Am I getting cynical?

[vanillafluffy]

Here's what happened. I was leaving Aldi's with some necessities (meatballs, crackers and trail mix), when a guy on a bicycle rolled up to me. He was good-looking in a gone-to-seed Eric Roberts kind of way (Is that redundant?), and he said, "I'm a cancer patient, and I need $2 so I can pick up my prescription."

Okay, cancer patient was a trigger, needless to say, and I almost grabbed my wristlet and started fumbling for change.

Then I took a closer look. His arms were covered with the open sores I associate with drug users, and I wasn't about to donate $2 that *I* need to enable a habit. And for a sick man, he wasn't having any trouble riding around on that bike.

So I gave him my best "I'm really very sorry. I wish I could, but I'm out of work and I just don't have it. I'm SO sorry."

Now I'm second-guessing myself. What if he really does have cancer? Maybe I should have offered to go to the pharmacy and retrieve it for him, to see if there really was a 'scrip. At the very least, I should've wished him good health and good luck.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm a sucker or a bitch. It's hard to tell, sometimes.
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Comments

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

"I'm not my brother's keeper"? Look, my friend S is killing herself slowly with booze and pills, and I know what a toll it's taking on her family and loved ones. True, I don't know this guy's story, but he may have loved ones somewhere who are worried about him, and THAT I understand. I know the only person who can stop an addict is the addict him/herself---but my conscience won't let me enable them to continue. That's just me, YMMV.

[ang5fam.livejournal.com]

What does YMMV stand for?

"Your Merry, Merry Virgo?" ha ha

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Heh heh heh---good one, sister Virgo!

YMMV = Your Milage May Vary

And now I'm off to church--!