Panhandling veteran gets up out of his wheelchair and walks.
I do not recommend that anyone do what I do. I collect cardboard signs from people begging money who claim to be veterans. Only once have I found it to be an actual veteran with honorable service. That one stayed in one of my apartments for 3 weeks until he moved to live with a family member. The Soviet has asked that I not “collect” signs and such while she is standing or sitting right next to me. A few weeks back in Savannah, GA when I came across one of these guys sitting with a USMC RECON sign, I didn’t even have to say anything to her. She just calmly walked across the street and waited for me. If there is one thing I can not stand it’s people begging for money as veterans…fake or otherwise. If there is one thing I love it is a woman who lets me participate in my hobbies at a whims notice.
An Idaho resident is warning others about giving money to two panhandlers in the Post Falls area after he saw one of them get up out of his wheelchair and walk to his car following a day’s ‘work’ of begging for change.
Tim Stephens said in a Facebook post that he had stopped a Walmart in the area when he saw a man with an eye patch sitting in a wheelchair near the exit asking people for money. He said the man was holding a sign that read: ‘USMC (United States Marine Corp) thanks and God bless.’
Stephens said after he left the store he pulled into a parking lot across the street so his grandchildren could eat their food. As he was parked, he said a white car pulled into a space a few spots down from him.
Of course it turned out that this “person of interest” could walk and see just fine.
Stephens was so angry over situation he confronted the panhandler waiting in the car. He said when he approached the vehicle the guy’s lap was full of cash and he had removed his eye patch because he didn’t need it.
‘I asked … if he was busy counting all that money he stole from people,’ Stephens posted. ‘He looked up at me with no eye patch and both eyes. With a grin he said “every penny”. He was lucky I had my grandkids with me.’
Stephens said he told the guy that he needed to leave town, and then went across the street the same thing.
‘Watch out for these thieves,’ he warned.
The entire article with pictures and such is available HERE.
As I said, I do NOT recommend anyone do what I do in these situations. I calmly and convincingly explain to these gentlemen that it is not my preference for them to beg for money in the name of veterans and through thoughtful meditation and careful reconsideration they give me their sign. Once, while both of my sons watched from the vehicle, one of these beggars was kind enough to give me a baseball bat. That was very thoughtful and considerate of him. Fairly sure my oldest son still has that bat. Please, do not try this at home…call your local Law Enforcement Officer.
Category: Dumbass Bullshit
“…He said the man was holding a sign that read: ‘USMC (United States Marine Corp) thanks and God bless…’
“USMC” in this case stands for “Useless Shitbag Mooching Cash”…
Ok, you can all pack it in. Combat Historian won the Internet today.
Game over. I got nothin’
The dead giveaway was he neglected to have two road guards and someone to count Cadence with him. A sure sign someone is impersonating a Marine.
Gee, I have never felt the urge to panhandle for any reason.
But with a skinny, hungry, cantankerous black cat to feed, plus the calico bumming food from me on the front steps every day, I may have to get out at the corner with a cardboard sign.
How’s this: “Pet my Pussy for $1.00”
Seriously, the calico is very pretty and friendly.
Ex….im not sure whether to be shocked or aroused right now. thanks. I think.
Careful, it’s all fun and games until someone gets poked.
It gets even more serious when the petting starts.
Especially if the pussy doesn’t want to be petted. They can react violently.
Maybe I should put all 7 of my cats in a play pen and sit down on the hiway and beg for money! I could have a sign that reads Wilted Willy’s pussy ranch needs your money???
Willy, if you do that, please send us pictures!!!
Best laugh I’ve had this morning!
Yeah, I gotta see that !!!
Ex, you crack me up!
Thank you!
I’m just gonna go and stand over there.
I’m down with that. Lol
Panhandling phony ‘homeless veterans’ are found at road intersections throughout my grid square during the summer months, and their pathetic bullshit is annoying as hell.
TINS: every afternoon on the way home from work, I pass a shithead carrying a cardboard ‘homeless Vietnam vet’ sign whose begging costume consists of Vietnam-era OD slant pocket jungle utilities, jungle boots, an OD bush cover, a cartridge belt, and it’s topped off by an ALICE pack.
All of this assclown’s gear looks brand new (like he just bought it from a surplus store), and he’s definitely younger than me (I was too young to go to the Viet of the Nam).
And people actually stop and give him money.
It’s infuriating.
Mick…….you had me at Alice Pack! After humping a 60-80 pound ruck around, no real grunt ever wants to see that s o b again!
For the benefit of those not in the know, we did not have the ALICE pack in the Viet of the Nam. I left in late 1971, and never saw an ALICE pack. In fact, I don’t think they were issued until sometime after 1974. In the 10thSFG(A) when I left AD, we were still using the old mountain rucksack with the aluminum frame and the internal framed small ruck issued in RVN.
I must correct myself. I recall seeing the first ALICE packs in about 1973 at Devens. We used to get experimental gear from Natick labs to try out. They didn’t show up in most units until late 1973 and 1974. In any event, Viet of the Nam POSers are not historically accurate if they are sporting an ALICE pack.
DAMN!! That brings back memories of Boy Scout Troop 763 (Ft. Bragg). Back in 1964-68 most of us boys carried that “bergen” ruck, it got heavy. Many of us also word jungle boots and green berets — our troop was sponsored by the Special Forces Group.
We sometimes got hot “A”s and milk … delivered in a 2.5 ton truck. That happened when we got rained-out of our 50 Mile Hike in the Smokies. That food sure tasted good.
SF scout leaders were the best!
Thanks for the memories, rgr769.
word > wore
Some NCO’s who had been SF like forever still used the old Bergen style rucks because you could carry so much more gear in them. I had to carry that damn 35 pound hand crank generator in my ruck on our big UW exercise in Germany and it left little room for any of the rest of my gear.
“Stephens was so angry over situation he confronted…”
“… and then went across the street the same thing.”
Journalism be so good. I like see this.
I caught that too. It is as if a former Marine Grunt wrote it with his box of crayons.
I feel guilty because my first thought was that it was Dave Hardin, but I think Dave did received some benefit from his ‘Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar’ MCI. Me thinks, anyway.
As I tallied the Grammatical errors, I did note, also, that they were all in the grey boxes, the copy and paste area of the post, and not the writings of that Dave Hardin guy. I think that his spouse has made him attend her english classes, causing him to drop his Marine spelling, (or lack thereof), traits. He writes much to proper for the average Marine Grunt, don’t ya think?
too proper…just saying
Your wife have a gorgeous young niece with good spelling stuff by chance?
I tuk dat mci course…better than hookt on foniks.
Marines can spell and use proper grammar when they have to. But there is a reason they are sometimes referred to as ‘Grunts’.
Sister Mary Grace noticed the errors, too, but refused to buy a ticket to the UK to have a discussion with the editor of that UK rag. She said she’d have to go to confession twice – once before the discussion and once afterwards.
I like watching the pro panhandlers at shift change. A nice new cars pulls up two people with signs and a dog out and replace the two other people with a dog. The out going shift gets in the car and go’s home.
Seriously???
Yup!
It is very organized. They defend their spots aggressively and the only time the cops show up is when they borrow some kids for props.
YouTube has some great busts on this.
I’ve seen the same thing here many times. It’s very organized so that the corner is never vacant for any length of time. Other moochers would move in if given a few moments of vacancy. My pastor told us that on a good summer day, a busy intersection can generate $400-$600. These numbers supposedly came from PhD students who for whatever reasons did research on this group. I get pissed when they have a dog with them, tied to a pole in the summer w/o benefit of any shade. The busiest corner in town has a super busy car wash which frequently has a help wanted sign. I tell them to get a real job so they can feel better about themselves. They tell me to fuck myself. Aah, freedom of speech.
I think each city should outlaw them, or at least have the police dept confiscate ALL their misbegotten money and donate the money to the local mission! If they know they are going to leave the corner broke, they won’t come back!!
The baby guy got me one night. I was working at a 24 hour gas station in a three sided brick and bullet proof glass box with a brick office on the end (one man shifts). Guy approaches where I was working with his sleeping child over one shoulder. His story was that his wife had just given birth (or was about to; this was 20 years ago) and had just gotten out of the hospital. They were in a hotel around the corner. He just needed some money to go to KFC and buy some food to feed his family. I gave him a couple of bucks.
A week or so later he approached me in the Wal-Mart parking lot with the same kid on his shoulder. That’s when I knew I had been scammed. I was livid.
I really want to show up at some of these Corners with a prepared board that says I am a real veteran here is my DD-214 please do not give me anything but make sure who you’re giving things to are who they say they are
Someone tried a similar scam on me not too long ago. “I just left my abusive husband and my brother picked me up but we need a couple of dollars for gas.”
Scam didn’t work.
My favorite place to hunt for wannabees is gun shows . Can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a phony asshole . My Wife knows that we are looking for good buys on ammo and fakers . I love seeing how many SEALs there are after a gun show . Those are the first service caps to sell . Ever see a 400 pound SEAL ? Me neither !! My Wife knows that I’m too dumb to back down and after 36 years as a Peace Officer in the Great State of Texas I know that I don’t have a reverse gear .
But now , Dave has got me interested in the new hobby of collecting signs –sounds like fun .
MRS D has voiced concern about a hobby I wanted to start. Something about it’s illegal to collect man-buns, possible assault charges. I think a nice collection with a little tag on each one stating the date, time, and circumstances of the catch would look nice on the wall of D’s Cantina.
Hehehe.. great minds think alike SFC, my wife and I had a very similar discussion… For some reason, she also thinks it’s inappropriate to laugh at people who dress like clowns (actually, i think it’s the pointing while laughing that really got her..)
I did give a 20 spot to a vet on a modified skateboard once because I didn’t think he was faking it. He had no legs.
On another note, I was teaching an airlift class at the FBI headquarters in West L.A. many years ago. Each morning on the way from my hotel to there I’d see a different panhandler rotating each three days. I mentioned that to the class lead and he said they were very familiar with that crew. The each owned a house and a nice car.
I came up with the idea of getting a coffee can together of nickels, dimes, and quarters and standing out there next to them; only my sign would read like theirs “Need Change” but with a question mark on the head. I would then go up and down the line of cars trapped at the light and ask the drivers if they needed some change.
The FBI agent advised against that, as he was claiming to be looking out for my safety.
Gary, it wasn’t this guy you gave the $20, was it? 😀
As I recall the guy I gave money to was indeed much shorter. (:
One of my favorite scenes from any movie, that was it.
The Italian-looking cop is Tom Mardirosian. He’s an Army vet, a member of the Special Forces theatre troop at Fort Bragg, toured Third Army service clubs, performing the works of Brecht, Ibsen and Shakespeare.
Just a bit of trivia.
I appreciate that trivia, PH2! I like shit like that.
My dad taught me all about “Bums” when I was a kid walking around Boston with him. They were all over the MTA subway stations and especially the Bus terminal in Park Square.
His advice was to ignore them but this modern day phony veteran crap makes that very difficult especially now that I am older and a war veteran myself. God forbid I should approach one and end up in jail.
I bust them out all of the time.
Fuck this clowns.
The louder they get, the more fake they are.
Is there a heart handshake and a warm cup of soup involved?
Or does this call for an ice cream sandwich?
I see the same thing down here at the intersections. Point of note, When I was working up north, There were these 2 Nuns sitting on chairs in front of the entrance to Penn Station/Madison Square Garden holding little baskets and people were always dropping money into. They were at this site for more years than I can remember and at one point, I found out that they were not members of the Clergy. I think that it was in the news papers.
SanFran has fake Buddhist monks in robes now begging.
Oh, so that’s where all the Hare Krishans went?
I wondered what would happen to them when the airports tightened security.
Ex; When we used to do stops in the NY Port Authority and Penn Station, During the Viet Nama days, the Hare Krichnas were all over the place like peanut butter then in 1975, you really didn’t see them anymore. Remember those huge weddings involving hundreds of krishnas on the nightly news?
Those and the Moonies weddings, where REV Moon picked out who got paired with whom.
Anyone see the resemblance between the Moonies and North Korea? It was strange, except the Norks always look starved and the Moonies always looked overfed.
All that stopped when they were running for office in Oregon and trying to poison the locals so they could control the vote! imo
I couldn’t resist…..
http://youtu.be/BHcd-srsSBY
Checked out your youtube video BlueCord. Nice.
Sorry BlueCord, saw this after putting my link above. Great minds. 🙂
No problem. So nice it posted twice😎
In my area there’s a big network of them going on. They do traffic reports, they know rush hour traffic patterns, they all have better phones than I do, etc etc. It is an obscene amount of money being given in a day.
However, many of them do not have nice places to live because they get gummint housing and just use the money for their drug fix. I have a friend who’s a social worker in this area and he’s already tagged every one of them and knows because his job requires him to find them places to live.
At the same time, the homeless veteran thing really isn’t a problem. The ones that are still homeless and are valid veterans have so many programs to give them a place to live it is crazy. From what I understand, the homeless veterans that are homeless, don’t want a home by choice.
My buddy was asked to find homeless female veterans because someone gave a grant for tiny homes to be used for homeless female veterans. They couldn’t find any in about a 75 mile radius of multiple towns and organizations.
Greeting Eric, I ran into a homeless vet last year and for months I had no idea he was homeless. I knew him from when he was in and I’d see him many mornings at the eatery on my base. It was not until he asked me to take him to a shelter that I realized he was homeless. He’d been staying in the lobby of a usually vacant billeting building that was only used on weekends for Reservists drilling. He’d shower at the base gym.
I took him to that shelter but once there I realized there was no way I was going to leave him in that crowd of druggies and hoodlums. Plus the area smelled like a dump. Besides, Christmas was that week. I ended up fixing him up in a cheap motel for a week and then got him billeting on base through New Years until he could get a room at a newly built nearby homeless vet apartment building.
That guy never asked for a thing but I invested over $1,000 in him.
BTW, did you see my response to the question of E-10s?
Yeah it’s not to say there aren’t homeless vets, but usually they just need a bit of a lift and they’ll be off and running to take care of themselves.
There are a few places here that I see where I wouldn’t want any veteran to be in proximity to them as well.
For a few months in the 90s I was sleeping on a friend’s floor because I was having a difficult time, then I went to Bosnia. A couple years later I went active duty and that took care of my money issues extremely well. At the same time, I was able to help others and be generous, which I hope pays it forward for them to help someone else when they are in a position to.
Were you there during SFOR? I spent time in Sarajavo, Bana Luka, and Mostar. I was responsible for all the AF Satcom assets in-country.
For R&R a snipe buddy of mine who traveled the country with me would go to Dubrovnik. Now that is a place I’d like to take my wife to someday and have something planned in about four years.
She’s always wanted to see the world but I told her she doesn’t want to go to most of the places I went. However, I was able to take leave while in Afghanistan and meet her and three of our kids at Heathrow to take the train up through Scotland. That was the fastest 10 days of my life.
I got to Sarajevo in June 97 and we left in January 98 to come home. I was there mostly, but I did a couple week long trips to other places like MND-N and Livno. I took my R&R in Germany, though the guy I replaced kept telling me about going to Split because it was so cool. But, I didn’t get a chance to go there.
It seemed like, even in the 90s the coastal cities of Croatia were all fantastic places to be. I didn’t hear any complaints from TF members that were stationed in those cities either.
Did you stay at the Ilidza; the former Tito resort? I recall the buildings around me being roped off due to booby-traps. I was bunked in a small room with three SAS Brits with two tightly packed bunk beds in it. Below there were still bodies on ice. In areas I traveled, especially in the Mostar area entire villages were bombed out and one dare not stop and step off the road for fear of the landmines. It reminded me of pictures of Dresden in WWII. On the base of Mostar in order to get to the Satcom terminal one had a narrow path to follow; as to the sides landmines were still an issue.
That country was full of death. The locals had those blank stares in their eyes and I don’t recall seeing a lot of middle-aged people. I was told by a local that people grow old very fast or they’re dead.
I never did get to Split but I recall a few things about Dubrovnik. For starters on the road there, there were no guard rails and with one mistake one could easily fall 50 feet into the drink of the Adriatic Sea. I also recall drinking at a bar with my sniper bud from Texas and meeting an Irish guy there with the United Nations. While drinking they both spoke of once leaving they would return to their homeland and join a separation movement; Irishman Jerry with the IRA and Texas Steve with the Texas is its own country shit.
The irony did not escape me. We were all there for the purposes of keeping a country from splintering yet both the other two wanted to return so as to do that very thing to their country.
I worked at Ilidza, but I was living out of the parliament building (as we called it because they took a gummint building and turned it into barracks for SFOR peeps).
I remember the beaten down buildings on ilidza though. My office was on the West side of the compound next to a coffee shop, so I used to hang out in there for breaks once in a while with the coffee ladies. Good times.
A couple of trips I took by helicopter, which was way cooler, but I also had to do a hmmwv convoy up to MND-N for a week’s enjoyment of doing something that meant nothing.
My task force wasn’t allowed to drink alcohol because the last TF we replaced were drunken assholes.
It sucks when those before you screw it up for you.
I wish I had a way to post some of my pics from there but I can’t figure that shit out.
In reference to a previous discussion and so you don’t have to go back and search for it below was my response;
—————————————–
It looks like I stepped on my dick not once but twice. It was Aja Smith’s grandfather (WWII, Korean, Vietnam War vet) who was a Chief Master Sergeant IN the Air Force, not OF the Air Force. I heard her wrong. Also, I can find no evidence of my claim that CMSgt’s of the AF are E-10s. I cannot for the life of me remember where I picked that up; though it made sense to me at the time. I also have to let my father know that because he’d called me a few years ago and asked if I’d retired as an E-10 and I told him that was a special rank.
If I’m voted off the island I will more than understand. Then again if I don’t screw up at least once a day I simply don’t feel complete. It also proves what I’ve suspected for a while – that the wheel is spinning but the hamster’s dead. All I know right now is that “in the near future there will be no wars … but there will be … Roller Ball!”
Well, no worries. I’m not sure how else to respond. That was quite a lot of data. lol
There was a local news story a couple years back here exposing a woman who was panhandling as a fraud. She had a nice car, a house, a job. She was unashamed of being caught too. Was panhandling for vacation money. Her point was that people were freely giving her the money. As I recall she was pulling in like $500/day.
When I retired from the Post Orifice after 20 years working nights, my co-workers gave me a cardboard sign with a reflective tape border as a going away gift. It read:
“Jay-Z and Beyoncé had twins. I need money for a gift”.
When I got word my last check was ready for pickup, I was by the entry gate waiting for my co-workers to give me access with my sign. I got $10 pretty quickly.
Once inside the plant, I then gifted them with 4 dozen fresh Krispy Kreme donuts and repaid the $10.
I remember when I was working a Contract Job near Memphis one summer and I would frequent the downtown area on weekends riding the Trolley and enjoying the attractions when a Trolley Motorman I befriended told me about the “Professional Panhandlers” telling me that at least ninety percent would use one of three sob stories, one was that they had just gotten out of prison and had no money, another was that a Judge had given them until midnight to get out of town and they were just a few dollars away from getting a bus ticket, and I can’t remember the third one right now but sure enough he was right! My sympathy for them went out the window during my days as a Trucker when I’d offer them food only to be cussed at with them demanding cash! Hey Dave, how many signs do you have in your collection so far?
We had a women with a sign needing money for food and rent. I tried to ask questions and she kept shaking her head not understanding. She kept saying BOSNIA, until she said I speak little bit Spanish. As I called 911 on my cell muttering bullshit she took off running.
Jumped in my car and boxed her and a caddy full of Mexican friends (yelling move the fucking car asshole until my son showed his gun) in until a deputy arrived.
He told me cars full come down south and let the girls beg while the men protect them.
License plate was phony and none had ID. All arrested car towed…
He has what is known as a drunkmobile. They’re the ones, driven by the daily drunk, with the dents and color from the things–usually parked cars–they hit, bumped and sideswiped.
Saw a guy once with a sign “why lie, I need beer money”. Was seriously tempted to grab a six-pack and share it with him, so he didn’t have to drink alone.
I once saw one with a sign saying “Need Money for Beer” so I gave him a few bucks for his honesty.
Same here. I know it’s enabling their bad habits, but I do appreciate the honesty.
Anyone ever see a Navy/Air Force/Coast Guard Veteran needs help sign? Those that I’ve seen that ID branch always are Army/USMC. Dahell.
From being one, I can definitely say that we Marines do need help… Right Dave Hardin?
Not sure there is much that will help us at this point. Save the young ones, too much whiskey and women to save the likes of me.
STORY ALERT, SORRY!
When I was younger and fresh out of the Army, I was helping a friend doing construction. We were working on top of a two story building downtown Raleigh, NC. One of my co-workers had a weird sense of humor. Noticing the panhandlers on the sidewalk below he came up with a plan. He got there early the next morning and epoxied several quarters to the sidewalk. Then from his vantage point on the roof two stories above, he waited until the panhandlers arrived, then started throwing pennies down on the sidewalk. The panhandlers would hear the sound of the penny hit the sidewalk, look down and see the quarter and try to pick it up. We laughed our asses off watching them try to pick up the glued down quarters. Finally they noticed us laughing and cursed us out and moved on. The police even showed up and thought it was hilarious. Good times!
Station Commander, when I was on recruiting duty in Chicago, glued quarters and a fifty cent piece to the sidewalk in front of our office window. We’d watch to see who took the bait. If they looked the right age, we would go out and ask if they were knew there was an enlistment bonus if they could qualify.
Do believe more of us have taken up Dave’s hobby. He was always a leader and trend setter. Is the uniform of the day still a pink robe? I see these low life bastards every where. Pisses me off, don’t give them nothing, and call them out on their bull shittery.
Strangely I do this as well.
Pro Tip – I don’t keep the signs or handle them with ungloved hands.