I Bought Gildred a Sandwich
I saw her walking towards me even before I set foot out of my car. She walked with a limp and carried a crooked cane. Her hair was curly and mostly grey. She had tan skin with the most adorable freckles dotting her nose and cheeks.
“Do you want to buy me a sandwich?” she asked me. There was no sheepishness in her voice, just a small lisp and an inflection of hopefulness.
I stared at her. For a moment I weighed my options. I had the money, luckily that was not an obstacle. I wasn’t in a rush and for the life of me I couldn’t think of an excuse to say to her that first of all was believable and secondly that I would feel good about saying.
“I’m headed into this Subway. Do you want to come in with me?” I asked.
Eagerly she shook her head yes and followed me in. I asked what her name was, to which she smiled and said “Gildred”.
I took my place in line with the lunchtime crowd. Shyly she asked me, “What type can I have?”
“What type would you like?”
“Do they have ham? I’d like a ham sandwich.”
“I believe they do. What type of bread would you like?”
“White. I like white bread.” Another smile, lifting the cheeks housing those adorable freckles.
We continue through the line a little further and Gildred turns to me and softly asks, “do you suppose I could have a small drink too?”
By this point I am feeling like she is pushing her luck, but I say, “Sure, why not?” instead.
I pay for our meals and help her get a drink. I am about to leave when the Subway employee in charge of keeping the tables clean, who also happens to be disabled, comes over and says “hi” to Gildred. Then she comes over to me and thanks me for being so kind as to buy Gildred a sandwich because normally she was the one to do so.
Apparently mooching Subway sandwiches is a skill Gildred has mastered.
For me, it was the freckles. I could not say no to the freckles. But you know what? I’m not upset about it. I don’t feel like I’ve been had, although I suppose I was. I guess I just feel like I did a kind deed. Not just for Gildred, but for the minimum wage Subway employee as well. I can live with that.
What about you? What do you do when you are accosted by the lunchtime beggars? Is there a correct way to handle it?
Blogfully yours,
Summer
PS – When I came back from lunch I shared my story with a co-worker who said the same lady had approached him a month earlier. He too bought Ms. Gildred a sandwich.
I don’t think you were had! She was totally upfront. “Would you like to buy me a sandwich?”
God, that’s perfect.
One time my boyfriend and his friends were stopped by a beggar after going out for Peking duck (which they had to order a day in advance), and they offered him their leftovers. He asked to inspect it first! At least Gildred was clear about what kind of food she wanted.
Houston has a lot of homeless beggars on the street corners and popular intersections. They exist in places where it’s more appropriate and easier to give them a dollar here or there, rather than actually feeding them.
I have a problem of giving money to someone begging for money on the street corner, because I do know that about 80 percent of the time that money will go to drugs or alcohol, and mostly, drugs. However, I’m all for giving away food.
True story – my dad was asked by a homeless person if he had anything to eat. My dad offered him the sandwich and apple he was going to have for lunch, and the homeless person turned his nose up at it. He wanted the cash. He wanted my Dad to say, “no, but here’s a dollar or two.”
I think what you did was AWESOME, because as much as beggars can be annoying, they are human, too. I’m all for feeding the homeless and caring for those that are less fortunate, but aiding in their drug habit is just something I can’t, in good conscience, do. ;o)
There was a TV show called Sports Night, and in one episode a character named Dan is trying to decide what charity to give some money to. Dan talks to his boss, the wise old man of the show, and the boss says he always gives a little money to homeless people on the street outside their office.
“You’re not afraid they’re going to spend it on booze?” Dan asks.
“I’m hoping they’re going to spend it on booze,” the boss says. “These people, most of them, it’s not like they’re one hot meal away from turning it around. For most of them, the clock has already run out. They’ll be gone soon enough. What’s wrong with giving them a little novocaine to get them through the night?”
I always thought that was kind of beautiful.
What I couldn’t support: Kids who were taken out of school in China and Honduras and Morocco because some “pimp” was making them be cute and beg from tourists.
And still you look at them and know they might get beaten that night for not bringing in enough money.
Poverty just sucks.
It’s a hard life leaving on the street, but it’s their chose. It would have been interesting to ask how she got there, what in life brought her to life on the street. Most are mentally ill. If feeding her made you feel good and that you did a good thing, it was worth it. But if you feel like you were “took”, then it only did her good.