Go Ahead, I Dare You.

Last night I hung around in the office until about midnight for lack of anything else to do. At least here I have a couple of my paintings up and I feel relatively at home. On the way back to the hotel some dipshit beggar pulled the same shtick on me that he had tried earlier in the day. I lost my temper. His opener is, "Do you live here?" which earlier in the day got me to stop for a second because I thought he was a tourist. Then he goes on about everybody he has talked to has been a tourist and he just needs bus fare to get home to Abbotsford. Earlier in the day I thought to myself that it was likely bullshit but even if it wasn't someone stupid enough to come into town without bus fare home doesn't deserve shit anyway. But when he pulled the same line on my 7 hours later (sorry, I've panned before, and it doesn't take 7 hours to raise bus fare) so when he pulled his opening line I just kept walking. Then, because I was the only mark on the street, he started to call after me. About a third of the block away I finally turned around and yelled, "You allready tried that line on me earlier today!"

He retorted with, "yahbut.."

I yelled back that my apartment burned on Friday, that I had nothing to give to him, and punctuated it with a rather vehement "Fuck off!"

At this juncture I have paid rent on two places I am not living and I don't have so much as the time of day for any useless stranger that wants a freebie. What I do have is going to my friends who are affected by this and to making sure two little kids that aren't even mine don't lose their home.

So, to the bums, that smoke you want to beg off me might just be the only thing keeping me from ripping off your left leg and beating you senseless with the wet end. Go ahead and ask. I dare you.