I hear you Dog....I'm also one of those guys that usually will give the buck or two in my wallet to someone desperate enough to ask for it on the street....I think being kind to strangers and people in need is the right thing to do, but I'm also becoming a skeptic too.

I go to the Car Wash on Winchester Road in Lexington and have been going there for years. It's not in the best area, but it's near my office and has the highest pressure in town. I get panhandled there a lot. Last fall, I had a guy come up to me asking for some cash, because his car was broke down and he wanted to check in to the motel next door with his wife and kid for the night. (There is a motel next door, all be it a pretty rough one.) I sat there for a minute and for some reason the guy just didn't seem sincere to me. I told him that I would gladly pay for a night at the motel next door for he and his family if they were in a rough spot...then I said let's walk next door and get y'all checked in. He was real quick to say thanks, but you don't have to take time to come check me in, you can just help me out with the cash. I told him that I didn't have cash but would pay for his night in the motel room with my credit card. Then, the guy called me something that rhymes with bass and hole and stumbled off. True story.

On the flip side, my wife and I were coming home one night and stopped at a Long John Silvers to eat supper...we had the baby with us and were pretty occupied fooling with her...but I noticed a guy sitting out front on the curb who looked pretty rough. He kept looking inside at us and when I would make eye contact he'd look away real quick and put his head down. I came to the conclusion that he was either homeless or in real bad shape...then I thought about how fortunate I was to be sitting there eating supper with my wife and kid, a few dollars in my pocket, and a home to go to...so I went up to the counter, spent $5 on a meal to-go, and took it to him outside. He didn't say much, and I think he was mentally challenged somehow, but he tore into that sack and ate like it was his last meal. I asked him if he had a place to go and he didn't answer me. Stuff like that tears me up wanting to help...and then stuff like the guy at the car wash trying to pull a scam for booze/drug money makes me fire engine red with anger...

I guess that's just the way it goes.