excerpt from the Tennessean:

[Butterfly Man]

Panhandlers could show some creativity

To the Editor:

A little creativity might make panhandlers seem less ominous.

While traveling in Western Europe, I was pleasantly surprised to find most panhandlers had taken an artistic approach. Flowery clowns with half smiles and silvery statues that would come alive when approached by a curious stranger, were admired by passersby.

Being that panhandling itself is undeniably an occupation, though trivial and tax free, one should account for the effort placed into luring a dollar.

An extra penny or two for an original act might encourage less resentment and a growing demand for friendlier, more accomplished beggars.

Chance Allen

Brentwood 37027

chancecnahc@yahoo.com

[Doctor Eric]

Just to save everyone the trouble...

What an asshole.

[Peter Voice]

Is that name a coincidence or just pure luck?

[martin ewen]

never lose sight of your audiences expectations

Hey! he has a point.
If you were destitute and living rent free in a dumpster numbing yourself from your abject hopelessness with meths distilled through a raw potato and surviving on injesting the discarded deepfrying fat poured into your dumpster bedroom once a month, finding early model cars without a lock on their petrol caps so you can inhale the heady fumes of our nations lifeblood to expand your consciousness and wearing incontinence stained crusty clothing that you were lucky enough to inherit from a friend of yours (your only friend) who OD'd under a bridge in 98, then at the very least as you sally onto the streets to try and beg up a little cash and also as importantly just to have some/any social interaction with the human race, then at the very least you should be able to find some ash or discarded oil or even your own runny shit and paint yourself a nice big happy face before facing your public because good god however bad it gets you have to have standards.

(jesus! I write in really long sentences.)

[Stretch]

There is a performer at the local renfest who plays this role to the absolute max . . . and makes about $700 a day.
This guy has imagination, and is willing to make an effort

There is a begger on the corner by DU , amputee with a fancy prosthetic foot. Young kid, I can think of any number of jobs he could do. Maybe he has no imagination? Standing in the sun all day certainly isn't easy.

Another guy, on Federal, swaying, barely standing upright, full beard, except where the tumur the size of a gumball shines brightly red on his cheek. Poster boy for "no one is totally useless, they can always serve as a terrible example".

I've seen a guy crawl out of a dumpster, squeege and rag in hand, go to the garage and earn wages cleaning windows.

He had pride, and at least some imagination.


I've seen window cleaners on bicycle and on foot cleaning windows.

20 years ago, in debt, I started my window cleaning business with $35 and a borrowed ladder - and a lot of effort. 22 years ago I moved to Denver after spending the winter in Michigan in a house with no heat.

The more effort I've made to develop my imagination, the more $ I've made.

Maybe some day, someone will make a fortune equiping all the beggers with
nice corporate advertising posters for
big macs and coke? Or drugs? College?
Cosmetics? Hair salon?

I don't know, I don't have enough imagination . . . yet.

[worldwidese]

The guy from the Tennesseean

I think the guy is trying to compare apples and oranges. Beggars seem to have lost hope. They just lounge around and beg. They take, but give nothing in return. They trade on our sense of pity.

But the quote "Flowery clowns with half smiles and silvery statues", are not straight out beggars. They have self respect. They offer the passer by something in return- if only a moment or two of amusement. Some of them are quite artistic and imaginative.

I have never tried it, but it"s probably physically taxing. They work hard at doing nothing.