Windshield Washer Guy.

Stop by Hong Kee Rest.and bought roast pork
and roast duck.At a stop,in an intersection,
a guy w/a squirt bottle and a squeege,started
cleaning the windshield the car infront of me.
For some reason,the guy started spitting at
the cars windshield.In a matter of seconds
hell broke loose. The washer guy got arrested.
Why can't he just get a job!I've seen couples
dragged their li'l kids out in the cold to
pan handle.Some w/cards saying"Homeless and hungry".The other one says"Veteran, pls.help".
These people are abled body.I know a few real
homeless people and if I have some spare change,
they always get it.Does this things happen
where you live too?

For some people it's harder than you would think to get a job. espically if you have a record or are on probation

here in dayotna it is bad by I95, 415 and who could forget the track! it is also bad in Ormond there is a guy who raps himself up in duck tape to keep from skin cancer. When I lived in nebraska you never saw this kind of stuff but it was there.

[Frank X. Morris]

Howdy All,
When I lived in the big city years ago there was one guy that "worked" an area around a big mall. For a while he carried a gas can and said he needed gas. Then he changed his come-on, he carried a brief case and that lasted for years. I also got nailed by the windshield guy.

[longston]

Is what some of these guys are called in New York. Aside from the incredibly filthy rags and personal saliva they use to "clean" your windshield, at least they are "trying" to provide a public service for a fee.

Pan-handling used to be a "Hippie" thing and was just what it is today, a way of getting money to pay for drugs and basic living expenses in lieu of gainful employment. A crafty "ploy" was to borrow someone's kid to get better results from panhandling. This is as old as mankind itself, and is evidenced by beggars and "begging bowls" dating back to the beginning oif recorded history.

As for the "homeless" problem, it has been with us since the dawn of time. There has always been "slackers" and people who refuse to accept their responsibility for their own lives, or to make an effort to support themselves through providing their abilities on a "for hire" basis.

The current homeless problem is a combination of those people and others who cannot function in today's complex world, combined with those who simply refuse to. As one person put it to me "Why work and pay rent, utilities, and taxes, when I can do it under the table, and avoid the paperwork and hassle?".

Another conversation with a homeless person yielded the fact that most other "homeless" people he had come in contact with could "pull-down" up to $200 a day begging, And that they used it to buy drugs...

The bottom line is that if you want to work and support yourself, there is plenty of work available to provide you with a reasonable income, if you are willing to do the work.

Otherwise, you are dooming yourself to living in the "now" in exchange for building a future...

Reminds me of a time travelling with a friend of mine. We pulled up to a downtown hotel, not all that fancy (no bellman). we had several bags and golf clubs in the trunk.
As we come out to get our stuff after checking in, we are met by a guy in his mid-late twenties, asking us for money. Said he hadn't had food in two days. My friend says "Sure. I will give you 5 bucks if you help us with our luggage. Just grab the golf clubs." The guys gets all offended and says no way he is helping us just to get money. I say " You said you hadn't eaten in two days. Help us and we will buy you dinner in the restaraunt (Denny's across the street).
The guy mutters some obsenities and takes off.
Guess he wasn't that hungry.

[mikemover]

I don't believe in that "hard to get a job" crap. ANYONE who is not significantly mentally or physically disabled can get a job if they want to bad enough. I've seen people with SEVERE handicaps holding down good jobs, so any able-bodied person has no excuse. I'm a musician, and am pretty much qualified to do nothing else, yet I've NEVER had trouble finding and keeping a job when I needed one.

As usual, just my 2 cents....

Mike

[Bear]

We have these windscreen washers in London on some of the busiest and most dangerous junctions in town.There is big money to be made at the right spots. An old friend of mine was down on her luck and did it for a while, she say's on a good day you can easily clear £300 approx $420 US.She also said watch out you don't get splashed with the water because a lot of the time they can't get fresh water ,and just mix the detergent with urine!!
I can't say I agree with this form of begging as I've seen gangs of these people actively threatening and assaulting motorists,who don't want to pay for a service they didn't ask for in the first place.
Bear

[Kuan]

It's too cold in the winter to be homeless over here. A lot of municipalities, are trying to pass, or have passed, legislation to make homelesness a crime. Some have passed laws which make it unlawful to sleep in a public place. Some make vagrancy a misdeameanor or being a "public nuisance" some kind of offence punishable by imprisonment.

There are many families out there who will be homeless if a stroke of bad luck befalls them. Many are making a living working from paycheck to paycheck. One bad day can ruin your life. Face it, nobody can make a living making minimum wage, yet most business associations lobby against providing some kind of liveable wage for their employees. Most of the entry level employees I've hired are welfare to work cases. Some of them had been homeless through no fault of their own. One lady with a child was homeless because the father of their child decided one day to spend all their money on crack cocaine. Another simply lost her job at the factory and had to move back into her abusive father's trailer home. The local women's shelter had 12 beds and 30 women. She couldn't get in.

Have a heart people, for some of these people, washing your windshield IS a job.

Kuan

[Kuan]

Originally posted by Bear
She also said watch out you don't get splashed with the water because a lot of the time they can't get fresh water ,and just mix the detergent with urine!!.

Hey isn't ammonia one of the active ingredients in window cleaner?

Kuan

[sixto]

Originally posted by Frank X. Morris
I also got nailed by the windshield guy.

Must have been an ex-NBA windshield guy to reach your 'mog's windshield.

Sixto
91 300SE
81 300SD

[jsmith]

the scene first described was very common in NYC a few years ago. in fact as you came out of the Holland Tunnel into Canal St. in Chinatown, there were hordes of squeegee guys waiting at the first stop light. i witnessed many encounters between irate motorists and these fellows. Rudy Giulianni's first order of business as mayor was to address many of these "quality of life" problems. i guess they are still around - just moved on to a different racket. there's a new mayor in town, i wonder if they'll make a comeback...

[Ken300D]

The scariest thing I've seen (fortunately only on TV) was on a wide slow street in Moscow. As you may have heard, they don't have enough money to pay soldiers a good salary - and what payment they are due is often months behind. So the soldiers are having to walk through traffic in uniform - soliciting "donations".

They do this with a sub-machinegun slung over their shoulder!

Rather intimidating!

Ken300D

Once or twice a year,Chicago Fire fighters,
ask for donation.Whatever reasons,I don't
hesitate.I donate.I'm sure its for a good
cause.Guardian Angels? If I'm in a good mood.