OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home today
 

I left work about 1300 today, (Saturday 2/24/07). It was a beautiful day in San Diego, or more properly in La Mesa, the eastern suburb of SD where I live. It was warm, and the sun was shining brightly, so I put the top down on my little black Miata. On my way, I stopped at the Vine Ripe Market, (a middle-eastern food store), to get a kebab plate to take home.

As I came out with my food, there was a Mercedes 500, (the big sedan), stopped halfway out of its parking slot next to my Miata. A very elderly woman was speaking through the open passenger-side window to the driver. They had a very brief exchange, then the Mercedes drove away. I was curious, but figured it was none of my business.

As I was backing out of my parking slot, the elderly lady caught my eye and obviously wanted to speak. I stopped and listened. "Can you drive me to Costco, please?", she asked in strongly-accented english. Now, the Costco was only about 4-5 blocks down the street, albeit back the way I came from, so I said, "Yes, ma'am, of course.".

I grabbed my own stuff out of the passenger seat, stuffed it all behind the seats, and then loaded her seven bags of groceries in my trunk.

Easing herself down into the very low seat of my car, she quipped, "Next time you bring bigger car."

During our brief ride together, I learned that her name was Pali, she was Iranian, and her husband was waiting for her at Costco.

"Iran is greatest country on earth", she informed me, "but the regime is very bad!"

"Khomeini was not a religious man", she continued, "His father was a hindu, and his mother was an englishwoman!"

Hey, I'm a waiter, so keeping a straight face when I want to howl with laughter is a job skill. I practiced it diligently, as I nodded and murmured polite agreement.

By that time we were at Costco, where I pulled into the fire lane close by the front door, piled her groceries into a cart for her, and saw her safely across the passing traffic. This last, by the way, was no small thing. A Southern Californian in pursuit of a vacant parking space will run down a little old lady without blinking http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

As she tottered off to meet her husband, I marvelled at her worldview, and how different it was from mine in so many ways.

Pali obviously had no qualms at all about asking total strangers for a short ride, and then trusting them. To a modern urban american, that's an eyebrow raiser in a few different ways.

I can't help but feel a certain scorn for the wealthy woman in her Mercedes 500, who was too good to give an old lady a ride.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home today
 

Ah yes, southern california motorists... in my approximately 5 years in Los Angeles, I've probably been thisclose to dozens of accidents. As a pedestrian. Who knows how many more there would have been if I was driving?

Persians are some of the nicest people I know. Most likely because if they're here, that means they were trying to get away from the authoritarian theocracy that took over their country. So that usually means they are much more moderate, and therefore nicer http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

In a day and age where the Boy Scouts are viewed as evil, your children are not safe to walk or play out side without supervision, and your faith is tested each and everyday, I fear that I would have probably declined her request because I have become a weakened paranoid SOB who has been drum beaten by the daily onslaught of negative news into the mind set that I need to fear everything, including, regrettably, even harmless insightful little old ladies. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

That was nice you of, I probably wouldn't have helped, too suspicious. Not because of her ethnicity, just in general http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

And as to the southern cali drivers, PLEASE KEEP THEM IN YOUR STATE! We don't need or want them moving up north to Oregon or Washington. They are so rude and us country bumpkins don't like to flipped off by the well dressed yahoo with the cell phone in one ear, blackberry in one hand, passing us in his shiny BMW at 70 mph as we drive our John Deer down the two lane road marked 35 MPH. [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Envy.gif[/img]

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Best bumper sticker I saw was in LA a few years ago on a business trip- " Now that you've seen California, GO HOME!"

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Only similar thing I can think of was 5 months ago. I was going to a bookshop/games/comic shop in town and as usual I went to park at the Car Park. So I'm driving along slowly looking for a spot, it's one where there's only one road so you look from side to side as you go from level to level. I saw what looked like rubbish, bits of paper lying on the ground (in retrospect, technically they are plastic). As I drove past I peered at the pile and thought "That rubbish looks sort of familiar....Hang on, it isn't is it?"
So I stopped my car at the turn with cars behind me. I held up my hand and walked around the car to the pile. I bent down and picked it up and there was $240 just lying there http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif. Since I am incapable of doing the wrong thing, Hey I'm Catholic, were incapable of making a decision without feeling guilty http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif, I turned it into the Attendants. The next week they said no-one had claimed it and told me to give it to the police (that way I can claim it if noone gets it). So after a 3 month wait I went back and managed to pocket $240, without feeling any guilt, though it does make me wonder who loses that much money but does nothing about it?

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Quite possibly, they had no idea where they lost it, and couldn't remember all the places they had been that day.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

I gave up feeling guilty about finding money and keeping it a while back after years of finding money on the floor while doing floor maintenance for the big red S when I was a teenager, and putting it into the charity jars. Then one day I saw the store manager empty those change jars into a bag and then put that bag into his brief case. Since then, I have seen many of the "Trusted" store manager of many big red S stores steal that money. It was free money to them so they just took it. I have NEVER dropped another penny into those charity jars any where! In retrospect, I am very happy that I do not work for those corrupt, lying, chickens**t bastards any more. The big red "S" can kiss my fat white butt.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Omg, THAT'S HORRIBLE, Atro! But it does confirm my suspicions.

My cynicism with organised charities began with the United Way scandal, and reached its present peak when I learned that the Director of the California Red Cross is paid not just a salary of $600,000 per year, but various "allowances" that bring her total compensation to over $900,000 a year.

Most organised charities pass less than 50% of the money they collect on to the intended recipients, with the rest eaten up by huge salaries for top administrators, while most of the buttwork is done by unpaid volunteers. And if you think that sounds bad, remember that some charities pass only 10% of donations along to the needy, with 90% eaten up by huge salaries for their top administrators.

These days, I live by the adage that "charity begins at home".

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

On the other hand, if you donate to PBW, over 95% of the money will make it.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

And its all for a good cause. I wish I had money to donate, to PBW and SE.net. (Along with being able to buy some Shrapnel Games.)

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

There is an ad here for the Salvation Army asking for help for the farmers stuck in a drought. Putting aside for one moment that it is marked as a community announcement, Why do they get away without having to pay?, I find it offensive because it is basically saying "Donate to us, we're better than the other charities". I would think all charities would be the same, it defeats the purpose of being generous if they are being stuck up and saying they're better than everyone else.

I consider charity to be intrinsically self serving anyway. I'm a cynic, and apathetic, in the classical Philosophical sense, and to me giving to charity is just a way of making yourself feel good by thinking your better since you give stuff to people. No one does anything without a reason. If you don't get anything out of it then why do it at all.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Yeah, you´re right, the only charity you can be sure to reach the intended persons is the one you do yourself... One of the supposed "charities" that makes me angriest is the ones organized by "evangelic churches" here in Brazil, where the majority of the money (if no all) ends with the "church" and not with the poor people that needs it...

And the worse is that the heads of these "churchs" flaunt openly that they are rich, using expensive limos, small jets, living in mansions, where the poor that needed the money only get worse...

BTW: i put "evangelic churches" in quotes to differentiate the ones i´m talking about from the real and proper evangelic churches that, while smaller in number than the fake ones, are very respectable institutions and do several community services...

but not every charity is "rigged" like the ones told here, i particulary find nice the charities done by the freemasons, where members of the "lodge" contribute to a "pot" every session and at the end of a certain period (normally six months), a needy family is chosen and, at night, a member of the lodge puts the money at the door of the family (or someplace where the head of the family will easily find) and
leave without revealing to the persons that received who left the money, (they normally only leave a note, whitout signature, saying that the money is to help the family in these hard times)

It´s gestures like these that makes me have still some hope in humanity... even if 90% of the other "charities" are not...

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Um... did this 'charity jar' list a known charitable organization as the benficiary? It was it just a taped-on label that said 'charity' on it? If so, then it's just a scam (apparently common to this grocery chain) rather than a stain on all charity. If people drop money into a jar without knowing who it's supposed to be for, they are freely giving it away. Definitely a low-life trick, but technically legal. If you saw someone using a major name to solicit donations and taking that, then you'd have grounds to call in law enforcement.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

because PBW is a charity where adminstration is closely integrated with the implementation. And the donating community can see the results themselves. More points for 'small is beautiful'... and efficient, and accountable, etc.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Well, the Salvation Army is much better than many other big-name charities. They are efficient enough that the US Government, and especially what used to be FEMA (what is it called now?) are studying them to try to make government disaster relief more efficient. So while it's true that there is lots of corruption in the charity system, it's not totally corrupt.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

The only charities I will, and have, donate too:

Salvation Army
The Humain Society
Meals On Wheels
Good Will

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

My father works for Meals on Wheels. I think it's part of his government support. He onced roped me in to helping. Anyhow, have you ever eaten any of their food? It may well be different elsewhere but their food is the worst thing I have ever eaten that wasn't so just by what it was. For example I despise yoghurt and apricots, they will make me sick just thinking about it, but Meals on Wheels food http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Sick.gif. Their potatoes taste as if they were rotten before they cooked them. Perhaps they get Freeze dried somewhere and they don't thaw well. I spat it out and quite simply refused to eat it. I would rather starve than have to eat it.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

The only charity I give to is the Charity of Me. Call me a self-centered bastard, but I work hard for my money and will not willingly throw it away! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

No, it's not. Don't try to claim your PBW donations as a tax deduction.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Well, not in the legal sense. But many of the people who donate will never get 'their money's worth' out of it.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Best way to find a good charity would be to ask the people they say they serve.

And there's nothing wrong with getting something, even just a good feeling, out of doing something good. We are supposed to love our neighbor as ourself. Not more.

Of course it's better to give when you don't get anything in return. But that does not mean that giving and getting is bad. Don't set rediculous standards and you won't have to worry about breaking them.