30 JAN 08: JUST SAY THE WORD
It looks like my raising coin laundry is raising the prices for washers. The one-dollar stickers were removed when I was there late last week. But I still was able to get the machines working with four quarters - thanks to some creative pushing, and scrambling the quarters into seemingly the lock-safe combination.
BLOGGER BEGGAR #2 (of 2008): The man walked up to me at the wall of driers on South Lumpkin Road, for a short and to-the-point conversation.
"Dollar."
"Dollar?!"
"Dollar."
"What do you need it for?" Too wordy. I should have simply asked why.
"Something to eat." Now this is 21st-century begging, from one man to another -- with so few words that we could have text-messaged each other just as easily.
The man looked like he could have needed heat, as well as eats. He wore two coats - a winter coat in its proper place, and what looked like a burgundy blazer over his head. Those economic stimulus checks from Washington could buy a lot of wool winter hats.
"Let's go," I told the man and directed him toward the coin laundry door. This was risky, since I had a full load of clothes in a dryer. I've often wondered if beggars show up at laundromats to lure me outside in mid-load, so a second person can move in and steal my dress shirts.
But on this day, I did NOT think something was up. This man's appearance and language skills made me think he was somewhat mentally disabled. You might say he was acting "slow" too well to be acting.
The closest restaurant at the strip mall where I do laundry is a new Korean place called the "Sonny Diner." I made sure it accepted credit cards, because I try to avoid simply giving money to unknown beggars - and this restaurant showed no sign of a dollar menu.
The Sonny Diner was empty at about 11:30 a.m., save for a staff member talking with a supplier. Unsure if a server would come out to help us, the beggar and I sat down at a booth with nice water glasses. But there was no water pitcher on the table -- better for handling a drought and a nice tip.
"How long have you done this?" I tried to ask the man. "How long have you been begging?" Either his answer was so mumbled I couldn't understand it -- or my question was so complex that it might also have stumped Jessica Simpson.
After waiting a moment for help, I decided the place to be served was at the cash register in the back. The beggar walked there with me, and I asked about the "American lunch" offered on the door. The Sonny Diner also offers a "Korean lunch" - the difference apparently being that one serves meat loaf, and the other comes with rice.
The American lunch seemed to be a $5.95 special - but instead, the woman at the cash register handed me a pamphlet menu. "Can you read this?" I asked the beggar as I passed it on. He indicated he could - which was remarkable, considering part of it seemed to be in Korean.
In only a moment, the beggar pointed to what he wanted - "yellow croaker" for $13.95. With tax and tip added at the register, his one-dollar request wound up costing me 17 times more than that. This is why I didn't apply to become Atlanta Falcons general manager.
I explained to the woman at the register that I was buying for a beggar, not for me. She said it was very nice for me to do that -- but I was NOT rewarded with a mint, like Sonic might have done.
Since I still had clothes spinning in a dryer, I said goodbye to the beggar and went back to the coin laundry. Thankfully, no items were missing. In fact, that was an improvement from two weeks before - when I somehow wound up one green sock short.
The dryer didn't cost me much money, which made up a little for what the beggar needed. But before I started the car to drive home, I had to check inside the Sonny Diner door again. I was relieved to see the beggar still there, staring outside. Hopefully his food came - and hopefully he didn't have to hand it over to a supervisor, who wanted big bills instead.
This makes four encounters with beggars at my regular laundry in the last 11 months - and not one of them asked for money to wash or dry their clothes. It's as if they know laundry customers are easy targets. We bring cash, after all - since the washer prices haven't been jacked up enough to require credit cards.
Hey wait, you may be asking -- did we overlook something here? This is our SECOND beggar of 2008?! Well, yes -- as I was waiting until I had a second one to bring up a rather dull first one....
BLOGGER BEGGAR #1: "Do you have a cigarette?" asked another man a few weeks ago. This was in the parking lot of a restaurant on Buena Vista Road -- and he gave the universal hand-signal for a cigarette: two fingers together, going back and forth from his mouth. If he had puckered his lips, that might have qualified as a kiss.
"I don't smoke," I answered the man -- and I certainly don't want to. Not when I can go for three-mile twilight runs before dinner, as I did on this Saturday night. The result is a healthier body, cleaner lungs - and until a more conventional beggar comes along, a fatter wallet.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Shame on us for thinking the Muscogee County School Board was the only "fight zone" in Columbus. This message reached us Tuesday afternoon....
well, well..............the article about the fight in Searswoods was astounding enough....but now less than 30 minutes ago at 4:00 ...traffic on Double Churches and Whitesville had to stop for an enormous fight at the Summit on the corner that ended up rolling into the street and people running towards it from all directions and fists flying as well................massive..............................and sad................what is going on?????
High school kids or older............too big to be from the Middle School across the street....
It sounds like an old-fashioned rumble broke out after school Tuesday. But before we blame the students - were any hockey players making an appearance at that convenience store?
The location of this brawl is what surprises me the most. You don't expect Double Churches and Whitesville Roads to be the scene of a fight like this. These students apparently forgot the lesson of last August - by not staging this fight at Brookstone School.
Another reader wants to comment on the Georgia Supreme Court's decision against Mario Navarrete - still guilty of murdering Fort Benning Specialist Richard Davis:
I asked Cilla McCain about this latest development. She wasn't at all surprised but actually disappointed, saying that "A new trial may have corrected some of the injustices related to the first one" Her book is in editing now but she doesn't have the exact publishing date. When that information is available it will be posted on her agents site www.theliterarygroup.com. The documentary is moving along, but has been slowed down somewhat by the writer's strike.
james b.
You may recall McCain has been writing her own story on the Richard Davis case, independent of the movie "In the Valley of Elah." Who knows -- If the two had joined forces, people actually might have watched the movie.
Isn't it strange that a documentary on the Richard Davis killing is being delayed by the Writer's Guild strike? All the producers have to do is pay royalty fees to Ledger-Enquirer reporters....
Now let's see what people reported on, in Tuesday's news:
+ Columbus Council heard a presentation on how crime has dropped in the Hilton Heights area, since a "neighborhood watch" program began. If this trend continues, the residents might even persuade Hilton to put a hotel there.
+ WRBL reported accused Columbus police impersonator Mike Nelms also got in trouble a few weeks ago, for impersonating a cable TV worker. So who apprehended Nelms first - police detectives, or the "Scooby-Doo" gang which likes DirecTV?
+ The Hogansville City Council held a closed-door meeting on the future of its police chief. A fired dispatcher claims Guy Spradlin sent her sexually suggestive text messages through a city phone. This shows why you have to be SO cautious with acronyms - and type "BFF" very carefully.
+ Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia told the PBS "NewsHour" the economic stimulus bill proposed by President Bush is "strategically surgical." I didn't realize that many doctors had incomes low enough to qualify for rebate checks....
(True confession: I'm personally torn on this economic stimulus question. My brain tells me the rebate checks won't do much to prevent a recession, and will only increase the national deficit and debt -- but my wallet is screaming, "Bring it on.")
+ Carver High School football star Jarvon Fortson revealed to WRBL he visited Florida State University last weekend. Fortson verbally committed to Auburn months ago - so what will he do on signing day next Wednesday? Will it come down to whether Auburn has another trace of snow in the next week?
+ Jordan escaped its first loss of the year in boys' basketball, winning at Spencer 73-71. Shame on the Green Wave - for following the example of graduate Cathy Williams, and trying to cause upset across the school district.
+ Instant Message to the leadership of the Georgia House: Did I hear it right - you have a "Doctor of the Day" for every session?! Was this inspired by that fistfight in the Alabama Senate last year?
SCHEDULED THURSDAY: If we don't hear from Union Springs, some "further accusations" will go public....
This blog had more than 43,000 visitors in 2007 -- up 53% from 2006! To advertise to them, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.
BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 1247 (+ 53, 4.4%)
The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.
© 2003-08 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.