{"id":934,"date":"2012-03-19T11:39:20","date_gmt":"2012-03-19T16:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=934"},"modified":"2012-03-25T22:25:06","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T03:25:06","slug":"flim-flam-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=934","title":{"rendered":"Flim Flam Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change, a cold march wind whipping\u00a0around\u00a0me, blowing under my coat. I pulled my collar up around my cheeks and ears and willed the red hand to change to the white walking stick figure on the post in the median. \u00a0It was noon, walkers darting around\u00a0and between each other on\u00a0their\u00a0way to or from lunch or a meeting.I was\u00a0conscious\u00a0of the growing crowd gathering around me at my corner and tucked my shoulder bag closer to my waist. \u00a0This\u00a0is the big city\u00a0with\u00a0pick\u00a0pockets\u00a0and all.<\/p>\n

I felt a tug at my elbow and looked down to see a man in a tattered wheelchair, wearing a flannel shirt, frayed at the collar, and a sweater too thin for the brisk spring weather.<\/p>\n

“Can you spare a dollar?” he asked loudly as he pulled his moth-eaten hat down far enough to cover his ears.<\/p>\n

“Homeless AND a wheelchair,” I thought. \u00a0“What were the odds.”<\/p>\n

“Just a dollar, for coffee,” he said. “I’m cold.”<\/p>\n

By now I was\u00a0conscious\u00a0of the eyes around me turning to look in my direction. I had just come from church so guilt and “the\u00a0least\u00a0of my\u00a0brethren” stuff was all fresh in my mind. So I reached for the buckle of my bag and pulled out my wallet.<\/p>\n

“I only have a twenty,” I said. “I’m sorry.”<\/p>\n

“Not to worry, mam, I’ve got change,” he said, sticking out a gloved fist to prove it.<\/p>\n

Now this was slick, I thought, a beggar\u00a0with\u00a0change.<\/p>\n

“Why don’t you give me the twenty and I’ll give you say sixteen or eighteen back, ” he added\u00a0with a\u00a0smoothness that was\u00a0beginning\u00a0to get on my nerves.<\/p>\n

By now the welcome walking man was beckoning from mid-street but to my dismay, half the crowd\u00a0stayed\u00a0transfixed on the the curb\u00a0beside\u00a0me, all focus on me and the homeless man in the wheelchair.<\/p>\n

Daunted by the pressure of the Obamaland eyes, \u00a0I handed the man the twenty and waited for my “change.”<\/p>\n

Grinning with surprisingly gleaming white choppers, he handed me a wad of sticky hot bills, stuffed the twenty under his hat and used both hands to turn the chair in the opposite direction, practically doing a wheely as he\u00a0disappeared\u00a0into the closest alley.<\/p>\n

Drama over, crowd dispersed, I shoved the money ball in my pocket and crossed the street to my garage, sure that\u00a0“T-A-K-E-N” blinked in neon across my forehead.<\/p>\n

I pushed the button for the floor named Cubs and listened to “Take me out to the ballgame” as the\u00a0elevator,\u00a0and my blood pressure, rose to the third floor.<\/p>\n

I got to my car, slid under the wheel and reached in my pocket to pull out my “change.” I slowly unfolded four one dollar bills.<\/p>\n

Not even enough to get me out of the garage.<\/p>\n

He’s the kind of guy that gives homeless people a bad\u00a0name.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change, a cold march wind whipping\u00a0around\u00a0me, blowing under my coat. I pulled my collar up around my cheeks and ears and willed the red hand to change to the white walking stick figure on the post in the median. \u00a0It was noon, walkers darting around\u00a0and …<\/p>\n

>>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFlim Flam Man - askmsmom.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=934\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flim Flam Man - askmsmom.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change, a cold march wind whipping\u00a0around\u00a0me, blowing under my coat. 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