Do you spare change for the homeless?
Discussion
Normally I do the usual London commuter thing of keeping my head down and pretending not to see them, but one caught my attention last week. He came up and spoke to me like a human being, said thank you for acknowledging him and said that he can understand me not trusting him with money, but would love to be bought some hot food. Not wishing to spend time queuing in McDonalds for fear of making a new best friend, he got the change from my pocket and sure enough after thanking me, went straight into McDonalds to feed himself.
I do this every so often...
Last example... and it had an unexpected upside...
I'd had a good day in the city, I had won a pitch for some very profitable work... It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and I decided to walk to London Bridge Station from the meeting...
On the north bank of the bridge was this this girl, no more than 16 or 17.. skinny looking.. not obviously a drug user.. slumped on the pavement with a hat begging for change. Something didn't feel right, she seemed desparate, everyone was ignoring her. I stopped to ask if she was alright.. she was a runaway, god knows what from, I pulled out two crisp £20 notes and gave them to her. I did not expect the gush of gratitudes and the 'oh my gods', you have saved my day etc... she was emphatic and it kind of felt ok to have helped he in some way...
I carried on walking and alongside, this gorgeous girl in a well tailored suit piped up with 'that was incredibly nice thing to do' and we chatted for the rest of the walk to the station and until our respective trains came... It was a brief encounter of the best kind...
So I had a bit of what goes around comes round that afternoon.. And three very happy people...
Last example... and it had an unexpected upside...
I'd had a good day in the city, I had won a pitch for some very profitable work... It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and I decided to walk to London Bridge Station from the meeting...
On the north bank of the bridge was this this girl, no more than 16 or 17.. skinny looking.. not obviously a drug user.. slumped on the pavement with a hat begging for change. Something didn't feel right, she seemed desparate, everyone was ignoring her. I stopped to ask if she was alright.. she was a runaway, god knows what from, I pulled out two crisp £20 notes and gave them to her. I did not expect the gush of gratitudes and the 'oh my gods', you have saved my day etc... she was emphatic and it kind of felt ok to have helped he in some way...
I carried on walking and alongside, this gorgeous girl in a well tailored suit piped up with 'that was incredibly nice thing to do' and we chatted for the rest of the walk to the station and until our respective trains came... It was a brief encounter of the best kind...
So I had a bit of what goes around comes round that afternoon.. And three very happy people...
In Glasgow a month or so back and just parking up, as normal there sat an eastern european women beside the parking meter, all very miserable a bedraggled looking. Was sat in the car and an equally miserable and bedraggled one walked up to her. Little bit of chat between them, then very sneakily the one that had just arrived pulled a wad of twenties from inside her pocket that would have choked a donkey and slipped it to the one sitting down and then walked off.
Cheeky cow then had the audacity to stick her hand out to me when I was getting my ticket.
Cheeky cow then had the audacity to stick her hand out to me when I was getting my ticket.
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