Category: Let's talk
the recent cut backs have impacted some 44 million Americans who rely on some form of public assistance to live. it is a cold, sad but true fact. employment for some of us is out of the question due to some form of physical barrier. in the recent future the food stamp program is going to take another hit. some of us will find ourselves scratching out heads trying to figure out how to put food on the table. perhaps we might need to spend less or ask local food banks for help?
when i was sighted i drove, often seeing panhandlers on a corner with a,"will work for food."sign. so it came to me. why cant we, the blind do the same? however, instead of the typical sign. we write the following,"it's a beautiful day but i cant see it!"
would this be too much? would we be judged harshley? perhaps we might get some t.v. coverage? who knows we might get some money. enought to feed out pizza addiction?
any thoughts? i ask cause i might just do it. hell. what do i have to lose!
Carlos I'll have to ask The Chick though she doesn't work with food banks.
I think there are two options where you can sure fire get food: First, go to the food bank itself. When I lived in Section 8 housing in college even druggies on SSI could go to those places. We did it when the daughter was a baby and we weren't very well off at all. The food you get needs to be checked out for expiration dates and things but some of it's stuff you probably haven't bought in awhile, stuff you haven't thought about.
I'm sure the dogmatics of the blind community would sling you a bit of hate. But since I am privileged to have a job, if you were in my neighborhood I might buy you a sammich or something.
LOL I could see where the dogmatics would jump down your throat for supposedly giving us more of a bad rep. Persoally Idon't see suc sings as being much if any more effective than putting a sign on a guide dog in harness saying please don't pet me.
I'm being a bad Leo, but Bryan your post made me think:
How about putting "Please don't Pet me" on the dog, and a sign that says, "But you can pet me instead," on the handler.
Mine will simply say "take me home. I'm house trained." Lol
leo, yes food banks do offer some relief. thank you for the heads up on the expiration date thing. unfortuanetly canned foods have so much potasium and other blends of products i am prohibeted from ingesting. i am on diealyses. so i need to maintain a strict diet. i can see where we might be given a bad rep but what the hell. middle america needs to be comprised of the situation facing our small minor community!
wayne, can you also fetch slippers? if so, beautify tropical and beachy fort lauderdale is waiting for you!
brian, i have tried the,"do not pet me!" sign. sighted fuckers still pet him. poor baby. *sights* anyone else? would you pan handle to make ends meat? to assist in paying the rent? meds? holler back. one never knows what the future holds.
I can! Be right down. I'm hungry. Lol
Much warmer down there too. If I have to sleep outside for a while, I can deal.
wayne, i wouldnt allow such a thing! no matter how bad you were in fetching the slippers! silly
so, as the month of march drwas closer i am left pondering on the seriousness of me panhandling. 15 opercent of my 914 check is going to be garnished. so if i want to maintain my head above water i will need to come up with the 137 dollars the us dep of ed is going to take from me. it is injury to insult when i live below the porverty level. no matter told me a rep of the us treasury dep it is all relative. so thinking of calling back only this time with a recorder recording the whole conversation so i can post it on fb, twatar and on this site. not that it will matter. i say where are all the robin hoods of our time? damn hackers wont help a porr bastard out for nothing.
i am getting help from a food bank. i need to show up and get my bag of grocery's. as for rent assistance there is non in this area willing to help me out. i need to be on the verge of being evictied. so, any suggestions on how i can talk my landlord into writing up a letter stateing i will get kicked out if i dont pay two months worth of rent? cheers
Carlos, can you play guitar?
ai know some parts of the country are less friendly about this than others, but I have known street musicians before, made an anthropological study of them in college. Some of them can do quite well, depending on what corner they pick.
It's not really begging, you're providing a diversion from the day's humdrum. And yes, if I like what I hear, I give money.
Our system is really stacked against people doing some of the smaller things for money, what with all the regulations working peple carry as burdens while giant outfits can skirt.
PanHandling ain't what it used to be.
In many parts of the country it is illegal, which involves the courts (don't count on legal aid), and fines or jail.
So much for our love of people who creatively work to survive.
Bob
No kidding. I remember when I visited Seattle a few years ago when my brother and his wife still lived there and we saw o small number of street musicians. If I still had my guitar I might actually consider doing that since it would be doing something I enjoy rather tha some makework job like piano tuning or call center work.
In the book "the blind in school and society", one of the early books written about blindness, there is a chapter devoted to "the dignity of Mendicanism" (the author's term for panhandling.)
Jimmy Rogers, the old yoddler, used to sing about hobos riding the rails.
A few years ago, before I retired, I rented a house in Austin Texas in which I provided rooms for a few homeless people. They always told me I should try panhandling. So I did. I took my accordion out on the streets and played for a couple of hours with a coffee can at my feet.. I made $18.31, not a bad haul for a couple of hours work.
However, I was afraid some of my colleagues would see me, and my job would certainly be jeopardized. I worked for the commission for the blind, and I doubt they'd see this as a posssitive example for our clients. Plus my next meal didn't depend on it.
But, for me, it was certainly a worthwhile experience.
Bob
Yeah.I don't see many Commissions endorsing that as a possible option.
If I was having trouble making ends meet, yes. I know a little guitar. I played the trumpet for all most 8 years in several school bands, so that is probably the closest to a natural skill that I have honed. The problem with that though is how I would come up with the money to get a trumpet. It costed $750 or so just to rent the one I used to have which didn't have to be completely paid off, but if it was (which it was paid off completely) I was allowed to keep it. Too bad my douchebag father threw everything I left there in the trash or sold it in a garage sale, otherwise I could use it. I guess there's also the option of putting together some matterial and doing stand-up. I did it a couple times at some open-mic events and it attracted some attention, but I don't know if that would be a viable way to earn some green. I'm ok for now though but it's food for thought
Honestly, Carlos. I don't agree with the writing. I'm not saying the panhandleing, but the writing. You don't need to see to know it's a beautiful day. But even if I saw that on your sign, I wouldn't deny you of anything I could give. Mine will say, For rent. lol! :)
I liked the signs about the dogs lol..
Bob that was an interesting experience to read! I think I'd be to scared to do something like that.
I resent street musicians being treated as unproductive.
I've been that guy, the one with the totally worn-out expression coming home from work, who has stood a few extra minutes next to a street musician and paid for their efforts, because they willfully altered the mood, and made for a better day. And I resent being criticized for patronizing such people. They're doing a service, many times, and many are actually quite good. The reason they're not in an orchestra or a band or something? Music is extremely competitive to get into, oh and some of them are in orchestras or bands, just not making enough money.
I love small enterprise of any kind, and hate regulations, legal and dogmatic, which serve to stifle it. It's a fucking 1984 the way some people act about this stuff.
The other day I was playing my ukulele in the park, when it had warmed up to the 50s. I was just enjoying myself, found a private spot, had my uke bag folded away. No harm. But the street musicians are on corners where people are standing around waiting for the bus, in the endless treadmill of work life. Street musicians add spice, vitality and spark to the city, in my opinion. People who kick street musicians around would best serve as pilings at the bottom of the river.