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Allan in NE

Well-known Member
Oh Man,

This has been botherin' me since last night.

Late yesterday, the wife and I went into town to get some groceries.

When we pulled into the lot, there was an old '83 or '84 grey, rusty T4 Blazer sitting there, a guy standing outside the driver's door with a hand written sign that said, "Can you help us?" and his pretty wife sitting in the truck trying to keep warm.

These folks were probably in their early 40s and you could tell from the looks on their faces that they were just flat up against it.

Anyhow, the sight of those folks out there in the cold really got to me, so after we got all loaded up and ready to start for home, I noticed that they were still there. It had gotten dark by this time and these folks were cold, hungry and just plain miserable.

These weren't drunks, bums or low-lifes, just middle of the road people who had run headlong into this damned lousy economy and I thought to myself, "There, but for the grace of Gawd, go I".

I stopped on the way by and made sure that they had some cash. Brought back the memories of those awful years gone by when I was in their same shoes. :>(

Sure makes one count the lucky stars. It could happen to any of us.

Allan
 
You did the right thing. Thanks. We all need to be sensitive to the needs of others more than we are.
 

Good on ya.............
Everything we do comes back at us. Our choice if it pats us on the shoulder or bites us in the a$$.

Thanks, Dave
 
Well said, Allan. There are lots of people living hand to mouth right now. Those of us who are blessed with a good job and a roof over our heads have a lot to be thankful for. You did well to help those people out.
 
Good for you, Allan. What you did will win you more credits with the 'ol' boy upstairs than a whole year of going to church. Jim
 
I came across a station wagon full of folk years ago working a Walmart parking lot. Same old song, on the way across the country to attend a funeral and had car trouble.

Not knowing if that was the case or just scammers I asked the fellow if he had items he'd sell to me for cash, CDs, etc.

When he came up with some CDs to sell and had priced them I handed him some money but told him to keep the CDs.

Just my way of weeding out those willing to help themselves and truly in need.
 
Thanks for showing kindness to those people, Allan. This lousy world needs more people like you, and the rest of the folks on this site. And you are so right. We need to count our blessings, because it could be any one of us in that same position, just from simple bad luck. You did good!
 
After we got home, the wife said that we should have gone back to see if they wanted work; we've got another house out in the country that could use some painting done inside.

We didn't get any particulars; just the look on their faces told the story. Didn't look in the car either, but wonder now if perhaps there were some babies under a blanket in the back seat.......

Dunno, sure makes one think.

Allan
 
We all should help others instead of hording huge lumps of cash. However, it is very difficult to know who is really down on their luck and who has simply found an easy way to make a cash income.
Giving someone cash money is about the worst way you can actually help most of them. There was an investigation done not so many years ago that proved that some of the cardboard holders (will work for money) that we feed cash to at intersections live better than we do.
They are willing to look like they slept under a bridge and have nothing just to get our easy cash. Besides, cash does not have to be reported, they pay no income tax, so us tax payers create a double jeopardy.
Giving is great, but we have been "giving" to third world countries for longer than I have been alive and it does not work. I think we should come up with a new plan.
People need to always be able to associate work or good deeds with making money. Otherwise they develop an attitude that we "owe" them cash just because they are there. It is part of what is killing our government and economy. We have generations that have been taught that they make more money by not working, by having babies and not getting married, etc.
Much of the money we give to the begging preachers that show videos of those helpless children are putting it in their own pockets to keep up their very lavish lifestyles.
What a waste!
None of us can really "save the world", so I choose to help those around me that I know need it and appreciate it. If I discover someone that feels they are "entitled" to my generosity, they get cut off.
Test the system, try offering one of the beggers a real job to earn money and they will walk away.
 
Ya done good Allan. Hate to say it but most of us (myself included) probably would have gone right by and not stopped. We do need to help our fellow man, unfortunately there are so many scammers out there it's hard to tell if they are truely in need or trying to make some quick cash.
 
We just don't see that out here in the "wilds". :>)

Pride is a massive part of our make up (some would even say to a fault) and taking any form of charity is nothin' short of a downright slap in the face and a huge disgrace.

So, if these folks were "asking", they really did need the help. Not a doubt in my mind.

Can't seem to get those people out of my mind this morning.

Allan
 
Good job. They have several guys sitting at intersection here in town with signs ,"out of work" down and out Vet " etc . Looking for handouts . News channel did a story on them . Turns out they are clearing 2-300 per day . Live quite aways away . Come here because it pays . one guy was hauling others to here and charging them for prime locations . Never can tell . I have no problem helping the truely needy ,but sure hate getting played .
 
Had a young girl standing outside one of out local grocery store's asking for a dollar. We gave her the money. Hal
 
This day and time you never know but it seems you are a pretty good judge of what is going on and I expect you did right. Allan where is you nearest town? Where do you shop. Spent the night in Valentine a few days ago. Did not know how far I was from you....Years ago had a guy in a old pick up with 3 kids in back show up at the farm house about 2 on Sunday. Really down on his luck. Ask about a old delipated house over on the back side of the farm. It was rough no windows and leaky roof. I told him about the condition he said it will beat this truck. Make a long story short he stayed and turned out to be one of the best farm hands I ever had.
 
Unfortunately,there are some pretty vocal people in this world who would blame those folks for their condition or deny that it's possible to be that way today.
I hear stories from the township treasurer of families living in one room of their house with just a wood stove for heating and cooking. Sad state of affairs for sure.
 
About two weeks ago, 6:30 at night at the local Walmart parking lot. A lady in her 50's was standing on the lot with a sign that she needed money to buy food. The temperatures with the wind chill was well below -0 and her sign read 'I'm Hungry. Will work for food.' I stopped and talked to her...she said she lived in town and was trying to collect some money so she could go in and buy some groceries. I gave her a 5 spot and wished her luck. So sad to see someone in that prediciment. Like you say Allan, it kind of haunts a guy.
 
Having been in their shoes would make a person more inclined to be compassionate.

I might be more inclined to offer to buy them a meal or a few gallons of gas than hand over cash though.
 
Don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but.

I would have done the same thing under the circumstances, and have done so in the past.

What really irkes me is the professional beggars that come into town every month like clockwork. They hang out around the interstate where all the shoppers are. Stand or sit by the stop lights. They all have the usual signs, down on luck, homeless vet, out of work for x months,ect. All you have to do is stick around until nightfall and a late model van comes around and picks them all up. Then brings them all back in the morning. Usuall show up on a friday and are gone by sunday night. Four weeks later they are back.

By the way this happens in Bloomington, Il out by I55-I74 and Rte. 9
 
Allan, you did right. Anybody with the fortitude to ask for an assist on main street, surely needs it. I've only seen those wannabes in the city or along the interstate. I once got down to selling my own plasma, and it is a rough feeling.
 
There are many people facing hard times.The increase in fuel prices alone can wreck a house hold.Right now 200 gallons of fuel oil would take my entire SS check.My mail order book business is gone.No work in my shop where I fix fence chargers.Ive never had a mortgage or paid rent, dont use credit cards.January has always been hard here but its worse than ever now.There are professional beggers but how do you seperate them from those truly in need.I picked up a fellow hitchiking with a 5 gallon can.He was going to the store for kerosene.He had a 50 gallon drum for kerosene but some do gooders made it illegal to use 50 gal. drums for kerosene.He was out of work because of muddy conditions in the woods .He was getting by doing odd jobs for neighbors.Plus most oil dealers wont deliver less than 100 gallons.When my regular dealer had the differential fail in his truck I found it damn near impossible to get an oil delivery from other oil dealers.I found a dealer that would drop off small amounts on his regular deliverly day day.One dealer wanted cash but we had just 135 bucks on hand.he said that wasnt enough to stop.I live 500 feet from a general store, clown that ran the store had no fuel oil,no kerosene,no diesel, no off road diesel no gasoline..He never refilled the tanks.As for the wise As who gripe about unemployment checks you dont get them in January here.Those who never had to get by on unemployment checks seem to be experts on the subject.City of 40000 25 miles from here had beds for 994 homeless during January.If i could type faster I would put a poem in I found called Living The Good Life or I Dont Care.Its about a Union Man who dosent care that his neighbors are going hungry.
 
I have always been a sucker for a sad story. Have I been Scammed?? Probably. I just hope that most of my handouts went to people that really needed it. One thing I will not ever do is respond to a request from someone that is smoking a cigerette. If he can afford smokes he doesn't need money for food. Good for You. I had to live on a couple of jars of peanut butter and spotted apples that I got out of a dumpster behind a store once. I didn't have the courage to ask for help.
 
happens here all the time but you mostly find they are running a scam.
Try offering them a job sometime and see what happens.
 
John - you think like I do. I want to help people who are in genuine need, but get angry at the shysters. I guess it's human nature.

I asked the ladies who run our local food pantry - how do you seperate the needy from the lazy? They told me that they have to give to the not needy in order to reach the needy. If you fail to reach the needy, you might as well lock the doors and shut down.

I enjoy supporting the local food pantry, but I wouldn't be good at the distribution. I would be grumpy about cell phones and cigarettes - if you can afford them, you don't need help. She told me that I was wrong - many people experience short time troubles and come to the food pantry for help. Many of these SAME people who have received help in the past are now big contributors to the food pantry, now that they have gotten back on their feet.

I have great respect for these people who run these grass roots, non-profit, non-government, local donation food pantries. And I have great respect for their ability to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I don't know if I am Christian enough to do that.

And I have great respect for people like Allan and his wife, for sowing the seeds of kindness.

Paul
 
You are a good man, Allan. I volunteer at a local center, in a village of 3K. Lots of folks that are hard up against it, in this area, anybody who was in construction is basically done. The economy has been in the pits for 5 years here, and even folks who had respectable savings accounts are running out of money.
 
It sure sounds like these people could have used some assistance but there are plenty of scammers asking in just about any place you can imagine. There was guy in the middle of an intersection right outside West Edmonton Mall holding up a an #I am hungry can you help" sign. He was there quite often. I happened to be looking through the newspaper one day and saw an interesting story. The guy with the sign was arrested for the 3rd time for soliciting motorists and had to spend some time in jail. Seems he was a drug addict and used the money to feed his habit. They said he took in $36 in 20 minutes. No wonder he stood out there in some of the worst weather. That's pretty good money for a scammer. Dave
 
Two years ago I was at the local parts store. There is a strip mall with a McDonald"s that share the parking lot with the parts store. I was leaving when I saw a mid thirty women come out of the McDonald"s. She went to a car. There where four kids in the car. The oldest was just five. I saw her taking hamburgers and tearing them in twos for the little guys. She eat the bread the kids left. She went to start the car and it would not start. She just set there and cried. I went over to see if I could help.

Her husband had just up and walked out six months before. Not one word on where he went. Only one of the kids was hers the other three where his. She had just lost her apartment that week. She had been working and the company moved. She did not have a full time job ,so no unemployment. She had made enough money that she did not qualify for help. She had just spend her last money getting the kids some hot food. I asked her if she had any one to go to. She said no that her parents where dead, no siblings.

So I got her car started and had her follow me home. We have two rooms finished in the lower barn that my Grand Father lived in when he was able to stay away from the hospital. We use it as guest rooms. I turned the heat on while my wife fixed a supper for us all. The next morning when I went to get them for some breakfast she had them rooms so clean that they shined. I asked her what work she would do. She said anything legal. By the end of the next week we had found her six houses to clean on a weekly basis. At the end of two months we had a rental house come open. She moved in there with the kids. She since has gained guardianship on all of the kids. She now has two women working with her cleaning houses and businesses. She never has been late with any bill or rent. When my wife was sick she was the first one over here to help her.

So there maybe scammers out there but if I can help someone I will try. Really try if there are kids involved. There will not be a kid I directly know going hungry. I will feed any children I know of, no questions. How we treat the little ones is one of the ways we will be judged when the time comes.
 
Nice going Allan. It is hard to weed out those who really need the help from those who are scamming. In the last year I know that I got taken twice.
 
God puts the people we need in our lives when we need them. Only those of us who have been helped in time of need truly understand what a blessing your actions were to those people.
 
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where I-90, and U.S.53 and
Wisconsin 35 meet, usually has professional
beggers on all four corners
 
About a month ago I had 15 doz. extra eggs from my chickens. So called the local food shelf and asked if they needed eggs. She said they sure do but they cannot take them directly off the farm. I would have to go to the super market and buy some and donate them. It is not her fault but it is a sad state of affairs when they have to turn down farm fresh eggs for factory eggs. I then called the salvation army and they could take them. Gave me a warm feeling delivering them eggs to them. I know that the eggs got into the stomachs of people that really needed them. I am also aware that I am only one medical incident from being in their shoes.
 
Hope this not me in about 10 years-I have a gray K 5 about that age to just haul around my dogs.

You did the right thing by the couple.

My skin is tuff on my back by living in the burbs of Chicago. Most off ramps along the Kennedy express way has it resident pan handler same person every day. Drove by the same person for about 4 years. Makes up to 400 dollars per day. No taxes.
 
Allan,

I'll echo what most others have said to your good deed. It was the right thing to do.

Makes me think of a book I just finished, pointing out many of the political errors of this country, that has, at least in part, caused folks like you helped, to be in the situation they are.

Have to be careful tho, this isn't a political forum.

Oh my new toy did arrive yesterday. Am anxious to give it a try out.
 
Hey Allen, That warm feeling that comes over you after helping someone is great isn't it? You and your wife are good people.
 
You sure are right about what you said, and certainly did a kind deed for that family, but you sure nailed it when you talked about the children. They never have any say in the conditions in which they live. Children going hungry for any reason is heart breaking. My hat is off to you for the compassion you showed that mother and children.
 
Good for you. A few years ago I was checking out at the local grocery. An elderly lady, clean but plainly dressed in the next lane presented her card from the social services office, but when swiped through the machine it was blank. The groceries in her cart were basic items that required preparation and not junk food.
Been kicking myself for several years now for not paying for her groceries. Guess thats one that will haunt me as long as I live.
Joe
 
Allan, Thank you for doing that! I have been in that position too. Depending on the grace of Our Lord and others. You Done Good!, MY Friend!
Later,
John A.
 
Rereading your post, it's really hard to say if they were scammers. They had an old beater but if ran and had heat, they could stay warm. If someone wanted to set up a scam, doing the exact same thing would be a good way to go about it. I think it's almost better to offer to buy them lunch or some groceries instead of giving cash. Several years ago on a news magazine show they secrectly video taped(because of a tip) an elderly women dressed in ragged clothes to see where she went after asking for help on the street. She was picked up in the alley in fairly new luxury car(Mercedes I think)and they followed the car first to a Safeway(less the ragged clothes) several blocks away and then to a nice apartment building. They tracked her for about a week and learned her routine and which apartment she lived in. They took the camera's to the door and before she had time to tell them to go away, they got some good shots of the 50"+ flat screen TV and nice furnishings in the apartment. It was rather interesting that she was also wearing designer clothing rather than the the rags she wore on the street. They figured she must have taken in over $2000 in the week they were watching her. If I remember right, I think they interviewed some of the people about how much they had given her and the average was $10 to $15. The people were shocked when they found out it was a scam. I think in the end she was charged and spent some time in jail. There are some really professional scammers/actors out there. What's really sad is that there are some people who could really use a little help. Dave
 
I don't know if you got scammed or not, but you can lay your head down tonight knowing you tried to help your someone in need. Maybe that's more important.
 
I used to be kind hearted. When I was younger I had just traveled about 150 miles and stopped at a truck stop close to home. I just wanted a meatpie for dinner. I was in college and had just worked all weekend for my Grandfather in Texas repairing fences and had a little cash. I walk in an there is an older man that said he ran out of gas. Now it was cold out and I did see a truck on the shoulder about 100 yds down the road as I pulled in. I felt sympathetic to his cause and gave him a $10 bill.

The rest is what floored me. He took the $10 and bought a 12 pack of beer and left. He walked 100 yds to his old Ford and left. That was almost 20 years ago and to this day I'd rather pee on someone rather that help them. Call me what you want, but I judge people asking for money based on that experience. If your car is on fire on the side of the road, I'll make a phone call and that is all!

CT
 
I commend you and your wife and also for thinking of them after the fact. Giving cash may have its fault but there is no address and Phone no. for them to follow up. Now if they are there next Sat evening waiting for ya you might want to ask a few more questions. My policy has been to give with no expectations. Or let the receiver pass on the good deed to someone else. migraine
 

t's hard to tell what the right thing to do is in may situations. People like this do have resources, and to me that begins with God. Some people would rather starve than sit through a sermon. I'm told to be diverse, they might want to be DIVERSE as well? God Bless, and Help Them!
 
Things have been bad here for 10 years.My RE taxes have doubled, fuel oil has gone from a buck a gallon to 3.37.Farm ins has gone from 500 a yesr to 900.During this time my income is dropping.A 100 gallon minimum load of fuel oil will cost you 337.00.Firewood is 200 a cord was 50 bucks 10 years ago.Its estimated that one child in 4 dosent have enough to eat here.I used to give to good charitys, cant do it now.
 
Its just about impossible to hire any one to help stack wood or do yard work with out breaking 20 federal laws.Laws that are supposed to protect people actually keep them from working.
 
If I needed fuel oil today I would be SOL.A minimum delivery of 100 gallons would cost 330.00.I have 28.00 in my pocket.Checking account is flat, no money til Feb 9.I do have two woodburning stoves.Lots of work to use but keeps me independant.Fuel oil has been as high as 4.65 here.Fuel and food costs will bring our country down.I can squeeze a nickle til the buffalo pees but things are looking bad.
 
Read JD Sellers post.What would have happened if he didnt help.Ive brought food and fire wood to people,didnt hurt me a bit.
 
I used to say that there was nothing stopping them from getting a job, but now even crappy jobs are getting scarce. After two years of fighting the external_link economy and the “Summer of Recovery” we had our first layoffs.

The second guy we laid off it was just pitiful. His wife and son had just been laid off the week before. In two weeks his house went from three incomes to none. With gas headed to $4.00 a gallon I don’t see this getting any better soon.
 
Years ago a beggar was asking "50 cents for a cup of coffee?" outside a convenience store. I gave him $1. I felt real proud of my 19 year old self. Then I go inside, and so does he - next thing I know, he's buying cigarettes with the money I and others gave him! No coffee! Lesson learned.

What I should have said was "Sure, come on in, I'll buy you a cup".

If it ever happens again, I don't think I'll be handing over money - I'd rather buy them food.
 
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