Handing Out Money

When I was eighteen, I was working two eight-hour jobs and, although neither of them was paying me a fortune, one of them, at least, paid pretty well for the time. Since I didn't drink or do drugs and was paying very little for an apartment above a Greyhound station, and sharing that cost with a friend of mine, I had more money than I needed. My friend was in a similar situation, although we didn't work for the same companies.

One night, not too long before Christmas, we handed about $500 out to people on the sidewalks of Marinette, Wisconsin in $5, $10, or $20 denominations. A lot of people refused to take anything, and it wasn't long before someone called the police.

At eighteen, I probably looked more like sixteen, since I was thirty years old before I could grow a beard, and we both had long hair and were not at all dressed as if we were wealthy. When the police arrived, they seemed to think that we must have stolen the money, but I suppose they were confused as to why we would steal money only to hand it out to strangers on the sidewalk. I can't remember exactly how the conversation went but it was clear that they couldn't figure out what was going on and thought that, somehow, we must be breaking a law somewhere.

Before it was over, there were four of them there, and I think they had to call a couple of people in because I doubt there were more than two cops on duty at any given time in Marinette. We wouldn't answer any questions about where the money came from and, seemingly, they didn't have any reports of money having been stolen, so they eventually left, but they did so hesitantly. As it turned out, it was more fun than anything else I could have done with that money.

 

That's pretty cool, except for the part about the cops not citing you for violating the law, but were out to prove you've done something wrong. ("Free nation" my ass.)

I've enjoyed giving my "Stimulus Check" back to people who are still out there working in this mess. A few of my regulars got $100. My minimum tip for reasonable meal service has bumped up to $20. There have been some who have seen what I've done, like my barber ("Do you know what you just gave me?") and there have been others where I've just left it on the table wrapped in a $1 bill.

Not only is it more blessed to give, it almost feels like a selfish act sometimes.

 

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Yeh, you gotta wonder if they declined in a "Give it to someone who really needs it" manner, or if it was done in a "What are you trying to get from me, I'm gonna call the cops" manner. It sounds like there was at least one person who fell in Camp B.

 

I think I'd thank them for the offer and tell them to give it where it's truly needed. Heck, I might give them some money to spread around, since they're already making the effort...maybe enlarge the scope of the story they've got to tell the rest of their lives.