Beggars (go get your coffee, it's a long one)

 Last night I found out that ex-stripper and long time fan of Kid Rock has spent all her money going to concerts this summer. Her husband gave her an ultimatum, it's either me and the family or him. She tried, she really did, but just couldn't put her marriage and family above her love for Kid Rock.  But she's really sad now, all her money is gone. She is in her forties, her dancing skills have diminished and apparently she doesn't want to pin a name tag on those gigantic implants and sling hash. She is so sad, she cannot afford the several thousand dollars that it takes to go on the Kid Rock Cruise. So sad.  Enter Go Fund Me. "send xzxzxz (xxxzzz) xzxzx on a cruise". Her friends are raising money to send her on the party cruise... again.  She feels horrible, she knows she's been several times before, but she would be so, so SAD if she missed this one.

Did you know that if you put "poems about beggars" into the Google search engine, you get about 385 results.  If you go to GoFundMe.com to any of the various categories, you get page after page (into the tens of thousands) of people asking for money for non-emergency, non-charitable events. Beggars is what I call them. You don't have the money (or don't want to spend your own funds) for your wedding, honeymoon, vacation, trip or cruise...beg someone to buy it for you.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are lots of people on this site that legitimately need funds. Good decent folks that have fallen upon hard times due to no fault of their own. There are all together too many people that have experienced tragedy and need money to pay for hospital procedures, trips to out of state medical facilities, bone marrow transplants, moneys to help after a fire that destroyed everything they own, things like that. I understand this, sympathize with their plights and often donate to these causes.

Until last night I had no idea that Go Fund Me was for anything except charity. I try to keep up to date on current events, to a degree. I use a computer, a smart phone, have Netflix, have several social media accounts, read the news and know way too much about celebrities, but I didn't know this. I just didn't know. I seriously thought that all Go Fund Me accounts were set up for charity.  I am not unfeeling. I feel bad when I read of someone who has come upon hard times and I do realize that the old small town fundraisers of my youth are not enough to pay for all the needs of the less fortunate. Which takes me down another avenue. Sigh.

All the needs. To slightly misquote Hamlet..."therein lies the rub".  I, personally, do not think that all the needs must be met by the thousands of kind hearted people who have empathy and sympathy for those who have fallen upon hard times. In my opinion, it is a nice thing to help out folks, but I don't feel compelled to completely relieve the suffering of all people. I don't think it is my job. If, in your belief system, you do, then so be it. Give until you are in worse shape than they. You may get your reward. Perhaps someone will start a Go Fund Me page for you. I do not know.

Back in the day, in the olden days, back when we were kids, instead of online help groups, there were benevolent societies and organizations (usually run by local worship centers) for families that needed help. I, myself, have used my chubby little hands and made up care packages filled with soaps, washcloths, toothbrushes and toothpaste, to send to the poor children. I have always been well taken care of and often spoiled as a child and as an adult, as well.  As a child, we were loved and taken care of the point that I never grasped that the weekly box of groceries my uncle brought my mom often helped keep us from being those poor children. As an adult, I have been blessed to have family and friends pitch in when I needed help. So I have been there, I emphasize and sympathize when I hear of someone who is in trouble, I really do. 

So let me drag you back to the beggars. There are still people that would rather be jobless and beg money at traffic lights than hold down a traditional job. There are still people that begging money is their job. They are willing to stand at the highway entry ramp to the mall, in the freezing cold, every day to make money. They won't take Burger King coupons, either. They want your money. Personally, if I needed money, I would much rather be inside taking customer orders, making beds, greeting patrons, even listening to office politics, anything other than standing outside begging.  Perhaps they just like being outdoors... and cannot find a job doing landscaping, holding a flag for road construction, shoveling asphalt. Maybe holding a sign or a plastic bucket is now considered a prime skill set. Maybe I really am much more out of touch than I thought.

What ever happened to having a sense of pride? Pride for a job well done?  Maybe they do take pride in the amount of money they are making from this new career. This career that is apparently called "let someone else pay, pay, pay my way".

Yes, my friends, there is an app for that.