I swear, it was the penguins.

[primrose]

He stood in the brown wedge of grass off the freeway exit. A cheesy salt-and-pepper mustache dominated his lined face, and though worn, his clothes were fairly neat and tidy. He held a cardboard sign

Comments

[mareserinitatis]

I hate being in that situation. However, in So. Cal., I was almost always in that situation.

But I won't give money to those people. Enough bad experiences as well as the fact that most of them will use the money on alcohol rather than food makes me very leery. I do, however, reguarly donate to homeless shelters and things like that. If asked, I will refer them to the local shelter, which usually does nothing.

Last year, during the flood, some guys found someone holding a sign and said they'd give him a ride down to the sandbagging where the red cross was serving hot meals. The person refused to go.