Boy sells teddy bear to get something to eat

Blumudus insisted that I should comment on this piece of news. It’s actually from last summer, but I kept postponing it. Then Christmas Time comes and Blumudus goes: “Now you’ve got no excuses, do it.” In fact it’s a fitting story for the holiday season, when the media keep pushing feel-good stories and/or tear-jerker stuff, possibly with a child as the protagonist. He’s right, of course. Let’s do this.   In the small town of Franklin, Ohio, a police patrol found a 7-year-old boy wandering around alone, trying to sell his teddy bear to be able to buy food. He hadn’t eaten in several days. This episode was reported by Officer Steve…

Continue reading

White trash. When life gives you no excuses.

Today I had a conversation with a semi-pro panhandler. It all started in a desert and sun soaked Via Di San Martino, a steep sloping street in Genoa, my hometown. This guy oddly decided to ask me, a complete stranger he just ran into, for advice about good places for begging. An interesting man in his own way. 50 years old, he lost his job more than a couple of years ago, meanwhile relatives that could lend him a hand passed away. He talks a lot; it’s hard to tell where his real life story fades into a more endearing, conveniently altered version. He insists that he’s looking for a…

Continue reading