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I do this thing with bums. No, not that thing. This other thing... I work downtown, so I get hit up for spare change a lot. There are your regulars that have their little section of building-side on their little section of street on their little block... and there are your drifters that may be DT briefly or maybe they are permanent but wander from edge to edge, combing the middle for compassionate suckers. I used to just brush them off... pretend like I didn't hear them. I think this was largely due to my feeling of getting scammed when I gave them money. I know this is a stereotype (probably mostly true), but it's not really my place to classify someone based on the cover and not the content of the book. I don't do that anymore... well, unless I have no money at all to give. I stop and look them in the eye and say, "Tell me something true about yourself." This usually gets an interesting reaction... but it's an exercise in the the human spirit. I ask them sincerely to tell me one thing that is true about themselves and in return I will give them whatever spare change I have to offer. It's not a hard job and that piece of information may mean nothing to everyone else on Earth, but to me it's worth the world.