Women in Comfortable Shoes

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05/05/2003: "Taco Cabana Man"

The man ahead of us in line at Taco Cabana tonight was dressed in an old, dark blue sports jacket and stained khaki pants. His shirt didn't quite cover his large belly. His right hand held several credit cards in a death grip and he gave them to the cashier one by one.

"Here, try this one," he said. The cashier took the card, ran it through the reader, and indicated that this one, too, was declined.

"Here, try this one," he said. The cashier told him they didn't take that kind.

"Try this one again," he said, giving her the first one once more. Again, she tried, and again, it was declined. He back took the card and moved out of the way.

"Sorry about that," she said to us. We just smiled at her and gave her our order. I pulled out my debit card to pay for it, but thought better of it and gave her cash instead.

A minute or two after we sat down to wait for our food, he was back at the cashier's station, asking her to try his cards. He just didn't get it that those cards wouldn't work. He must have worn her down, though, because the next time I saw him, he had a cup in his hand and he was filling it with soda.

He sat down at a table within my range of view and started talking to nobody in particular. He kept asking this entity if they liked eating there. Mel said, "Don't look at him. Don't make eye contact."

I lowered my eyes, even though he hadn't caught me looking at him. Didn't work. Within a minute or so, we heard this loud, booming voice directly over our shoulders. "What are you eating?" he asked us, standing uncomfortably close to our chairs. He was a tall and large man, so his presence was imposing. I was scared.

"Tacos," Mel said after a stunned second of silence.

"They make good tacos here," he said. Then he walked away. He looked for more people to talk to, but the others seated inside were big, brawny guys who probably wouldn't have minded beating up some crazy homeless guy, so he make a semicircle and sat back down at his own table.

One more trip to the cashier and then a visit to the pick-up counter, both fruitless. I imagine he was looking for food not picked up or left over. No luck, though, and he finally left for good, thus ending one of the weirdest Taco Cabana experiences I've ever had.

I have extreme mixed feelings about panhandlers. On one hand, I'm very sorry for anyone who has to live on the street. It's a hard life, I'm sure. On the other, I've seen them working all sorts of scams to get money and I've even been threatened when I wouldn’t give them any cash. One even beat on my car window in a rage. (Buskers and other street performers, on the other hand, work hard for their money. If they give me a show, I'll give them money.)

Once I witnessed shift change in a wheelchair. One guy got up and walked across the street to get a drink at a nearby Taco Bell while another took his place.

For a significant part of last summer, another held a sign up that said, "On the road. Need 37 cents for a taco." I guess he wasn't lying. He was on the road all right. He just wasn't going anywhere, because he was in the same spot every day. Toward the end of the summer, though, inflation hit. The cost of tacos rose to 83 cents.

The last time I gave money to a roadside beggar was in 1989. It was Christmas Day and I was on my way back to the Houston area after a trip home to Shreveport. It was cold as heck out there and, as I passed through Lufkin, snow started falling.

An obviously pregnant woman was standing, alone, in the middle of the intersection where Highway 59 takes a curve southward. I figured anyone standing in snowy, subfreezing weather on Christmas Day really did need the money. I had $5 in my pocket--all I had to live on until payday at the end of the month. Without a second thought, I pulled it out and gave it to her.

Lately, there has been a couple at the corner of Westgate and Lamar every evening. The guy's sign was supposed to read:

"Laid off
Pregnant wife
Will work"

What it said, though, was:

"Laid off
Pregnant
Wife Will work"

Will the wonders of modern medicine never cease? And what a dedicated wife!

Posted by Sushipig @ 05/06/2003 10:23 AM CST

Sunday, at the corner of Steck and Mopac, there was a guy with a sign that said "Why Lie? I need a beer." He ALMOST got money out of me for sheer cleverness, but I thought better...

Posted by timbrat @ 05/06/2003 10:55 PM CST

My favorite begging sign is one that said, "I get by with a lil' help from my friends." That was over by Highland Mall.

Posted by James @ 05/07/2003 12:25 PM CST

Howdy. My favorite panhandler sign here in Austin is "will take verbal abuse for money." That was tempting.

As for All My Children - those jerks got me watching with the whole lesbian plot line. Fortunately, I record it and zoom thru all the other crazy plotlines I'm not interested in. At least they've had them spend the night togeher and not kill each other yet. Although, the "adult content" warning before the big kiss pissed me off, I mean, it's not like more adult things like murder and adultry don't happen on soaps every week!!

Posted by Beth @ 05/10/2003 03:15 PM CST