Observations On Beggars

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 76 degrees, high 97 degrees, partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies

Well, the professional beggars in this area are still working hard at plying their trade. We have noticed a core group of beggars composed primarily of men that rotates between several of the busiest intersections in the area. They appear to have worked out a schedule among themselves that keeps people stationed at the intersections, but the individual beggars change intersections on a routine basis. That rotation appears to be an attempt to make people think that new beggars are moving in. That doesn't seem to be the case to us, as we see the same people showing up at different intersections.

Is that rotation and schedule of people at different intersections an example of American ingenuity and initiative? I tend to think it is, as the beggars try to maximize their income with the least amount of effort. In addition, enough new motorists go through the intersections every day so that at least some of them give money without realizing that the beggars have been here for weeks.

The majority of the beggars are white and middle aged to retirement age. I've often wondered why some of these people who are obviously old enough to be drawing Social Security benefits are standing out in the hot sun begging, instead of sitting on the front porch in the shade, or better yet, in the air conditioning watching television. Our daughter Terri has helped in the treatment of people who were mentally sick that were homeless through their own choice, but those people were not beggars. There's no doubt that some of the beggars are mentally ill, but I have a feeling most of them have chosen to live the way they do.

The beggars we're seeing here are not the first we've seen in our travels, but these do seem to be the most organized. The youngest beggars we saw were in Eureka, California. The reason so many young people were begging there was because of all the marijuana being grown in the area. And can you believe they were the happiest beggars we have seen?

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Eureka, California: Queen City Of The Ultimate West

Not all who wander are lost