Begging for money

You see these men and women out on the streets begging for money, and don’t you wonder how it is they got there?

Walking the Streets

Each day I get to work, or leave work there is always someone on the corner light begging for money. I sit there sometimes and look at them, wondering only one question. How did you get here? What happened to your life that you ended up on the streets, scrounging for money, trying to get something to eat or drink?

This Morning

I was at the red light, almost to work, when a man asked the car next to me for money. I knew he was coming my way next. Sometimes I’m not sure if I should look to see if I have any money to give them, I think, they’ll probably end up using it for drugs or alcohol. (This is most likely the case). However, a part of me always feels so saddened of the man standing in front of my window just begging for money. Today, I looked around and I only had 50 cents, I told the man, I was sorry but this was all I had. He smiled and said, “God Bless you mame, I’m just trying to get some food, I’m really hungry”. I rolled up my window and just felt so sad for this man. As I look back in my rear-view mirror I see him going to another car. I look down at his feet, (for some reason I always look to see what kind of shoes the person is wearing). He looked like he had on a pair of Jordan’s, yellow on the side and fairly new. Now doesn’t this make you think? What is a man, with a pair of good shoes, doing on the streets, begging for money, if he can afford those shoes he’s wearing? The light turned green and I continued on my way to work, only wondering if the man truly needed money to eat, or for something else he thought might be a little more important? Either way, I still felt bad for him.

The greedy

When I worked in Down Town Miami, I was driving home, stuck at a red light again when a women was begging/asking for money. I rolled down my window and all I had was 25 cents. I knew it wasn’t much, but I thought to myself, “Any little bit counts, eventually it will add up”. She turned to me and looked me in the face and she had the audacity to tell me, ” THIS IS IT? That’s all you’re giving me”? I turned with rage in my voice, I said, EXCUSE ME? You should be grateful that I gave you anything, and you should be grateful to any person who gives you whatever they may have. She turned and apologized, but I just rolled my window back up in disbelief. A poor women on the streets, clearly not right in the mind, dressed with rags, hair all over the place, had the nerve to say that what I was giving her wasn’t good enough for her? I took a deep breath and realized that this women wasn’t right in the head, and I shouldn’t get upset. I just couldn’t believe that a poor women was being picky with what a person was giving her. Comes to show you, that even the poor aren’t appreciative sometimes.

More Thoughts…

Life is a mystery, and no matter how much I try to comprehend some of the things in life, I learn each time that sometimes, there are really no TRUE Answers, No real answers to tell you how it works, or what to do. Sometimes I wonder if that bum in the corner has a family? What happened to their life that they got to this corner on the street that I’m at right now? Answers we’ll never know, but some of us continue to try and help.

Do you have a story to tell about a person you met in the streets? Let me know, I would love to share it with others.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

xo,
kristin nicole