Beggars are Choosers

You have seen people standing outside grocery stores and convenience stores looking for donations. Maybe they want money to support the local baseball team or are selling cookies. While entering a convenience store to get some coffee, I saw a table set up by the organization D.A.R.E. DARE was the battle cry “Drugs are Ruining Everyone” popular among the soldiers in the war on drugs. I always interpreted it as for Drugs Are Recreational Enjoyment. On this table were little items like pens and pencils and bag clips and the like. I had no change to give the young lady in her mid-twenties who was minding the table. I decided to donate a dollar after I bought my coffee and left the store. Who knows—it might keep me from trying crack in the future.

On the way out, I stopped by the table and tried to give the young lady a dollar. She refused the dollar and said, “Our minimum donation is five dollars.” I thought this odd. Thinking she might be selling the items on the table, I said, “Look, I do not even want anything on this table. I just want to donate a dollar.” It got weirder. “No,” she said. “We will only take a minimum donation of five dollars.” This time she said it with a tone in her voice that made it sound like my tiny donation of a dollar was an insult.

What charity refuses money?

I took a sip of my coffee and asked, “Are you stoned?”