Adventures with Panhandlers #3
@teamfreak16 (43586)
Denver, Colorado
March 1, 2016 9:12pm CST
One of the more interesting panhandling experiences I've encountered happens on a daily basis, right here in Downtown Manitou Springs, when I'm walking to the liquor or convenience stores.
We are a predominantly laid-back community, one of those "Keep (this town) Weird" places, and the guys/girls that stay on after tourist season reflect this.
Our panhandlers will ask for lots of things, often all at the same time. A spare change request is a given, but is often followed by a request for food, cigarettes, or even pot. In fact, I get asked for weed more than you might think. I don't carry it with me, so I can honestly tell them that I have none on me (one guy even offered to wait right there while I went home to get some, which I thought was kind of funny.)
Our guys are pretty creative about their panhandling, too. Just this morning, a guy (whom I have encountered several times) had already claimed a good spot and, as I walked past, asked if he could tell me a joke for a cigarette. That's what he does all day--tells jokes for whatever he can get.
Of course, it'll be hard to top the guy I saw a couple years ago, at 5am, wearing a cardboard robot costume. He asked for money before disappearing down Manitou Avenue on a skateboard, never to be seen again.
Do I give these guys money? No, but I do appreciate the entertainment value more than they know.
Maybe I should have given the robot a buck after all.
4 people like this
4 responses
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Mar 16
Some of the panhandling that goes on here are questionable - lots of scam artists here. And a lot of them wear decent clothes and just want cash. I rarely give any of them money because I really don't know what they with it - but if I happen to have food (like if I just went to the grocery store), I just might offer some food. Oh, but I do love the street entertainers - they're not just panhandling.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43586)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Mar 16
These guys are actually legit. They're basically hippies and live in camps up in the woods, unless they can find a place to flop.
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Mar 16
@teamfreak16 The place you describe sounds more like our beach areas. The local panhandlers here are more like folks who just want cash. The beach area folks are more like hippies and just hang out - some are street entertainers - and some are just amazing (surely they'd want to be discovered more than have a jar of everyone's spare change).
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43586)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Mar 16
@much2say - The street musicians here are really good. Although a couple of them are still here, during tourist season, three others join them for a street band. I always enjoy walking past them because they are so good.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382026)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 16
@teamfreak16 Haha. I like that. In Alice Springs (hot, dry centre of Australia) they have a 'regatta' in the dry river bed. I think they have a yacht club there too although there's no water for miles around.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43586)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Mar 16
Oh, there are a lot of characters here. But, in a town that holds coffin races every October, what else would you expect?
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43586)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Mar 16
@JudyEv - That kind of weird stuff is always fun.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
2 Mar 16
I like the joke telling initiative - I'd probably pay him
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43586)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Mar 16
I do give the street musicians money, because they are almost always really good.
