baby, baby
 

She still looks decent - but not as good now that its public information that some other dude was first to give her the tube steak.

Child Tatooing
 

I figured as much, but was too lazy to check Snopes or the equiv. A well done fake, however; up there with the bonsai kitten website.

Child Tatooing
 

I wish I had called CPS about my dentist when I was a kid. The guy had a sadistic bent and liked to yell at the kids on his chair. He'd never let the parents come back with the kids, and he'd pull and prod and yell and tell us that we were making too much noise, and if we dared cry, he'd just pull our mouths open wider. It didn't matter if all you needed was a cleaning or if he was drilling (and I swear he was trying to save money on novacaine by not giving full doses to us); he'd be nasty and mean and terrifying through the whole visit. Then he'd go talk to my mom and be all sunshine and roses while we put our jaws back in place and tried to keep the tears to a minimum level.

As an adult, I realize that it's a bad position to be in, but this guy just hated kids and his practice was entirely pediatric. I explain that dental history now, and I am incapable of sitting in a dental chair without tensing, even if I'm just flipping through a people magazine.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Some of you that work on the K Street portion of D.C. will well remember the abusive homeless guy that used to insult you or call you names as you walked by.

One story goes that he would routinely solicit donations by the comment, "Hey fuckhead, get a job so that you can give me some money."

Beggars Don't Sock
 

In her defense, there are many many psychotics on the streets who are in serious need of hospitalization. The larger the city, the bigger the problem. Catch and release.
If you can stay arms length (or spitting distance) from them, you are so much safer.
Granted, if you're seeing the same people (they work in shifts) on a regular basis, then you can offer some pleasantries. But I'm in favor of safer than sorry.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

I should have been more clear. I initially said that I had no change. I ignored him while he proceeded to follow me for two blocks.

I just get really irritated by people begging in general, and especially when they try to turn it into me being a bad person* for not helping them. I have bought food for people begging and given it to them (many years ago now, learned my lesson) and had them throw it on the ground and say they wanted my money, not food. Fuck that.

*I am a bad person, but not because I refuse to give money to beggars.

Sadistic Dentist
 

That just reminded me of that pharmacist who was arrested for diluting chemo drugs for profit. Horrible!!

Child Tatooing
 

Let's see Snopes rebut this: http://www.ntv.co.jp/channel/asx/hkzkt10.asx

(low-budget Matrix ping pong)

Beggars Don't Sock
 

TM's wrong, of course. Responses are definitely more dangerous. The one time I responded "sorry, I don't" it was to a neatly dressed woman who made the usual "I need money to get a bus to go home" pitch. She then started screaming in the middle of the street. I'd rather (and do) spend the energy to put the pressure directly on my legislature to make sure people have enough food, a decent place to live and the mental health care they need than have to respond to every plea I get in the gauntlet I have to go through on the way to work.

cheapshot alert
 

quit picking on chef when he isn't here to defend himself, you bully!

Beggars Don't Sock
 

I like your moxie in standing up to this cheapshot thug. You go gal!!!!!

Beggars Don't Sock
 

I don't want to have TM go off on a rant here, but there are times when it is appropriate to ignore the homeless. Like when they treat CT Avenue at rush hour like its a fucking lounge chair- leaning against the tree box and stretching their legs into the street so you either have to jump over them or walk arounde (like theire is room) if you dont trip over them. If they want some change, show some respect to the people who are trying to walk home from work at ruch hour who have the "spare" change they want. Jesus.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

I agree. Just today I responded to the "do you have any spare change" question with "No. Fuck off."

Seriously. I was in a really bad mood this morning, and the man tried to hit me up before I got out of the taxi. I usually say "Sorry, not today" but he caught me at the wrong time.

Does someone have the link to the story that claims that people who peddle for change make approximately $12/hour tax free?

Most of the time I follow some pretty strict rules for handing out money:

(1) If someone is trying to entertain me (and I am subsequently entertained), I will give them money. If I didn't I would be unjustly enriched. The violin player on the Grand red line stop always brings a smile to my face. Very relaxing. The guy who sings Michael Jackson gets quarters.

CAVEAT TO THIS RULE: If said entertainer is entertaining me with much too expensive equipment, he/she gets no money. For example, guy with electric guitar and $300 amp.

(2) Physical disability (missing limbs, blindness, etc.): it's almost impossible to not give them money.

(3) Giving change depends on the amount asked for. If the beggar asks for "spare change", that's okay. However, if the person says, "do you have a dollar I can have?", I'll mumble something about inflation and briskly walk away...


The guy who tries to sell paper copies of The Onion (it's free) by saying "Satire! Only ONE dollar!" cracks me up...

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Yes, my sweet child? What can the lord do for you?

Beggars Don't Sock
 

I agree with TM. I always make eye contact and say "Sorry, haven't got any" when asked if I have spare change. Sometimes I will even pat my pockets for effect.

But I think men and women will generally handle these situations differently. My wife always chooses to ignore rather than say "no". Many women believe giving acknowledgment to a homeless man may result in unwanted attention.

Pop Tarts
 

All you American Idol fans and critics, is anyone buying tickets to the summer concerts?

http://www.mix985.com/clientgraphics8_5/two.gif

Anne

P. S. I love the fact that the tour is sponsored by Pop Tarts.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Agreed. I've seen this escalate. It's easy enough to say "sorry," and that's usually all it takes.

I used to say "not tonight," until a guy responded "dude, I wasn't asking you to sleep with me."

Sadistic Dentist
 

I saw that one too! I was glad when Vincent D'Onofrio took his ass DOWN!

Poll: What's your favorite "Ripped from the headlines" Law & Order episode (any L&O franchise is allowed?) I'll take the '01-'02 season ending Enron-ish Criminal Intent episode. Soooo good. But there have been so many great ones. The preppie killer. The crazy genius sociopath writer. Every time I see that "this episode is entirely fictional, and any resemblance to real people is entirely coincidental," I start rubbing my hands with glee. Glee I tell you.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Heh. My sister gave a dollar to the guy selling the Street Spirit (or whatever that homeless newspaper is called) outside of Walgreens a year of so ago. He was elated, and he informed her that if he got enough money together that day, he'd have a room for the night and could he call her later? She declined to acquiesce to his request.

I used to give more money to pan handlers than I do now, mostly because I really don't have spare change on me most of the time. Debit cards, I think, have cut into the daily take of the average american panhandler.

Child Tatooing
 

Christ, me too. My psycho-dentist did not use novocaine. Ever. My next dentist was astounded because I had some pretty deep cavities.

I remember the psycho yelling "Hold still! This is a high-powered drill, it can go right through your jaw!!!"

I found Steve Martin's character in Little Shop of Horrors a little too familiar.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Toronto has tons of homeless people. When I was last there, they seemed to be getting quite creative with their begging. For example, one woman asked me for change because she wanted to send her kids to summer camp. A man asked me for change so he could get a Leafs ticket because he wanted to see them play before he died. I gave him some quarters.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

You could buy the book on Amazonpanhandler tells all

For the next four months, Moody planted himself and held a sign at the Appian Way exit off Interstate 80. And he experienced a transformation of the soul as his stereotypes about people were turned upside-down.

Moody logged his experiences in 600 pages of notes that over the next 10 years were shaped into a book, "Will Work for Food or $," published in April.
He stuck to the principles he'd been given, including a cardinal rule: Take all work offered to you and don't ask about the pay. He never spent more than four hours on the roadside, and had a rule about never staying a minute longer for that extra dollar.

On his best day, bolstered by a $50 donation, Moody collected almost $180 from passing motorists.
He arrived at the roadside believing that minorities, particularly African and Asian Americans, were not inclined to help him -- a white man -- but those myths were exploded almost immediately.

He found that African Americans, particularly women, were among the most generous givers on the roadway, and more often brought homemade meals than money, which he took as a blessing.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Him, you should give more. There is a guy (I don't even know if he's homeless) who drums on household items like pots, upside-down buckets, etc. who is really amazing--as in should be in a good band amazing--who I always give a buck to whenever I happen to see him.

But ordinary homeless guys with a cup--nope. I've gotten too much sexual harassment from guys like that.

Pop Tarts
 

Great sponsorship opportunity. If only Super Colon Blow was a real product...

Beggars Don't Sock
 

That is not just a belief, it is true half the time. Sometimes it's like acknowledging people who leer or hiss at you on the street - just results in them latching on to you and carrying on.*

Although half the time it is probably good to acknowledge them, because then they leave you alone. It's just hard to predict whether they are going to leave you alone or latch on to you no matter what you do. So it's hard to know what is the safest response.


*Although I did acknowledge the kid who yelled out "Can I have yo' ass!!!" in a really loud voice the other day because it made me laugh. My ass would have looked kind of funny on him.

Beggars Don't Sock
 

Understood. I didn't think the scenario either of us was describing contemplated or eliminated the possibility of taking a wide berth. I didn't suggest giving anyone a hug, did I?

TM

agressive panhandling
 

Tony and Rebecca Spradlin, visiting from Texas with their two teenage daughters, stood at the intersection trying to decide whether to hit the shopping mall or head to the cable-car turntable. They cast a wary eye at the assorted street people congregating nearby.

Suddenly they were approached by Tommy Schindler, a 38-year-old homeless person. His face and clothes were dirty. He smelled of alcohol.

"Can I have some money?" Schindler asked, extending a hand.

The Spradlins collectively stepped aside and hustled off to the cable car.

"I was warned before I left home to ignore them and keep walking," Rebecca commented once she'd placed some distance between her family and this latest disruption of their vacation. "You just have to keep walking," she reminded her girls.

Good advice. While most street people in the area are relatively benign, some can get aggressive. Schindler prides himself on being one of them.

"Sometimes," he told me, "I come to the intersection and there's tourists standing there with a f-- camcorder so you can't get across the street. I just take their camcorders."

Schindler gave me a cold stare. "I'm really not a nice person," he said. "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

According to the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, tourism is far and away the city's largest industry, representing more than 60,000 jobs and about $6 billion in annual spending, not to mention hundreds of millions more in sales and hotel taxes.

According to just about everyone, homelessness and panhandling are the city's two biggest problems, representing a constant challenge to the business community, civic leaders and 14 million annual visitors.

At Fifth and Market, where the Tenderloin's down and out meet Union Square's eager to spend, the clash of these opposing forces makes itself felt on a daily basis.

An especially profound example of that clash happened in May when a homeless man described by police as having a history of mental illness was arrested for allegedly attacking a psychiatrist attending a convention of shrinks at Moscone Center.

"You've got a lot of good-hearted people visiting San Francisco and living in San Francisco," said Wayne Alexis, supervisor of 14 red-shirted "ambassadors" who regularly patrol the Union Square area on behalf of local merchants. "That's part of the problem."

He gazed up and down Powell Street. "People keep giving them money, they'll keep coming back for more," Alexis said.

His eyes settled on a street person across the way, a disheveled man known as Alan. Alan was standing outside the French Connection clothing store hitting up passers-by for change.

"You're going to have to move," Alexis told him as reasonably as he could.

"I'm not bothering nobody," Alan countered with a menacing edge in his voice. "F-- you."

Alexis has no authority to detain an overly aggressive panhandler. He flagged down a passing cop and asked Officer Larry McDevitt to handle the situation. McDevitt confronted Alan and persuaded him to try his luck elsewhere.

"There's not a lot of cops who'll bring in a guy for panhandling," McDevitt acknowledged afterward -- a fact that's equally well understood among street people, and which makes it tough for the police to do anything more than shift the homeless from corner to corner.

"It's frustrating," McDevitt said. "We get a finger pointed at us for being too harsh with the homeless. Then you get business owners who want us to do more."

In the end, he said, it'll be up to the city's political leaders to do something about the homeless situation. But that's been the case for years, and San Francisco residents and visitors are still awaiting some action.

Inside French Connection, with its endearing "FCUK" sign out front, saleswoman Lene Andersen said she routinely calls upon Alexis and his crew to shoo panhandlers from the door of the shop.

"You can't go 10 steps outside without someone asking you for money," she complained.

In San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors is stuck squabbling over Care Not Cash, Supervisor Gavin Newsom's program to reduce some welfare payments and funnel the money instead into social services. Politics has once again gotten in the way of progress.

In Los Angeles, an initiative called Bring L.A. Home was recently introduced to provide affordable housing, mental health care and treatment for substance abuse.
Scott Holmes and Michelle Smith, looking fit and tanned, were up from L.A. the other day and waiting in line for the cable car near Fifth and Market.
They both said the homeless situation in San Francisco wasn't much different from down south. "You get used to it," Smith said with a shrug.

"Actually," Holmes responded, "they're nicer here than in L.A. They're more inebriated in L.A."


panhandling

Edited to add, that I didn't really see a homeless problem in LA, but then again, it's so spread out, how could you tell?

agressive panhandling
 

Which big American city has the best (i.e., polite, non-aggressive, mentally normal but down on their luck) panhandlers? I say Chicago, but I don't have a lot of nationwide street experience.

San Francisco has a lot of people who wander around, ranting and raving. I've always said that S.F. has the most conversations per capita of any American city. Even the normal looking people are muttering to themselves here.

My favorite is the Asian dude in the blue suit carrying the sign about outer space and impeachment. He must go through a pair of dress shoes a week.

agressive panhandling
 

You mean this guy?

frank

Edited to add, he's not homeless, he's just street people.

agressive panhandling
 

My fair city has a famous panhandler, Leslie Cochran, who works a corner at Sixth & Congress in a thong bikini and heels. He easily has the best legs in town, and runs for mayor from time to time.

agressive panhandling
 

A few years ago, a mentally ill homeless man in Houston attacked an attorney on the street near the courthouses and stole his briefcase. A local judge was waved down by the attorney, and he ended up chasing (going the wrong way on a one way street) the panhandler and shooting him three times when the panhandler attacked the judge after being asked to surrender the briefcase. The homeless man died. There were no indictments in the case.

agressive panhandling
 

The one and only. I was hoping the article would cast some light on what "zegnatronic" means. The document does not, as it were, speak for itself. I'll have to continue to assume that it's a kind of house music.

agressive panhandling
 

I was wondering who he was. About 3 weeks ago he was walking on the Embarcardero (and had slightly changed his sign again) and demanding of passers-by whether they were involved in the dermagoglical invasion of television and the minds of the young milognolauts. I declined to reply to his query, as I didn't have a fucking clue as to what he meant and have enough wackjobs in my life to deal with already.

Non-aggressive Panhandling?
 

A street guy came up to me yesterday when I was stopped at a traffic light (on my bicycle) and told me with great sincerity that I looked exactly like the redhead in Sex and the City.

Don't know if he was hitting me up or just wanted a buck, and I have never seen the show so I couldn't tell if it was a compliment . . . .

Thanked him anyway. It was the nicest panhandle I have ever received.

Non-aggressive Panhandling?
 

Except that it wasnt a compliment.

Non-aggressive Panhandling?
 

Good thing I didn't part with any cash, then.

agressive panhandling
 

We have a Killer* Transvestite that used to do fairly well in the internal Democratic Party elections. She and her mother left the party in a huff in 2000 or so citing "family values." I do not think that they're doing as well in the GOP.


*I think it's only fair to Ms. Perez nee Mr. Ashley to clarify that the murder and subsequent pardon happened before the sex-change operation.

agressive panhandling
 

Not to be a homer, because this is not exactly a proud title for a city to have, but in my travels I would agree that Chicago has some of the most docile and creative street folk. We have our share of the aggressive types, but it seems the city takes a more "No nonsense" approach here... They still try to get them help, but won't put up with aggressive behavior.

While I encounter maybe 3-5 a day here around the Loop, I do have to say I was shocked at the scope of the problem in certain cities in more moderate climates, like San Francisco, where I'd see more than that on one block... Philosophical differences on how to deal with the problem probably accounts for a lot of that. Being more charitable sometimes causes more problems than it worth, I guess.

Two of my favorites here are the guy who wears a sandwich board claiming Hart Schaffner and Marx (HQ'd here) did something to him in some vast global conspiracy. He's very punctual as I seem to pass him getting of the L at the same station at the same time most mornings on his way to his post outside HSM...

The other is the Hi Guy. Not sure if he falls into the "homeless" category, but he basically walks around the downtown area with a propeller beanie on his head carrying a sign that says "Hi". That's it. Doesn't hit anybody up for anything, as far as I know.

Panhandle This
 

Honesty and/or creativity ought to count for something. If a homeless guy standing outside a liquor store asks for a buck to help him buy his next quart of Colt 45, I'm good with that. And every once in a while there's a good story.

But the woman who needs money for the bus home (despite working the same block forever) and the street kids who aren't really grungy enough to be for-sure homeless and who have nothing better than "spare some change?" or "gimme some change", they get nada.

agressive panhandling
 

Or something to do with the venerable fashion family??

www.zegna.com