The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    jollyroger's picture

    Christmas in Calcutta, 10021

    By jollyroger on Wed, 12/31/2014 - 9:10pm |

     

     

    "Any help you could give us, or any food, we would really appreciate".

     

    Accompanied by two beautiful girls of grade school age, a father was addressing the passengers on the Lexington Avenue Express as it made its way from 59th Street (Bloomingdale's) to 86th St. (Gracie M ansion). By my relatively crude reckoning, we were just then under the streets of the zip code 10021, which for your information is the wealthiest in the country.

     

    As any other NYC Daggers will concur, the prolonged audience afforded by a ride between express stops on the subway can be a blessing for persons obliged to solicit survival assistance from strangers.

     

    As to the instance under discussion, I am proud to report that my fellow riders and I did not disgrace ourselves. And, for the record, this was far from the first time I  have seen  parents with kids seeking  cash, nor individuals asking for cash or food.

     

    But this WAS the first time I have heard a parent with kids asking for food.

    Comments

    Full disclosure: On one recent occasion, while traveling home with the  evidence that a pair of deep fried two-for atrocities had been committed at Checkers, I was solicited for any food I might have to spare, which ended up in the transfer of my shameful if not-exactly-ill-gotten goods to the supplicant.  

     

    We both got lucky,...

     


    by jollyroger on Wed, 12/31/2014 - 9:21pm

    So let me get this straight. You gave each of the little girls a cold fried cheese stick on Christmas Eve?

    Just joshing.

    This is a sign of the times. Honestly, I'm surprised to hear of these stories. I don't see this kind of thing in the N Dallas suburbs. Mostly the kids negotiate the best latte they can.

    I always enjoy your writing---wish you would do more of it. Best in the New Year.


    by Oxy Mora on Wed, 12/31/2014 - 11:54pm

    Nah, the little girls got cash.  

     

    The lucky Checker's recipient was on a different train, and while I can see from your comment that you are not unfamiliar with the checkers menu, in this case, the evidence in question consisted of the uneaten half of each two-for atrocity, hence, some kind of deep fried apple pie (for those who mourn the transition by Micky D from deep frying to baking his "pies") at 2 for $!, and a cleverly named if relatively unidentifiable amalgam of onions, meat and cheese on a bun of exotic provenance,  two of which were available (on a time limited basis) for merely $3.

     

    For the rest, i blush.  I will post more.


    by jollyroger on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 3:34am

    I have a close relative in the Midwest who has basically chosen a lower-income life rather than having it imposed on him (he could have a higher paying job in what he does if he got his degree, but more stress; he could have his own apartment and his own bills but he'd rather stay with the one surviving parent, etc.)

    He prides himself on guerilla food shopping to support the low income life, i.e., the piles of coupons, playing the freebie angles, etc. One ends up with lots of processed and junk food this way, but hey, it's often near free or you sometimes you can even end up with a credit. Who am I to judge if someone has pride in doing this?

    Anyhow, there's a regular beggar outside one of the big groceries he frequents. They've become pals, as my relative shares part of his bounty every time he's there and the beggar enjoys the choice and being part of the deal. It's like this, beggar: hey bro, what did you get today? got anything you don't need? My relative: 6 boxes of Pop Tarts free! don't need 'em all, I'll give you two, which flavors do you want? Beggar: Excellent! Strawberry! My relative: they're yours.

    No shame involved in either side.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 4:59am

    Thanks for sharing that story, AA. Very interesting, as it's important to avoid shaming others when we can.


    by Verified Atheist on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 9:24am

    this NYT piece I just read is kinda along the same lines....

    In New Mexico Tent City, a Glimmer of Hope


    by artappraiser on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 2:50am

    I had a friend who described himself as a "free-gan", doing as much foraging in supermarket dumpsters at close of business as he could, on principle, at least partly to rescue otherwise land fill bound food.


    by jollyroger on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 3:57am

    You don't dumpster dive in this town because the stores keep them locked at night.The roll-off garbage trucks only do pickups during store hours now. They claim it is to keep the homeless safe. The truth is they see the homeless on the same level of stray cats and think they will go away if there is no food source. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 12:20pm

    i KNEW THAT  CRIMINALIZING FEEDING PEOPLE FOR FREE (i'M NOT SURE HOW THE RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES WERE ABLE TO DISCERN WHEN ENFORCING THESE ORDINANCES THAT THE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE RECEIVING SUSTENANCE WERE, IN FACT, WITHOUT HOUSING, BUT SOIT) TO KEEP THEM OUT OF PUBLIC SPACES, EG, PARKS,  WAS DIRECTED AT DISPERSAL OF THE DISENFRANCHISED, BUT i HADN'T SEEN (IN THIS COUNTRY, AT ANY RATE--THERE WAS A RECENT FAMOUS LONDON CASE) A SYSTEMATIC ATTEMPT TO DENY THEM ACCESS TO GARBAGE--AFTER ALL, WHEN A DUMPSTER DIVER IS DONE DIVING, THE VALUE OF THE DUMPTSTER HAS INCREASED--THERE'S MORE ROOM FOR THE PERSON WHO IS BUYING ROOM FOR HIS GARBAGE TO PUT IN MORE GARBAGE.  wIN-WIN-WIN (THE LAST WIN IS US CUZ THE LANDFILL IS ALSO LESS FULL...)


    by jollyroger on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 6:35pm

    I didn't mean to make you shout.  It is Florida, some towns had tried to outlaw feeding the poor by handing out food to them on the street. Then arrested people for doing that but found it hard to prosecute them. There are towns that will buy a bus ticket to get a homeless person to leave or escort them to the next town.  My neighborhood ended up with the ones that were run out of Sarasota. There are people who are afraid that all the homeless in the country will come to Florida to stay out of the cold so they do stuff like this. The truth is most of the them are locals that have fallen on hard times. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 9:20pm

    oopsie, caps lock and unfamiliar font...

     


    by jollyroger on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 9:32pm

    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/28/three-charged-vagrancy-ac...

     

    here's that case from London where three men tried to access the dumpsters that were, as you describe locked up overnight.  They were facing some stiff jail time, but the case was dismissed.


    by jollyroger on Sat, 01/03/2015 - 8:01am

    There's a homemade bread shop in Ithaca NY that puts its old bread etc. on a picnic table behind the store at closing. Anything still there when they open in the morning gets thrown in the dumpster then. Ithaca is a very hip town in many ways and a great place to live.
     


    by ocean-kat on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 11:42pm

    What a shining bit of humane behavior--without cost to the generous, life sustaining withal.  Certainly makes one wonder why the supermarkets that Moemoe cites opt for the non-humane alternative.


    by jollyroger on Sat, 01/03/2015 - 7:57am

    I see plenty of pan handling here.  The sad part is the kids.  At least down here they are not in the cold if they are homeless.  

    This year the funds dried up for the food pantries in this area early in October.  It bothered me for a couple of days seeing the sad disappointed faces when there was no special Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. In the recent past years they did receive a holiday meal package so they were planning on it. Many of these people are the working poor, disabled and elderly that have some income.  They have faced cuts in food stamps and still don't have good access to health care. Pick up was reduced from weekly to twice a month.  There are only 4 pick ups scheduled for 2015.  

    Maybe this is going on in NYC too?  

    Unless you are involved in this system as a volunteer or as a client you have no idea how painful these budget cuts and foot dragging to pass a national budget is on these people.  Hunger is up by 7% according to the report released in November by the Mayor's Association.  It reflects what they are seeing in their cities and towns. 25 of them participated in the survey. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 2:43am

     

    the funds dried up for the food pantries

     

    Yes, this is the dreadful inference that I draw from the proliferation of people asking for food, where before most requests focused on cash.


    by jollyroger on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 3:55am