Shoes

There always seems to be at least two panhandlers at the wal-mart by where we live. There is a bus stop less than a block away, so it's pretty easy access.

It seems at this time of year, there are more. At least, I see them more frequently. A week or so ago the news for the bigger city by where we live did an "investigative report" on the panhandlers in their area. Not surprisingly, and sadly, they discovered that there were "professional panhandlers." A lot of these guys have their own underground network, and have their "spots" where they take turns begging for money.

Do I feel guilty when I drive on by? Yes. Even though I know they probably make more than we do a year, I feel a little niggling of sorrow. I try to console myself with the thought that I DO donate money to charity, and know that 100% of that money is used to help those in need.

There is one thing I do when I see them, almost immediately... I look at their shoes. No matter how ratty the clothes, the shoes always seem to tell the real story. It is amazing how many panhandlers I see with shoes that are more expensive than the shoes I wear. It may be wrong, but when I see someone with nice unused shoes on their feet, I think to myself, "well, they can't be that hard up or they wouldn't have on such nice shoes!"

Then today,  I drove by someone dressed in army fatigues, and I HOPED beyond hope that they weren't wearing surplus army clothes just to get people to feel bad for them...even though that is probably the case... and on their feet, were there army boots? NO. There were construction steel toed boots. Hmm...