My first attempt at donating to a charity today was thwarted. I took a $5 bill into Panera this morning with the full intention of completing my daily obligation by donating to Share the Bread with some of the change from my coffee. Instead, Panera gave me free coffee, and I had no change to donate. What's interesting, is that it did not cross my mind once (in fact it did not cross my mind until this very moment) that I could have easily donated the entire five dollars. I was so intent on stuffing a one dollar bill into the little plastic collection box, that my brain never went the one step further. Fortunately, later in the day when I decided to finally change my oil, I was able to add one dollar to the collection jar for Milford Miami Ministries. I had my oil changed at Milford Oil and Lube, a local business that only charged me $26, was finished in about ten minutes, and didn't try to sell me an air filter or any other such nonsense. Because the business practices at this local company seem so straightforward and honest, I absolutely trust that my dollar will also make it to this important local charity.
I had another chance to donate today in the Target parking lot, but I did not take it. One of those people with the "ran out of gas" story approached me. They were coming home from Jewish hospital, his aunt had suffered a "diabetes attack," and they needed to get back to Bethel. These sort of liars/beggars always make me nervous. They seem to get too close whenever they approach, and while this young man was nothing but polite, he was also jittery and jumpy. I have no doubt that he really needed money for drugs or alcohol, and sometimes I wonder why people in his position don't just try to be honest instead. At the very least, he could come up with a different scam. The car-out-of-gas scam seems horribly hackneyed.
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