2007-01-27

915. Fast Lane

Hitch-hiker...
a week later he still
begs for money.

16 comments:

Masago said...

hitch-hiker...
a week later he still
begs for money

Link with 914: Homeless

[There are numerous panhandlers in town here with various schemes to get you to donate to their "cause". One fellow recently got in mind to sit in the median at the main intersection in front of West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest shopping mall). He sits on a pack sack with a hand-written cardboard sign that says "NEED MONEY TO GO TO CALGARY". Calgary is the other major city here in Alberta, about 200 miles South. I was a little amused when a week later we saw the same fellow still sitting there. I suppose the folks driving by weren't so generous. On the other hand, maybe they were too generous.]

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

sad, but so common

Borut said...

Reminds me of my one-month hitch-hiking tour of Europe in my student years. I had to beg, almost, to be picked up. I didn't know much about the art and basic rules of hitch-hiking then. Now I do, but don't hitch-hike any more!:)As the result, I had to wait for hours, days almost. Thus, for example, after half a day of futile waiting for someone to stop and take me from Swiss border to Paris, I gave up the idea, and went back to Switzerland ( a couple of kilometers) and then to Germany instead. The end result? I've never been to Paris!?
A good one, Vaughn!:)

John McDonald said...

nice observation vaugh
john

Pat Paulk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat Paulk said...

Life is good/life isn't so good...sounds like life.

gautami tripathy said...

What else can he do?

polona said...

an all too common occurrence in the streets of ljubljana, too...

Masago said...

Andrew: Yes, I'm afraid so.

Borut: Thanks. Hitch-hiking can be a frustrating experience, especially these days. I think this guy, though, was not really hitch-hiking.

John: Thanks.

Pat: That is profound, that's life. :-)

Gautami: Get a job. :-)

Hammer & Tong: Thanks!

Polona: I suppose it is like that all over the world. P.S. How do you pronounce "ljubljana"? That appears to be a real tongue-twister.

Tikkis said...

hitch-hiker...
a week later he is back
begging again for money?

polona said...

i don't really know how to present it but let me try: lyu-blyah-nah with accent on the second syllable would be a close enough pronounciation i hope :)

Masago said...

Tikkis: Yes, he may not be real hitch-hiker, but he was/is acting like one. :-)

Polona: "lyu-BLYAH-nah", eh? What a tongue-twister! Wow, I keep trying but I can't seem to do the "L" and "Y" together. Is the "U" as is "Boot" or as in "But"? Thank you.

Pamela said...

It sure is hard to know what to do.
Some people are receivers and others are takers.

Am I supposed to know the difference...or just give and let the hand out be between him and God

Bill said...

Yes, you sometimes wonder if these folks rent the space by the month.

polona said...

sorry about that, masago... U as in boot.
and you wouldn't be much wrong if you just said loo-BLAH-nah... in fact, many, if not most, locals pronounce it like that :)

Masago said...

Pamela: I know what you mean. We were at a restaurant the other day. They had a sign up asking patrons not to give anything to the panhandlers nearby I suppose hoping to minimize their presence thereby elevating the ambiance of their establishment.

Bill: So true.

Polona: Thank you.