Bryan's Little Corner

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Good Deed Doer or Just A Fool

Yesterday a little incident happened that I do not know what to make of it. OK, lets go on.

I was at the home improvement store picking up a small package of screws. When I leave the store and jump in my car there is this guy on a cell phone talking to someone. As I go to start my car I notice that he now seems to be talking to me. So I decide to listen and see what he wants.

He tells me about this terrible day he is having. He had been up visiting his Grandma and now was heading home. He was and hour and a half away and he discovered that not only does he not have his wallet but he also is out of gas. His car is at the gas station on the corner.

OK, so now what do I do? I mean I would love to help him out but I also hate to be scammed. But at the same time I can think of two times right off the top of my head that someone really went out of their way for me when I needed it and I sure appreciated that.

Well I am so so about how I handled it. I did not have a lot on me but I gave him half of what I had. Now this was not enough for him to get home but it was a start on his journey. Of course at todays gas prices I did not have enough to get him home anyway. Now I am feeling guilty I did not give him more.

But you know at the same time I can not help but think how convenient his story is too. Here he is visiting his GRANDMA. He is 90 MINUTES AWAY FROM HOME. Has no money because he FORGOT HIS WALLET. OK all this could be true but something just nags away at me wanting to question the story. I guess it is because back when I worked in Detroit I saw a more than a few people pan handling. Most of them I learned to ignore because they were darn right dangerous. Others you heard of taking the money to by booze. I know I ignored the people that really needed a hand.

Anyway, so I guess even if I was scammed, I did good but at the same time I could have done much more.


Oh my goodness, with all this rain we have been getting (about 6 inches in a few days) and the fact that I did weed and feed a little while ago, the law is growing like a weed. Since I worked late last night I did not get to the lawn until late and when you add in having to bag it too since it was so tall, it was dark and I was just finishing up the front yard.

I got a little over half done but it sure was nice to see the grass growing again for a change... I think. I guess I best jump outside and see if I can finish it even though it is early. I know I will be working late today, how late who knows. I can not count on being able to finish it tonight and right now the lawn looks silly. Jungle in part of it and nice lawn in other areas.

So I have my pith helmet on, jungle boots, machete at my side. I sure wish I had some mosquito netting as the bugs were terrible last night and I would imagine they will not be much better now. And then there is this fog I have to deal with. I will not say it is real foggy but I can just see that back of my property and I only have a quarter acer lot my house sits on. So if you do not hear from me for a day or two, please send out a search party. I will be in the back 40 if you can use that phrase on such a small lot. Funny how it gets bigger when it comes to cutting the lawn.
18 Comments:
Blogger GAB said...

Thing is if you were to just plain inorge him you would have felt worse. Even if he had been a scam artist. Good luck with the yard it hasnt stopped raining here yet.

August 22, 2007 9:30 AM  
Blogger snowelf said...

We are getting dumped on and there is no sun in our forecast any time soon...
But at least the grass is green. I forgot what green grass looks like!!

--snow

August 22, 2007 11:43 AM  
Blogger ell said...

your heart was in the right place. hopefully it wasn't a con artist.

you're a good man, charlie brown!

August 22, 2007 7:20 PM  
Blogger ell said...

p.s. cute puppy on your banner!

August 22, 2007 7:21 PM  
Blogger SignGurl said...

There is a surge of pan handlers in Lansing lately. I've seen them twice standing on corners with buckets, claiming the money is for a church.

If the guy had a cell phone, why didn't he call his grandma?

August 22, 2007 8:20 PM  
Blogger Bob said...

Chances are you were duped out of a few bucks. It happens to me a few time every year.

I've done almost exactly the same thing. I gave a fellow $20 for gas in a Cracker Barrel parking lot a few years ago. He claimed he was completely out of gas and lived west of Dayton Ohio (about 90 minutes of freeway driving).

I could tell the guy was struggling financially. He took my name and address so he could send me a check later. It's been a few years now, so not likely a check is on the way.

I’d rather be the guy that was duped than the poor guy that had to beg for help.

August 23, 2007 10:07 AM  
Blogger lime said...

it's a tough call sometimes. you just never know.

good luck with that jungle taming.

August 23, 2007 10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had the same thing happen to me at the gas station and I gave the guy $5. I think we were both scammed, it sounds like the same story except this guy had his pregnant girlfriend in the car.
It's their Karma not mine, I kept mine good.
Hey I look at it this way, maybe it will stop them from robbing someone.
Continue being a good person Bryan, never let other's change you.
tc

August 23, 2007 2:13 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I’ve not been concerned about being scammed—and I have been scammed and conned by many folks, even when I knew what they were up to—ever since I read and understood the chapter in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables that I have labeled (when I’ve used it in a sermon) “The Bishop’s Candlesticks.”

August 23, 2007 2:17 PM  
Blogger Head Cookie said...

Hey there 55 is up

August 23, 2007 2:46 PM  
Blogger Crabby said...

My motto is follow your own heart. If they're conning you, they own that.

Now....that said....want me to track him down and use the gnat zapper on him till he admits what his deal is?

August 23, 2007 3:26 PM  
Blogger S said...

Well....ya never know do ya?
Sometimes you just gotta let that money fly though!

August 23, 2007 5:38 PM  
Blogger G-Man said...

Barman...
NEVER NEVER NEVER do that again OK?
Offer to take him to his car then, and you put the money in the gas tank!
Scam City!!!
If he was really out of gas he would have been by his car...
I hate fuckers that take advantage of nice people, they should rot in HELL!!!!!!!!

Anyway, have a nice day..Galen

August 23, 2007 7:57 PM  
Blogger Little Wing said...

Hi Bryan, I am home!
I was at the gas station one day and this couple in an old car asked me if I could put some gas in their car, they were broke and wanted to get home. They had a gas can, and I paid to fill it.
The next week the same couple drove into the station, parked their car, and pulled the same trick, I watched them.
Then I was at the post office and a guy runs up to me and tells me his car was towed to storage and he needed twenty bucks to get it out and he would send me the money. I told him I was broke.
A week later he was at the post office again with the same story.

August 24, 2007 3:44 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Not to worry Barman, you are not wearing the dunce cap alone. (giggles)...

I too have been scammed and well, I'm just a sucker for being suckered!

~can I borrow some money?~

August 24, 2007 7:45 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You gave the guy a helping hand. If he was a scam artist that reflects on him not you. You acted out of kindness (without going daft about it and emptying your own wallet) and that fact is not diminished by the possibility that he may not have been genuine.

August 24, 2007 5:40 PM  
Blogger Cha Cha said...

Gee, Barman, you could have at least gotten a handjob out of the deal!

Ya see, Barman, I'm a city girl through and through and I walk past these lame-o's about five times a day. I figure, if I stop to take my headphones off-which is RARE-to listen to them for a second, at least I wasn't rude.

My standard response, time and time again is....'I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have anything extra.'

And whatever you do, DON'T GIVE HIM A RIDE ANYWHERE! I know it's hard not to be nice...it really, really is...

When I first moved to the city I would give anyone who asked a dollar.

Then I stopped that and just started giving them my change.

Now, it's been YEARS since I've ever given a single panhandler a single cent.

And I do mean years. I am poor and struggling every fucking day and if they would put the amount of effort they put into fucking begging for money and coming up with stories after more stories...they just might find that that sort of effort leads to some sort of legit employment.

Next time, tell him to invest in Triple fucking A.

Let this be your motto in such situations.

'This is one of those times I need to grow a pair.'

I mean, I know you have a pair, but it's a figure of speech that I use because I don't have one and maybe it will work for you too.

:)

And I don't know what the hell a 'pith helmet' is.... but it sounds kinda hot...

Anyhow, you can always do nice things for people in other ways. When you are questioning it, Barman....you just gotta question why you're questioning it, ya know?

August 25, 2007 3:31 AM  
Blogger Rick Rockhill said...

hopefully you came across the one guy telling the truth. I've heard that SO MANY TIMES tho...

August 25, 2007 3:03 PM  

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