and earned a buck from me in my opinion. But a 17 year old? Not a chance.

You're not "sticking it to The Man", by the way. You're sticking it to yourself. "The Man" goes home to his three car garage, eats a nice, fat steak, watches pay-per-view on a giant tv and goes to sleep on a bed of money. He doesn't give a rat's ass you're not working.