1.08.2009

California... Home of the Choosy Beggars

As most of you already know, I take nutrition very seriously. I think it's important to pay attention to what I'm eating because I'm a firm believer in the old adage that our bodies are our temples.

So I'm sitting in the drive-thru at Taco Bell because I had a seriously jonesing for their new Cheesy Bacon Gordita Crunch, checking the fantasy basketball updates on my phone, when there's a gentle knock on my window. A slight and quite scraggly woman asks if I have any spare change because she'd like to get something to eat.

Now, I work in downtown Los Angeles, home of the homeless, so I have experience with strangers asking me for money. So per my policy I tell her that I won't give her money but if she's truly hungry, I'll buy her whatever she likes. She thinks for a second and informs that she doesn't eat meat but she'll take two side salads from McDonald's instead. There just happens to be a McDonald's a mile down the road and she'll meet there as soon as I order.

I.... didn't know what to say. I mean, I was willing to help her but here I was confronted by a choosy beggar. I know there's an old saying about that as well but I guess I'd never met one before. How often does one come across a vegetarian homeless person? And why wait at Taco Bell? Why not go to McDonald's if that's what she's into? So I just gave her a dollar and she went on her way.

Welcome to California!