Asking for Change

No, not an Obama post, but recently I got reminded of a short story I used to tell people about the culture crash I've experienced when I first come to Philly.

One day after moving to Philadelphia, I went to a video store and right outside of the place comes this guy who asked if I have any change. Coming from Hong Kong, we usually ask people for change because we need them for the bus or parking. So when the guy asked me for change, I naturally responded "How much do you need?". He went on to say "How ever much you can give." I started grabbing the change from my pocket as I usually don't use coins at all. I put them in jar after coming home. So I start counting out five dollars worth of coins and suddenly another woman from behind came over and ask for change as well. At this point I was surprised on how many people need change. As I gave the guy my change and digging deep in my pockets to find some more for the lady, it dawned on me that they were homeless people and the guy was walking away. I was like "Hey, where my bills?" and then realized that it wasn't an exchange. (Insert laugh here)

Well nowadays after much tutelage with my friend, I know that it is not necessarily a good thing to give change to the homeless. Buy them food or coffee is a much better thing to do, given that they might use the money on drugs or alcohol. I have seen a guy asking an older lady to buy him a sandwich from a cart, the lady said yes and handed him a few dollars. As he got in line at the cart, he thanked her profusely and told her it has been a long while since he ate. The lady left thinking that she has done a good deed and the guy waited until she turned the corner and left the line with the money. Moments later, he came back and asked somebody else for money to get food. It's absolutely amazing, how people would do whatever they need to do to survive. What if the lady had the patience to wait in line with him? What if he got a sandwich? What if all the people he asked got him food instead? Is he gonna pretend to eat them or will he throw them away?

Anyway, I still tell people my story because I'd like to remember that once upon a time I was quite innocent and naive (or dumb), and not the jaded bitter cynic in front of you now.