Creative panhandler

This morning as I was making my way down Hawthorne to the bus stop, I saw the usual gamut of early morning panhandlers. It's surprising how many of them are familiar now after living here for almost 8 years. I can't remember if I wrote about this before, but one always talked about being from Salt Lake and had gone to BYU. I never knew whether I should believe him or take it as him being perceptive that I had Utah roots, what with my Brigham Young beard and Harold B. Lee glasses. Well, I hadn't seen that guy in quite some time, and we were in Salt Lake visiting family when, sitting on a restaurant patio, we see the panhandler walk by! I guess that confirmed his story. Either that or he's stalking us.

Anyway, one panhandler this morning caught my attention, which is saying something, since I try to avoid eye contact (a technique I learned from the Norwegians I tried talking to about religion). The sign that caught my attention said, "Girlfriend KIDNAPPED by ninjas. Need money for ransom. Any bit helps." If I would have had any change on me, I would have given it to him, as that kind of creativity should be rewarded.