a $1 from you... a $1 from the next guy... a $1 from someone else.  bam, there's the next beer.  $10 can easily be snatched up in a day and that can get them some neat little baggy of something that will really f their life up and perpetuate the problem.  I used to literally walk around with bags of bologna sandwiches.  people would ask for handouts, I would offer the sandwhich.  Not once was one ever taken, typically I was just MF'd up and down.

 

Giving money to these people is wrong.  You just DON'T KNOW what your money is going towards.  But by giving the money you 100% ENCOURAGE the activity to continue.

^Amen. It's not as if Petey Panhandler lives in a bubble and gets that $1.00 from you, goes and feeds himself and promptly enrolls in retraining/therapy/rehab.

 

"but it wouldn't kill anyone to once in a while make contact with someone on the street and show a little concern for another person who's in obvious pain."

 

Kill, no - but my friends in social work/health care who have been attacked (nothing serious beyond a cracked-out panhandler flailing, but still) or harassed while "trying to show a little concern for another person in obvious pain" have explicitly told me that they prefer I donate to a charity rather than dole out change. Of course, I'm an "ill-tempered" b!tch according to certain local columnists who I dared to question regarding panhandling, so my view is a little skewed.

^ obviously my wise words of compassion have fallen on deaf ears! Seriously, I understand both points of view, and, as I emphasized, charitable organizations should be the main channel to help people. But even I draw the line at those damn trustafarians; they're all from upper-middle class homes in Connecticut and will be going back to Wesleyan (or is it Bard?)  in the fall anyway!

^ obviously my wise words of compassion have fallen on deaf ears! Seriously, I understand both points of view, and, as I emphasized, charitable organizations should be the main channel to help people. But even I draw the line at those damn trustafarians; they're all from upper-middle class homes in Connecticut and will be going back to Wesleyan (or is it Bard?)  in the fall anyway!

 

"trustafarians" - I love it!!  :evil:

^ obviously my wise words of compassion have fallen on deaf ears! Seriously, I understand both points of view, and, as I emphasized, charitable organizations should be the main channel to help people. But even I draw the line at those damn trustafarians; they're all from upper-middle class homes in Connecticut and will be going back to Wesleyan (or is it Bard?) in the fall anyway!

 

I heard your words.  Doesn't mean I was persuaded. 

 

I have lived most of my adult life in "panhandler centrals".  I've made plenty of contact, and seen some sh-t, too.  I've seen panhandlers turn down food and help, I've seen them turn into borderline muggers demanding money from those they think they can bully.  I've seen the same guys out here panhandling for "food and shelter" during the day at the bars getting drunk and high that night.  I'm not going to contribute to that through well-meaning niavete.  I'd thank you not to contribute to that in my neighborhood, too.

"obviously my wise words of compassion have fallen on deaf ears! "

 

I am the biggest bleeding heart on here, but I agree, no money to panhandlers.  ever. it just escalates the problem and emboldens certain people with this behavior...which as X mentioned can turn to borderline muggings when perfectly desent people do not comply. 

 

I am compassionate to people less fortunate, but rather than aggravate the panhandling problem, why not donate to local food programs (ie Wesm, St. Malachi, St Hermans) ? I work in human services and live in the neighborhood and can atest these places are providing a lot off assistance so feel my donations are put to good use.

 

My guess is some people like to make a direct hand out as opposed to a donation to appropriate agency so that they get warm fuzzies rather than truly help people. 

if you see a panhandler coming your way (you can almost always tell)... panhandle them first!  it leaves them dumbfounded

 

btw, I love the panhandlers that request bizarre amounts of money... like 18 cents!

I really can't stand those loud mouth ticket scalpers by the Jake (screw the new name).  As far as I'm concerned, they are no better than aggressive panhandlers.  I don't like some big guy screaming at me to buy tickets while I'm walking down the street, and even though they're only doing their job (?), it's their aggressiveness that bothers me.

Yeah I was down there with a group and we were a pretty large group. Some guy yells at us a we exit the skywalk steps on the way the Jake to buy tickets. We tell him, no we already have tickets. He said good, then get moving. One of the more loud members of my groups yells back, we can go as slow as we damn well please. The scalpers then yells something else back rude and ignorant... i don't remember.

 

^ obviously my wise words of compassion have fallen on deaf ears! Seriously, I understand both points of view, and, as I emphasized, charitable organizations should be the main channel to help people. But even I draw the line at those damn trustafarians; they're all from upper-middle class homes in Connecticut and will be going back to Wesleyan (or is it Bard?)  in the fall anyway!

 

I heard your words.  Doesn't mean I was persuaded. 

 

I have lived most of my adult life in "panhandler centrals".  I've made plenty of contact, and seen some sh-t, too.  I've seen panhandlers turn down food and help, I've seen them turn into borderline muggers demanding money from those they think they can bully.  I've seen the same guys out here panhandling for "food and shelter" during the day at the bars getting drunk and high that night.  I'm not going to contribute to that through well-meaning niavete.  I'd thank you not to contribute to that in my neighborhood, too.

 

  X you and I are completely on the same page when it comes to this issue.

if you see a panhandler coming your way (you can almost always tell)... panhandle them first!  it leaves them dumbfounded

 

btw, I love the panhandlers that request bizarre amounts of money... like 18 cents!

 

Hah!

^ I got that all the time in Corryville.

I guess this is a question for all the Clevelanders, but running off of a comment of Doc Broc's in the east 4th thread that she and her parents went from east 4th to the avenue district last night without being approached once... Ironic because just this morning getting ready for work I was thinking that oddly I've recently noticed a sever dropped in panhandlers downtown... No idea why, maybe it's just that the indians have been out of town for a while.  But seriously the only ones that come to mind right now are the guy who sells the grapevine at 9th and Euclid (which isn't really panhandling) and the guy who sits on Euclid by the East 8th alley... otherwise i haven't heard a peep in quite some time.  Even public square seems to be more filled with people actually waiting for the bus than pestering you with cups.  Am I crazy or has there really been a downturn?

They are getting more desperate. I found one in the suburbs waving down cars in a Krogers parking lot. While i was inside people were complaining and i guess they called security.

I guess this is a question for all the Clevelanders, but running off of a comment of Doc Broc's in the east 4th thread that she and her parents went from east 4th to the avenue district last night without being approached once... Ironic because just this morning getting ready for work I was thinking that oddly I've recently noticed a sever dropped in panhandlers downtown... No idea why, maybe it's just that the indians have been out of town for a while. But seriously the only ones that come to mind right now are the guy who sells the grapevine at 9th and Euclid (which isn't really panhandling) and the guy who sits on Euclid by the East 8th alley... otherwise i haven't heard a peep in quite some time. Even public square seems to be more filled with people actually waiting for the bus than pestering you with cups. Am I crazy or has there really been a downturn?

 

I've noticed more lately. Now they are stalking people who walk through the small park in front of Key Tower on the way to Tower City, as well as there seem to be more people in the quadrant right outside of tower city as well.  On a given day, I probably get repeatedly asked for change by at least 4 different people going and coming.

It seems to vary day by day.  I think overall I am seeing less, but it could be wishful thinking.  Of course, they swarm before and after games, and to the crowds hanging outside of HOB's concert entrance, especially when it is a crowd of niave young teens.  Them's good money folk.

well I just checked and the indians have had a whopping 4 home dates in the past 25 days... that probably has a lot to do with it (and there isn't a city in america that doesn't have panhandlers running all over outside ballparks and neighboring resauarants/bars on gamedays).  But I'll tell you what, today at lunch I walked from Euclid and 14th, all the way down to and around public square and back up Euclid to 14th.  Not only was I not ONCE asked for money... I didn't SEE a SINGLE panhandler anywhere.  That has to be an all time first.

well I just checked and the indians have had a whopping 4 home dates in the past 25 days... that probably has a lot to do with it (and there isn't a city in america that doesn't have panhandlers running all over outside ballparks and neighboring resauarants/bars on gamedays).  But I'll tell you what, today at lunch I walked from Euclid and 14th, all the way down to and around public square and back up Euclid to 14th.  Not only was I not ONCE asked for money... I didn't SEE a SINGLE panhandler anywhere.  That has to be an all time first.

I hope you took pictures!  :wink:

So last night I had a very interesting encounter with a beggar while I was on my way home from work (downtown Cleveland).  He was hanging around a construction zone (it was about 11:15 pm) and was in full construction gear:  goggles, reflective vest, hard hat, dirty gloves, work boots, ear plugs, etc.  He comes up to me with the typical "Excuse me sir, can I ask you something?"  Proceeds to tell me how his truck hit some rebar and it tore the gas tank.  A sealant at the local BP has it for $12-14 and he's $4 short.  Naturally I know that 1) construction workers in that area don't work that late and 2) he was full of it. 

 

When I got to work this morning I was bragging about the insane amount of effort and preparation this guy did and it turns out he's pretty infamous around the office. 

 

Then I started thinking about what are the most creative beggar tricks/stories that I have personally encountered.  Here's my list:

 

1.  The late night construction worker in full gear.  (I should've asked him where the rest of the Village People were at)

 

2.  A guy in a city I used to live in who would hold up a sign that said "Broke"

 

3.  The guy who sits out front of my office during lunch and then over by CVS on Euclid between 5-7 (I haven't seen him in a while)

 

Okay, so I'm making light of a touchy subject but some of these guys are hilarious but they really ruin it for those who truly need the financial assistance. 

 

One time a woman in downtown Cincinnati asked me for money to help cover her pizza.  She said she had accidentally ordered the wrong size, and that she was short a little bit of money to pay for it.  She said they would not give her the pizza.

 

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were walking down Walnut St.  A man stopped us and asked if we could give him money to help him get home.  He claimed that he was from Columbus, and he came to Cincy the night before with his buddies.  He ended up getting in a bar fight, was thrown in jail, and his friends went home and left him there.  If we had believed him, we would have told him to find new friends.

 

A few years ago, my husband and I were with another couple around 2:30 AM.  A guy stopped us and said that his friends had stranded him, and he needed money for cab fare to get him.  He said that he didn't have his wallet with him.  We did not believe him.  A few months later, we found out that this guy is a heroin addict from Hyde Park.  This is one of several stories he uses.

^^ I've heard that story before.  I want to say someone one UO has, too.

^^ I've heard that story before.  I want to say someone one UO has, too.

 

which story?

I think a lot of these people work pretty hard. It's not easy asking for things all day. And if they add some creativity to their chore, it brings entertainment value -- worth a buck or so.

 

One time, in downtown Columbus, I had a nice chat with a regular panhandler I used to think of as "the Sea Hag" (a character in the old, old Popeye comic strip). It was Columbus Day, or some such holiday. State and city government had the day off, but nobody else did. But the lack of government workers meant downtown was dead. She said, "I knew there wouldn't be many people today, and I couldn't decide whether to come in or not." I love that. "Couldn't decide whether to come in or not," like it's her job. I began to wonder if there was a time clock in the alley behind the Ringside Inn where panhandlers and street preachers clocked in and out at the end of the day -- like the sheepdogs in the old Looney Tunes cartoon: "Mornin' Fred." "Morning, Ralph."

 

Another time, in Chicago 25 years ago, a panhandler loaned me money. I was at Hubbard and Wells, looking for a payphone to call somebody about a job interview. The old guy asked me for money and I reached in my pocket. I muttered that I not only didn't have change for him, but I didn't have change for my phone call. All I had was a $10 bill. He gave me two quarters and pointed down the block to the Billy Goat Tavern, where there was a pay phone. "Make your call," he said. "Have a beer. Then give me whatever change you want to give." I think I gave him $5 after the call. It was worth it. He helped me out and gave me a great story to tell. About two years later, he was murdered beneath an overpass a few blocks from where we had our encounter.

As a student at Ohio State, I've gotta say my best bum stories are always about "Help is on the Way" aka "The Rapping Bum".  The guy is a living legend.

 

During the 2007 Senior Crawl night, he was signing kids' shirts and posing for pictures for a dollar or two.  I don't know how much he made that night, but he was RAKING.  There was a crowd around him when we walked past that had to have been hovering around 20 or so.

I've run into the "rebar guy" a couple of times, or a couple of the "rebar guys"- I'm not sure which.  That is alot of prep for such a small time scam.  And that's what I consider this stuff, btw.  Not begging, small time scamming.

 

I had one guy several years back follow me around telling me about his messed up shoulder.  He had me touch his shoulder, and when I did he screamed in mock pain.  I think I actually gave him a dollar for the laugh, but I was less jaded about this whole thing then.

 

Recently though an older lady got me for $2.  She was well dressed, and had a story about how her husband/ride/whatever had gotten pulled over and talked back to the cops and gotten into a tussel with them, getting arrested in the process.  She was stranded and scared, because she had been raped before.  The $2 was all I had left, and I would have given more if I had it. 

 

A week later I heard she had been down at my work, using the same story on our customers and getting threatening when they refused to give her money.  In between trying to scam our customers she was actually shopping!  I was mad, but at the same time I joked that if I ran into her I would ask for my $2 back.  Sure enough, I ran into her again a week after that at 2 AM on my street.  I fully intended to ask for my money back, but the specific way she asked for money this time (the old give me money or you're a racist line) made me so angry that I just straight told her off.

I live around U.C and the classic story that I have heard about 5 times is the flat tire story.  A decently dress man, (1 time it was a women) will ask if you are a Christian, then he will ramble on about how he got a flat tire and his children are waiting in the car.  If you stop and talk with him he will also go into his job history, but if you just keep walking he will give you the shorter version. Anyway he goes on and ALL he needs is a few buck so he can get fix a flat to fix his bum tire.

 

I see him quite a bit and it is always the same story. I sure am glad his tires are picking up and the nails in clifton. ;)

yea...I've seen the "rebar" guy too in front of the CAC on Euclid...unbelievable the lengths some of these guys go to...

 

....another common ploy that they try is when they see you stop and intend to start parallel parking and they scramble to offer you "assistance", b/c obviously you need it, right?  Once done parking they hang stand thisclose to your drivers side door, waiting for you to come out so that they can collect some kind of fee that is rightfully theirs...never works on me,  but it must on some or else they wouldn't keep doing it...

There was one guy who tried to self appoint himself some sort of doorman over at CVS.

There's a guy that wears a Burger King "King Hat" through the streets of Cleveland, refering to himself, "not as a homeless man, but as a homeless GENTLEMAN."  He is very articulate, and often rhymes when he's rapping for money.

 

Also, there is a mentally handicapped man that roams the Warehouse District and Ohio City, waving at attractive women and yelling, "hello Ms. Wonderful!"

I had an encounter with the rebar guy a few times. The first time had to be about 8 or 9 months ago, had to be about 2 or 3 in the afternoonm, i was on chester waiting to make the right hand turn onto 9th when all of a sudden the dude is at my window. He gave me a story about how one of the construction vehicles had run out of gas, and it was hot as piss out and all he wanted was a ride to the gas station to fill up a tank of gas (which he didnt have). Then about 3 months ago i was getting route 2 at 9th when i saw the same guy approach a van from Ontario, give him nice long speach about needing a ride to the gas station where he was hoping his ride would be, at 815 in the morning. Sure as sh!t the guy lets him in the car and off they went. Both times he was dressed up in full construction gear and all.

I have no problem giving homeless (or people acting as homeless) food, but never will i give them money. I gave one guy about 1.50 one day a couple years back before walking into CVS on 9th. I go into the store, do a walk around, and as i walk up to the counter i see the same c--t buying a 40 and a pack of cigarettes, as he was walking out he made eye contact with me, immediately looked away and he was gone. The true homeless will take the food and be thankful for it, the others will tell me to f off, go f yourself, or call me a cheap f for not giving them money while refusing to take the food.

"Excuse me sir, can I ask you something?"  This is where I look them straight in the eyes and give them a stern NO! Only on occasion has it not worked. If they get more aggressive then so do I. They usually walk away mumbling under their breath.

 

Usually if someone is going to ask you for the time, directions, etc. they come out and say it. Someone saying "excuse me sir, can I ask you something?" is 99.9% of the time going to be a panhandler.

who HASN'T had run into the rebar guy.  The last time he came up to me (on a saturday) I told him I was the shift manager for the ECP and there wasn't supposed to be anyone scheduled that day... off he went.

 

TB1000, #3 on your list is Ray.  Who is actually probably the most pleasant pan handler I've ever encountered.  I refuse to give money to panhandlers, but I do on occasion buy a grapevine from Ray.  At least that's a legitimate racket.

 

The burger king guy is classic.

 

The most terrifying guy I've ever seen downtown was Bear.  Bear used to hang out on the corner by Panini's and the Clevelander (circa 2003-2004).  On occasions he would show up with and start swinging a large heavy gauge chain while screaming at the top of his lungs.  And he was a BIG dude.  got arrested a lot.  Haven't seen him since summer of 04.  The only panhandler I've ever given money to was the guy who walks around with the one crazy eye, pretty well dressed, twenties, says he just got released from prison and needs money for the bus to get home and then pulls out his discharge paper to show you (it is of course falling apart, crumpled, and about 5 years old).  I had been given this same story by this guy about 10 times previously... but this time it was February and about 8 degrees.  I figured giving him money to go buy a drink that night was a good thing :lol:

Usually I'm walking so fast the panhandlers don't get a chance to even ask for money. But whenever "pleasant Homeless Grapevine guy" asks, I always say "not today but thank you for asking".

 

Even I've had an encounter with rebar guy - same story - truck backed into rebar - gas tank punctured, needs $10 to fix it. I said, have you called the fire department? Of course the fire department didn't want to hear it - I mean, a construction truck's gas tank is no big whoop. :wtf:

 

Other notables:

 

The guy who used to hang out under the clock at the Huntington Building - every few minutes he'd yell "Hey'all spare any change for the homeless - god bless y'all and thank you if you gave before". Every few minutes, same exact intonations, every single time.

 

The mousy little gal who always had a bag slung over her shoulder Santa-style, and would eloquently ask for change.

 

The hunched-over woman who would ask in front of Tomaydo Tomahhdo on East 9th, saying "god bless you". I always said "thanks but I didn't sneeze".

 

And for whatever reason, a smattering of the African-American male panhandlers have told me things like "shake it, don't break it, baby" and "yeah, look at ya, ya sexy-@ssed n_____" :-o Mind you, I enjoy flattery as much as the next person but catcalls from panhandlers?!?

 

When i first moved to OC 4 years ago I was constantly being approached for money while I walked my dogs. I would get stopped 3 - 4 times a day from a variety of panhandlers with an endless amount of stories.  After saying no over and over to the same people, I took another approach of - ya know you asked me for money yesterday?  have you got those shoes yet?  is the car still getting towed? baby still need diapers?  Now , either out of frustration or lack of creativity in coming up with a new story, I hardly ever get bothered and some of the regulars even wave and say hi when they see me and the pooches walking by.

I was coming out of St. John's on East 9th/ Superior one time and a well dressed woman came up to me and asked for change for a five. She claimed her car was broken into and she wanted to take the bus. She was black but she went on a tirade about how much she hates other blacks and how some n__ broke into her car.

 

Since I was in a good mood I agreed but she then claimed to have asked for five dollars. I refused and walked away

 

Exactly one week later, I'm walking out of St. Johns and she apporaches me with the same story. I tell her that she told me the exact same story last week. She got all nervous and bolted down the street!

 

Also, I just saw the rebar man last week. Intrestingly he claimed to need  money to get home while riding a bike.

My favorite pan handlers were out in Boston while I was in school.  There was this group of homeless guys who formed a "Band", which they called "Mixed Nuts".  For their "Band", they would set up a radio playing songs from various classic rock stations.  Then, they would dance around playing "instruments" which were actually just cut outs made out of cardboard.  They were all fun guys, and they made a decent amount of change for all the laughs they got.

 

I've run into the "My friends left me after a bar fight guy in Cincy."  There's also another guy I see all the time who always claims he just got a job somewhere but needs a little money to tide him over (he used to be the "fix a flat" guy with the busted van, that he had his "family" in, who were clearly in on the scam).  The other dude I see all the time is everyone's favorite clifton bum, Danny.  First asks for change, then for a cigarette.

I've worked downtown for 5 years and have never been approached by rebar guy, but looking forward to listening to his schpeel.

when you least expect it... rebar guy will appear :)

 

i've gotten it 3 times over the past 18 months or so.

It's unfortunate that there are so many scams out there because I honestly believe that there are people who genuinely need help.  That said, when you consistently see the same people at the same locations, same days, and same times it's obvious they might be lazy.  Not saying they aren't nice people, just lazy. 

 

The rebar guy is something else.  I've never seen anybody, in any city I've been to, to take scamming to that level. 

who HASN'T had run into the rebar guy.  The last time he came up to me (on a saturday) I told him I was the shift manager for the ECP and there wasn't supposed to be anyone scheduled that day... off he went.

 

I have had multiple run ins with him downtown, and after the first time, just ask him if he still hasn't fixed the problem from x days or x weeks ago when I last saw him.  He just smiles, and walks away.

 

I had a rebar man sighting last night.  He parked his bike and locked it to a street lightpole near e105 and MLK, and he was walking up toward Euclid in his tattered construction vest, so he seems to be working the entire corridor and not just downtown.

The BP gas station at E. 29th and Chester, I was filling my tank when this guy comes up and starts washing my windows on the opposite side of the vehicle I am standing. When I saw him, I said "no thanks" 3 times and he walked to the next car. I was surprised the BP staff didn't do anything about it. Oh wait, the BP staff is the worst of the worst at this particular station.

 

A LONGGGGG TIME AGO, When I was starting off in college, young, poor, not so "bright" and into drinking and partying, me and some friends had a hotel party. We ended up leaving the hotel at 6am on a Sunday morning for whatever reason or another. It was very cold out and we had a bottle of grey goose that was still 3/4 full. We wanted to save it, because it was worth "a lot to us" but it was an open container. So I had been carrying it under my winter coat as we walked out of the hotel to our cars on Euclid. This homeless guy approached us. After a long discussion between my friend and him about how religion is all that matters to him, he finally got to what he was looking for: ask us for money for food. My friend argued with him for about 10 minutes how he really wanted money for booze and drugs not for food. And the homeless or scammer kept saying he just wanted a hot meal. So, I intervened and offered the bottle of vodka since "we know that's what you really need money for and we don't have any money anyways." He gasped when I pulled a bottle of booze out of my coat. He took it and wandered off happily down an alley between E. 4th and Public Square. Oh how I miss the 90's, nottttt....

The BP gas station at E. 29th and Chester, I was filling my tank when this guy comes up and starts washing my windows on the opposite side of the vehicle I am standing. When I saw him, I said "no thanks" 3 times and he walked to the next car. I was surprised the BP staff didn't do anything about it. Oh wait, the BP staff is the worst of the worst at this particular station.

 

The BP staff at East 9th and Carnegie is just as lousy, and the panhandlers there just as aggressive.

I haven't run across the rebar guy in a few months. But I did run into a similar story over the spring, I told him you ripped this line off of the other guy.

 

How about the guy, usually sitting in front of Public Square, beard, always sitting, and every five seconds says "a little help please" in an increasingly high pitched tone and sounds like a lost puppy?

The BP gas station at E. 29th and Chester, I was filling my tank when this guy comes up and starts washing my windows on the opposite side of the vehicle I am standing. When I saw him, I said "no thanks" 3 times and he walked to the next car. I was surprised the BP staff didn't do anything about it. Oh wait, the BP staff is the worst of the worst at this particular station.

 

The BP staff at East 9th and Carnegie is just as lousy, and the panhandlers there just as aggressive.

My sister and brother-in-law were in town last year for a wedding and past their exit on I-77. Lost, they exited at E. 9th st and stopped to ask for directions. An employee at the BP gave them directions, for a fee of $3.

I haven't run across the rebar guy in a few months. But I did run into a similar story over the spring, I told him you ripped this line off of the other guy.

 

How about the guy, usually sitting in front of Public Square, beard, always sitting, and every five seconds says "a little help please" in an increasingly high pitched tone and sounds like a lost puppy?

 

i thought it was... "a lil help for da home-less"

The one story I hear the most in Akron is the beggar ran out of gas and needs money to get back to Canton never Cleveland or any other place in the area..  I've also heard a twist on that.  They need money to call someone in Canton to pick them up because their car broke down or ran out of gas.  On this particular occassion, I handed the guy my very easy to use, candybar style, cell phone.  He was shocked that he had a phone in front of him and started punching a couple numbers.  Then said he couldn't use my phone since it was too frustrating to him and he gave it back to me and asked for money so he could use a pay phone again.  I told him I could make the call for him even though he pretty much had started dialing.  He gave me a fictitious number to dial but no one picked up or it went to an answering machine.  He then complained they wouldn't pick up anyways.  Aggravated that I wouldn't give him money he had to walk away from me.

I rarely get directly approached in my neck of the woods anymore. It helps I do that crazy thing I invented where I walk directly toward instead of away from a panhandler. It completely confuses them. As far as some of of these guys, I almost start to worry when they are gone. They do reappear and disappear again. I figure they are cycling in and out of jail or hospital

I have a story.

 

On a Saturday night downtown around 8pm probably six or seven years ago, I was driving on East 9th in Cleveland and was stopped at a light over by Ohio Savings.  A guy dressed as a construction worker flagged me down and told me that the gas tank of his car was punctured and that he needed money to get it fixed.  I told him I'd run up to the gas station and pick up a repair kit for him. 

 

Then the guy jumps into my car and tells me to pull into an alleyway.  He got slightly more aggressive and told me that he'd leave his cell phone number so I could meet up with him to pay me back.  I gave him $30, he thanked me and invited me to play flag football at some park the next day, then I booked.  I did call the number he gave to try to get my money back, but it was a farce.

 

I think that it showed that I was young and wanting to explore downtown because I didn't quite know my way around.  But I'm thankful that I wasn't carjacked or shot.  Then again, it's the only problem that I've had personally living in Cleveland all of my life.

Anyone get caught by someone acting as a parking lot attendant?  I remember I was running late for a show at the Odeon on a Tuesday night a long time ago, and parked in a $4 lot with a guy standing outside.  I was in a hurry and gave the guy a ten, and he told me he'd give me change on my way out.  Low and behold, I didn't see him on my way out, nor anyone staffing the lot!

A friend of my father's friend owns some property which includes a parking lot down in the Flats.  Someone was running that scam on his parking lot during events (presumably) until, needless to say, the scammer tried to charge him to park in his own lot.