Why is it that whenever I get approached by a homeless person, I instantly feel like they have the upper hand? I start stuttering and getting nervous like this guy knows EXACTLY how much money is in my wallet. Only a few occasions in my life have I been able to truthfully tell a homeless man that I am dead broke. As in "Sir, I'm serious, I've got ZERO dollars on me." If I'm in Boston, I usually have the wherewithal to bring whatever money I'll need. But if it's Sunday morning, and the previous night went well, I'm lucky to have money for a coffee.
Which brings me to the Tito Ortiz thing. What was the one thing Tito had in back pocket? Not money, but truth. (Ok, he's definitely got money, too.) But this man doesn't feel an iota of guilt telling a bum to GTFO. And that's because he can look him in the eye and say "I came from the streets. Laziness gets you no where."
I didn't come from Cohasset or Newton, but I certainly didn't come from the streets. So when bums ask for cash, I desperately want to tell them that I'm broke too, but I usually relent, and fork over (at least) a dollar. Only on those rare occasions where I TRUTHFULLY have no dollars on me, that I can tell them, "Sorry, man, I got nothing for ya."
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