The following is a true story.
Part 1: Hot Charity
Yesterday we saw some guy getting harassed by the man for selling water on the street corner. Then we saw that his minivan said he was selling the water for his wife who has cancer. Sad story. I wanted to buy one but the fuzz was all over him. Later we saw him again but was on the wrong side of the street to stop. Nobody's dying wife is worth making a U-ey so I said all well but felt bad about not buying any cancer water.
This morning Rachel and I went to get Mimi's for breakfast. Then we saw the guy again, this time with a tot in tow. We did make a U turn to get to him. Yes, we made the big sacrifice of turning around. We bought one. It wasn't until after the fact that we realized we had more than the one buck Rachel found in the glove box (it's no longer just for gloves!). Too late to go back for a second helping.
But we made a couple U-turns because of this guy (two is our limit). We = awesome.
The water was a little odd. It was in a pouch like a Capri Sun. When we got out of breakfast we tried some. It was literally hot (from being in the sun for an hour I guess).
Rachel thought it tasted like hot tap water. I thought it tasted like charity. Hot charity straight from the tap.
I ended up spraying our dying geranium with it (we'll see if it dies) and squirted the rest onto Rachel like a boiling fountain.
Part 2: Hot Politics
While at work doing my part-time job which I took to subsidize my full-time job, I was thinking about the water guy. Then I felt a slight trickle of blood in my cardiovascular pump. My heart bled (metaphorically only as far I know). I actually thought, I know it's wrong to take someone else's money by force and give it to this guy's wife, but I feel bad enough for him that I no longer care if the government steals from the rich to do so.
I felt this way for hours until I found out how much the government had taxed Rachel's moving and living stipend from her internship. They taxed $500 out the total $1,500 she got. Then I thought, beep that guy: I want to keep our money. Enjoy your dollar.
Yes I am a selfish, terrible person. And that's the way I like it.
Our help: $0.15 went to the pouch and tap water. $0.85 went to the family.
ReplyDeleteThe government's help: (based on $500 of taxes supposedly for health care) $300 goes to paying our legislators. $150 goes to some committee that decides who is eligible for taxes. $30 goes to the insurance company. $15 goes to the hospital. $4.50 goes to a bridge in Oklahoma (how did that slip in there?). And $0.50 goes to help the family.