From: geoffm@purplehaze.Corp.Sun.COM (Geoff Miller)
Newsgroups: alt.peeves
Subject: Re: Lawyers not Chemists
Date: 13 Apr 92 14:45:29 GMT
Followup-To: alt.peeves
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Menlo Park, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: purplehaze.corp.sun.com



In article <10249@cernvax.cern.ch> steveb@cernvax.cern.ch (Steve Bougerolle) 
writes:

>>Peeve: People who don't realize what the world would be like if all of
>>the mentally ill people were running about.

>You mean they aren't???


Yes, they certainly are.

I went to a local bookstore the other evening, one that's situated in a large
shopping center on the corner of two major city streets.  There's a record
store next door that's owned by the same company, plus an ice cream parlor
and a frozen yogurt place nearby, so there's quite a bit of traffic in and
out of the parking lot.  As I approached the bookshop, I was annoyed to
see that there was a homeless type patrolling the lot, squeegee in hand, 
asking to wash the windows of people's cars for some fee.

I've read about these people in the cities of the East, especially the more
aggressive ones who lurk at intersections and pounce upon cars that stop
for red lights.  But I figured it was an Eastern thing, and never expected to
see it out here, at least not for awhile.  I'm all for personal initiative
and capitalism and all that, but I've developed a powerful dislike of strang-
ers approaching me on the street and trying to wheedle money out of me.  It
seems that these people are everywhere these days, not just bums but people
collecting for charitable organizations as well.  And it's not that I don't
feel the charities are unworthy causes; it's just that I get awfully tired
of having to maintain the extra notch of alertness necessary to deal with
these people.  Besides, I don't like the fact that I bust my butt for a 
living, only to have others try to get money out of me as if I was some kind
of bipedal ATM.  Leave me the hell alone!

After leaving the bookstore and proceeding toward my car, I noticed that this
guy was walking off to my right, so as discreetly as possible, I changed
course to the left and did my best to avoid eye contact.  But the guy 
immediately reversed direction and walked up to buttonhole me about washing 
my car's windows.  I politely declined without slowing down, and to the bum's
credit, he was quite polite in return, although obviously a few strokes
short of a wank.

A few years back, this particular shopping center played host to another, less
pleasant bum.  He was more of the "spare change?" variety and would lurk on
the sidewalk in front of the bookstore.  No matter which direction I
approached from, he'd walk out onto the asphalt to intercept me; it was 
impossible to avoid him.  I got so tired of having to run this gauntlet that 
I wrote letters to the managers of both the bookstore and the record store, 
advising them that they'd best find a way to give this guy the bum's rush 
(as it were), or they would quite likely see a drop in their business.  This
was Mountain View, after all, not Calcutta or Berkeley, and people in these 
parts don't appreciate having to put up with such things.



Geoff


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Geoff Miller                    + + + + + + + +        Sun Microsystems
geoffm@purplehaze.Corp.Sun.COM  + + + + + + + +     Menlo Park, California
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