[petitfour]

Hubby and I used to go to a little Mexican restaurant in South Tucson. The place is always packed from before the doors open until the last patron comes in around midnight to two am. Let’s just say South Tucson is not known for being the safest barrio in town. They pay men to sit in the parking lot as a kind of security presence, and I am sure they have had to deal with some intoxicated folks every now and then. But it seems like they leave the beggars alone. We gave money to the same guy multiple times over the years outside multiple restaurants in that area. Sometimes he would go in and buy food right there. He always gave us a token of his appreciation. I am sure we aren’t the only ones. It doesn’t seem to affect the line at the door. Maybe it has to do with the happiness and generosity of the owners, their staff, and the patrons. The pictures on the wall seem to indicate that everyone is welcome there from the most powerful person in the world to the lowliest beggar. The same is true of another place down the street. Wonderful place and lovely people!

[Jeff Chandler]

I did a lot of local driving with my job years ago, and when I stopped for a cup of coffee at fast food places, I would often encounter stinky bums asking for money. I never gave them a dime, but I would buy a burger/fries/soda meal and give it to them on the way out. A manager at one of the places asked me not to so that because then they stick around and more of them gather. Now, maybe restaurants in South Took-sohn don't mind stoned derelicts adorning their establishments, but most other places don't care to have smelly and often dangerous bums harassing their customers.

A priest friend of mine came up with a wonderful solution He would buy gift certificates to restaurants, and when he saw a beggar on a freeway off-ramp, he'd give him one to the nearest place.

.

(Notice, in neither example did I take it upon myself to give the beggars food or money that did not belong to me. Just sayin'.)