Big Time Scam in the Chicago area - A women usually with a Kid has a cart full of groceries - her Credit Card never works, the kid looks sad - some older person thinks they are helping out a family in need.
It is a great con - one women-kid team has already been spotted at six area Jewel stores.
I was in beautiful Zagreb, Croatia years ago, walking down the street ahead of two elderly Nuns.
I was walking with my friend from Seattle who was Croatian-American.
A young, thin girl, about 17 years old or so, was to the side of us near the curb of the street with a young boy. She was asking for money as she said she and her brother were hungry. My friend kept me walking straight past her and we stepped aside and looked back as he explained to me to never give money to those asking on the street because they were being used by someone in the background who couldn’t be seen.
I felt bad. But as I stood there looking at the young girl asking passersby for money, the two nuns walked over to her.
They did something that was a simple but important lesson that has remained with me since.
They wore simple dresses, but I could tell they were Catholic Nuns because of their headdress. They were carrying midsized bags with straps made out of some soft material of sorts.
When the young girl begged the Nuns for money, the Nuns shook their heads No, I was told by my friend the Nuns said, “Money, No”, and then they reached into their bags and brought out loaves of bread to give the girl and the boy.
I never forgot it.
When I got back to Seattle and witnessed the growing homelessness around me, I’d go to the market and see someone near the entrance asking for money, and I would ignore them. But inside the store, I went to the bakery section and selected a fresh baguette of bread to purchase, which on exit I would give to the beggar near the entrance.