maleficent

I will glady buy a cup of coffee for anyone who asks, even a donut. But over the years, I've seen stuff in NY, and I've spent enough time in Chicago that I'm realizing it's everywhere, that really makes me not want to help anyone.

The latest one that has really gotten my knickers in a knot was thru a good deed I do. Every year, thru the NYC Post Office, they have an "operation santa" program, where basically any letter addressed to santa ends up here. The letters are then opened up to the public and people can take the letters and honor the kids wishes. You can tell by the addresses of some of the letters that if it were not for the generosity of some folks, there would be no christmas for kids. Well, I've done this for years, and it's a nice feel good thing to do. SOme of the requests are for warm clothes and such, rarely toys... (but I always enclose one) Mail off the package and you are done.

The past two years, right before Christmas, I've gotten letters from kids I've sent packages to... Not thru Operation Santa but mailed directly to me. (now these kids are usually pretty young, 4, 5, 6 years old -- it wasn't the kid who wrote, addressed and sent the letter) Just for grins, I took the letters who were mailed directly to me to the post office when I went to get my new letters for this year, and found ( because the post office keeps a database of what letters were taken because they realized some parents do try to run a scam - and will send in 10 letters) that the letters were sent to the post office, and had been picked up already.

Maybe it's the Scrooge in me, but it ticks me off when people try to take advantage of the kindness of others. Yes, I know I'm supposed to just do a good deed, but still...

A few weeks back, I'm leaving a sandwich shop in Chicago, and practically get accosted by a homeless dude screaming at me that I should give him my lunch... A lovely officer of the law sent him scurrying along his merry way.

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