Frogarotti: Day Three, & What Would You do for a Klondike Bar
Frogarotti still lives. She - and she is a she; I didn't check, but there's a tank load of frog eggs and tadpoles in my pond now - wasn't very enthusiastic last night. She sang for only five minutes or so at a time, and then only every 40 minutes or so. I slept well.
So, about the Klondike bar. I was walking out of a grocery-esque store and a dude hit me up for money for ice cream. I declined but offered to go get him an ice cream or escort him to the ice cream section, so he could pick out what he wanted. And I would pick up the tab. He declined.
Maybe it's coincidence, but next door was a liquor store. And there was a heavy flow of foot traffic coming out of the liquor store.
I'm not mad at the guy if he wanted a drink. But I ain't stupid either. Give charitably, help out the homeless, etc. But don't be a dummy. There is the argument that you should give indiscriminately and let fate deal with the recipient as to whether or not they use your gift for a good or bad cause. And there's the argument that you can help steer fate by making sure your gift isn't misused. I subscribe to the latter.
My pops, a minister, used to tell his parishioners that there is a fine line between faith and foolishness. Think about that one. Likewise, we should be open-minded to other people's predicaments, but not so open-minded that our brains fall out.
So, about the Klondike bar. I was walking out of a grocery-esque store and a dude hit me up for money for ice cream. I declined but offered to go get him an ice cream or escort him to the ice cream section, so he could pick out what he wanted. And I would pick up the tab. He declined.
Maybe it's coincidence, but next door was a liquor store. And there was a heavy flow of foot traffic coming out of the liquor store.
I'm not mad at the guy if he wanted a drink. But I ain't stupid either. Give charitably, help out the homeless, etc. But don't be a dummy. There is the argument that you should give indiscriminately and let fate deal with the recipient as to whether or not they use your gift for a good or bad cause. And there's the argument that you can help steer fate by making sure your gift isn't misused. I subscribe to the latter.
My pops, a minister, used to tell his parishioners that there is a fine line between faith and foolishness. Think about that one. Likewise, we should be open-minded to other people's predicaments, but not so open-minded that our brains fall out.
posted by James Burnett at
7:29 PM
5 Comments:
I had a guy stepping off a bus (hot Phoenix summer day) walk up to me and hit me up for money. This guy was sweating and looked like he was working hard all day. He hit me up for money for a cold beer. The guy was honest, I wanted one too, so I gave it to him. If he was B.S.-ing me, I would have said no.
By
Anonymous, at 10:36 PM
Good point, ChrisA. I agree, sometimes if someone'll be straight with me and just say I'm trying to grab a drink I'd probably be glad to hook 'em up. So I guess I have two issues, the BSing and sometimes feeling like I'm helping someone push themselves further over the edge. In this case, I was annoyed 'cause the dude was trying to play me for a sap, AND from the looks of things he just didn't need another drink.
By
James Burnett, at 11:31 PM
Wow, I am really impressed with that femme-toad, who serenaded herself through labor.
As far as begging, just think of how low you have to go to get to that point. I don't always give $ for a bad cause, but it's always heart breaking when someone in that situation asks.
By
Maria de los Angeles, at 11:46 PM
I agree M. It is pretty sad. That's why I was really hoping the dude would take me up on my offer to buy him that bite of ice cream. No dice. And I just wasn't in an enabling mood.
By
James Burnett, at 12:24 AM
Good points there. Buying drinks for people in those situations wouldn't be a good idea. If that guy was bummin' I'd say no. To the hard working guy, not BSing, I say yes.
By
Anonymous, at 10:39 AM
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