Pan Handling

On Saturday, we gave money to a guy on a street corner because his sign read, "Too ugly to prostitute".

As the man took the money, we told him his sign was great. He said, "Well, I can't take all of the credit, I saw it on the internet". As he jogged back to his corner, we noticed he had on fairly new jeans. What? The internet? New jeans? We've been hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Taken to school.

The man's sign offered up such a distraction, we completely missed the obvious signs that this guy was most likely a fraud. If we was a fraud, this makes me upset on a couple of levels. 1) He's taking money from people who think he's homeless, and 2) do we need to be entertained in order to give money to the homeless? Last year, I gave to a guy who's sign read, "I'll bet you can't hit my sign with a quarter". Again, a clever sign, so we laugh and give him money.

If we judge a person's need, based on the cleverness of a person's sign only, the people that really need the money will not get it, and that is a shame. I find that giving to homeless shelters, where these people can get food and get out of the cold is a better option, and I'm not alone in this thought process.

John Strossman, a reporter for Fox news, dressed up as a panhandler in New York City recently, using a couple of signs. One read, "I'm not going to lie to you, I want a beer". The other read, "Tired and hungry". He collected $90 that day, just sitting down and leaning against the building.

If you talk to homeless shelters, they advise against giving money to the panhandlers, for a couple of reasons. They say that giving money to the street corner guy just enables that person to continue their drug or alcohol habits or, the person is not homeless at all, just looking for the easy tax-free dollar.

Especially after what happened on Saturday, I'm much more inclined to give to organizations that truly help the homeless. The local shelters are always seeking donations for their guests, so you can be sure your money is put to good use.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to put on my homeless costume and hit the streets. Christmas is coming and I could use a few extra dollars.

See you tomorrow.

My new book, "The Twisted Musings of a Comedian II", will be available on Amazon.com just in time for Christmas!

My books: Amazon.com
Facebook: Jerry Mabbott
Twitter: @jmabbott
Blog: jmabbott.blogspot.com