People bugging you for money

[Chief]

Does anyone else have a problem with strangers coming up to you asking you for money on the street or in parking lots? I’m not talking about homeless people who truly need money, but regular people who probably just want to buy a pack of cigarettes and don’t feel like spending their own money. Maybe it’s because I look non-threatening, so people think I’m an easy target or something. I’m not a selfish person—I give money to the Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, the Boy Scouts who collect money outside the grocery store, etc. But when I give someone money, I like to think it’s for a good reason.

A couple of nights ago I had just gotten back from the store and I was getting out of my car in front of my apartment building. This guy happened to be walking along the sidewalk by my car and he stopped to tell me this long-winded story about how his car ran out of gas on the highway, and his kids were still in the car, and he just needed a few bucks to buy a gas can and some gas to put in it, etc.

I’m positive that every word coming out of this guy’s mouth was a load of bulls#%t, because he was talking really fast and nervously looking around and fidgeting while he was telling his story (a story which was full of holes also). But the thing is, he caught me just when I was getting out of my car in front of my building, which meant that he knew right then and there what I look like, where I live, and what my car looks like. He knew as well as I did that I was going to have to give him a couple of bucks no matter what, and that I wasn’t going to question his story. We both knew I didn’t want to run the risk of pissing him off and having him come back later and smash my windshield or slash my tires. Or even worse, try to break into my apartment.

It’s unfortunate enough that I happened to be parking my car right when this guy was walking by, but it pisses me off that he thought he could insult my intelligence by giving me this big long bulls#%t story. And then, after I gave him the money, he had the balls to ask me if I could give him a ride to the nearest gas station. I had to tell him, “Sorry, I don’t have time to give you a ride, but hopefully that money will help you out.” I had just given the guy some of my money and that still wasn’t good enough for him. And he thought I would be dumb enough to give him a ride somewhere? Isn’t that something every mother teaches her kids when they’re four years old—never get in a car with a stranger? Just a case of rotten timing, I guess.