Panhandling can be quite lucrative and in fact, "bums" fight for prime spaces in the Boston area (usually median strips in high traffic areas).
There is one panhandler in particular who is quite innovative. He carries a sign saying "I'm not gonna lie, I need money for booze." People can't fill his jar fast enough!
Back, in another lifetime, every day when I got to the top of the stairs, at the Copley Sq. stop off the MTA, there'd be an ancient old lady ....with a very raspy voice, she'd have her gnarled hand extended and greet us all with *Got a dime?* ...one day, feeling very flippant...I mocked her by repeating *Got a dime?* to her....quick as a wink, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of change and offered it to me. Poor college kid that I was, I was tempted ... of course, in those days, you could buy a warm beer at Harvard Square, for a dime.
