I.
I keep seeing a bumper sticker that says, “If you think you’re perfect, try walking on water.” It annoys me, not because of the sentiment so much, but because it doesn’t make any sense. What does walking on water have to do with perfection? I have to think that when we’re running down the list of things that make a person or a religious figure perfect, the ability to walk on water must be pretty far down the list. If thinking about Jesus walking on water keeps you humble, that’s cool, but using that to make other people feel crappy about themselves doesn’t strike me as especially Jesusy. Now, if it read something like, “If you think you’re perfect, try loving everyone, all the time, no matter what,” that would make much more sense. It is equally unattainable, but at least it’s constructive.
II.
For the past several years I have been wondering about the phenomenon of people begging for money at busy intersections in suburban neighborhoods. It makes sense, of course, that begging might best be done in places where there is money, but what has me vexed is that I only see this in Maryland. It took me by surprise in Silver Spring, and I wondered if it was just that area, but it happens here, too. The people begging fall into three categories, generally:
1. Man who actually looks homeless and mentally ill, often holding a cardboard sign that says something like, “Homeless veteran, please help.” Sometimes the cardboard will specify a war.
2. Man with a weird limp, massive leg wound, or missing a limb, usually appears far too well groomed to be homeless.
3. Person who is fairly well groomed and clean, holding a cardboard sign containing his / her life’s story, and sometimes a picture of a kid.
When did this start happening? Maybe it’s partly a scam – the limpers, I strongly suspect- that hasn’t made its way up to Philly yet. And for the legitimately un-aboded, where are they sleeping around here? It’s sad, and there isn’t much as far as places to go.
