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User no longer registered.
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Oddly...
Ever have a homeless or someone 'stranded' standing by the road with a sign of some sort and when cars drive by and offer something, they reject you? 
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| July 19, 2007, 21:50 |
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funlovingpair
59 / couple
Frozen Tundra, Minnesota, US
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Re: Oddly...
I would start to get a little suspicious, if they are being picky about who helps them.
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| July 20, 2007, 01:57 |
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nykitten
54 / female
Pawling, New York, US
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Re: Oddly...
Nope, can't say I have, however that brings back a funny memory.....My brother years ago went to stop for someone that had been walking for some time, when he pulled over he asked him if he was tired of walking, he replied yes and started walking to his car, then my brother said...."well then try running..." and he took off.....It was funny at 15.... 
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| July 20, 2007, 09:38 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
Yes, I use to carry apples in my car and would offer them to the homeless.
They only wanted money.
And some of these so called "homeless" look pretty well dressed now-a-days. I think they are just lazy Americans trying to make some money.
Once, I was walking in Atlanta and saw this truly dirty, filthy man. I offered to take him into McDonald's to get a bite to eat. He only wanted money. So I gave him a penney.
Heck with him.
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| July 20, 2007, 14:30 |
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GG317
60 / male
Bowl of Granola, Massachusetts, US
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Re: Oddly...
Be very leary of people who stand on street corners holding signs that read things like; "Will Work for Food". These people, not only don't need your help, but support their lifestyle on your donations. I was at the local Wal-mart the other day and saw such an individual. He was carrying a food sign and folks were falling for the ploy and handing him money. I told my sister that he was pretty rich and she wanted me to prove it. So I walked up to the nearest high end vehicle and bumped into it setting off the alarm. He pulled out a remote to reset it only to find that it wasn't his BMW that was making the racket. So poor and driving a BMW?
There was a story on my home page about a month ago, about a guy from California. I think it was Malibu. He had a beach-front condo, Mercedes Sports-car, a Hummer M2, and a new Harley Low-rider. The only trouble was, he never had a job or paid a dime in taxes, with the only exception being in the residential estate. How did he pay for all this? Through donations from folks at grocery stores... He would stand out waving signs to show his poor nature and we would feel duped into giving him money, thinking it would relieve his stress and our guilt. He even went so far as to show that he had uniforms of sorts. He had two closets full of clothes. One had 2000$ suits, pants, and shoes. The other had every pair of grungy pants, ripped concert t's, and broken sandals imaginable. When asked wear he got such a depressing closet of clothes, he replied, "From the Salvation Army, of course?!" They estimated he was pulling in an average of 300 to 400K a year, tax free!...  
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| July 20, 2007, 14:49 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
i actually saw a similiar thing last summer... a guy was standing out by the highway here in our little town with a sign saying something liek "stranded, need a little money for gas" just so happened that he was finishing his shift at the stop light as i pulled into the parking lot and i watched him walk over to a brand new truck and take off his ragged shirt hop in and drive away... license plates were somewhat local. how stranded could he be?
unless its some lady with ten kids running around trying to change a flat in the snow or something (or i know them) i just dont bother stopping anymore.
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| July 20, 2007, 15:40 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
I saw one so called homeless that had a nice leather portfolio case to care his signs in and way wearing a pair of high dollar shoes.
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| July 20, 2007, 19:25 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
I helped out this one lady many years ago when my oldest was a baby, she was sitting on the side of the road with two little ones and I went and bought her some groceries that I knew she could use (fruit, bread, peanut butter, etc.), took it back to her and she was really irritated I didn't just give her money. The little ones looked hungry and were happy to see food so I knew I did the right thing not giving her cash...
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| July 21, 2007, 02:10 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
I was just getting back into town from work the other day and had some poptarts that I hadn't eaten yet.. and the sign he held up was "I'm hungry".... and I stopped, and held out the poptarts and he said.. No thanks, those are to sweet for me. Then went back to stand where he was beforehand.
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| July 21, 2007, 12:08 |
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GG317
60 / male
Bowl of Granola, Massachusetts, US
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Re: Oddly...
With my slow-down period, I've noticed a lot more things like; panhandlers, and solicitors. My dad took me to a Red Sox game a couple of weeks ago. We parked adjacent to the green monster, so we had to walk the same distance either way to get to the entrance to the park. I noticed a lot of folks on either street waving cups of change. Most never said a thing, they just shuffled the cup of coins. People in front of me, without even looking directly into their eyes, would just drop a few coins in the cup and move on. I now wonder if these folks make their living doing that. Imagine, 180 games in a six-month or so season, for a few hours a week, holding a cup that never seems to get full. I wonder how much they make?
Let's say everybody gives an average of 50 cents in a drop. Times that by, oh say, 4 out of every ten people who go to the game. So that's 38,000 divided by point 04, which equals 1520 people at 50 cents each, which comes to 760 dollars per game. Times that by 180 games and the grand total is, 136,800 dollars tax free!...Where's my cup? 
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| July 21, 2007, 15:36 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
Dang going to dig out my oldest sweats and a cup and go stand by the KC stadium for baseball and the one for football later I won't have to work again lol
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| July 21, 2007, 16:16 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Oddly...
In Houston a few years ago a radio station put a guy on the corner with a sign the read "Have a big house need a pool" In an hour he collected over $40.
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| July 21, 2007, 19:33 |
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