Effective Panhandlers

Homelessness appears to be more of a problem here in New York than in other cities where I have lived. Many are homeless because of their poor choices; others are homeless because of horrible situations that are out of their control. While there is nothing funny about homelessness, I have found that some of the signs that panhandlers hold are hilarious.

Last week, I was walking out of the library and there was an older homeless gentleman with a sign that said, “NYU Tuition Fund.” That made me chuckle all the way home.

Wife and I were walking down Broadway, when we saw a fellow with a sign that read, “I am a veteran, and I have cancer, and I lost both legs in the war, AND my dog died.” I began to sympathize for this guy’s situation until I looked at him and realized the sign was a joke (earlier in the day we had seen each of those statements on different panhandlers’ signs).

This afternoon, wife and I saw a sign with “Sith lord killed my family. Need money for a new light saber.” Possibly, the fellow holding the sign was mentally deranged, but I’m guessing he just wanted a creative sign to grab attention – and, based upon the pile of cash, it appeared to be working.