Every afternoon I stop at the light at the intersection of 15-501 and I-40 and I talk to the men who panhandle there. It is usually the only interesting moment in my daily commute. This week I asked one of the panhandlers if he and his friends needed anything. I said, “With the holiday coming up do you guys need anything for Christmas?” The man paused and tilted his head as people often do when considering a question. After a few seconds he smiled and said, “Nope. We’re good.”The light changed and I drove away thinking about the irony of panhandlers who do not need anything.
The man I spoke to is one of several people who live in the woods near the interstate ramp and panhandle every day. Most of these people have lived near the same interstate highway ramp for years. They sleep in tents regardless of the weather. They share their limited resources and help each other out. Their lifestyle is not easy or healthy. Several of the panhandlers have died from serious illnesses or have been murdered over the past few years.
Still, these unusual people have the potential and the willingness to teach the rest of us an interesting lesson. We fret about holiday preparation in the midst of an historic economic crisis and worry about a future in which we may not have “enough.” The panhandlers do not worry about the recession at all. They might not even know that it is going on. They have redefined “enough” to match what they have.
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