Yesterday we were riding a 1 at my house. It was nearly 11:30 and I thought I should eat something more because it was so cold out. I was out with Bromont and he wanted to stop at McDonalds. We have a deal. He always gets a treat. So, I stopped just before the 11:30 breakfast cutoff. I ordered a Big Breakfast with Hotcakes. That is the best deal with Bromont getting the sausage and hashbrowns.
There was this guy sitting there, looking like he was just getting out of the cold. He didn’t look that homeless, but he had the layered look going and was just drinking water. After getting my food, I thought that I should offer him the extra stuff I wasn’t going to eat. (I did that when I roofing last year a couple times.) I just wanted the hotcakes and eggs. But, I had a quandary. Bromont was supposed to get the extra stuff. And I couldn’t tell for certain that the guy was homeless. I felt weird that I was going to embarrass him by offering. (There are lots of times in my life, if you were just judging by my dress, I could be mistaken for homeless.) Anyway, while I was going through the pros and cons in my mind, the guy walked out. It made me feel bad.
So, I sat there and ate and thought about why people are sometimes so harsh to others less fortunate. I couldn’t come to grips with why I felt I should give my dog, who had already had breakfast, a treat, and not offer food to another person who looked like he needed it. It seems just wrong.
I witnessed the same thing a while back in Las Vegas. There was a guy panhandling on a pedestrian bridge on the Strip. He looked pretty down and out, but he had a really nice looking, well kept dog with him. I observed him for 10 minutes or so. He was making a fortune. I’d guess he made $50 in that time. And most of the people that gave money were women. And the majority of them said something about giving the dog food, etc. If the time I watched was any indicator, he was living in the Trump Condos and dressing down for his “day job”. The key was the dog and how clean and happy it looked. If that guy would have been there on his own, he would have gotten 10% of the money he was with the dog.
Anyway, I had put the sausage with the hashbrowns and was leaving when the guy walked back in. I thought I should offer him some food. It seemed too belittling offering him what I had in my hand, so I decided to just ask him if I could buy him something. He said he’d appreciate it. So, we went to the counter and he ordered two McDoubles off the one dollar menu. I said he should get something else, coffee, pies,ect. He said that was enough and it was the best bang for the buck. So, I paid the $2.19 and told him to have a good day.
The guy was really well spoken and polite. He obviously had some issues, but don’t we all. I felt a little better about myself, but still don’t understand people and how they are wired.
