Everyone has a past. It is difficult to judge what a person has been through or where they are coming from. A policeman compared to a person panhandling on the side of a street, both have faced a very different set of circumstances that led them to where they are in their lives. For a panhandler, usually, its a series of bad decision making and unfortunate events that push a person to the point of standing in front of strangers with an empty hand. But is that always the case?
Two men were on their way to work in Richmond, Virginia. They go from the same route every day, see the same streets, the same people. One day, however, something changed. The men notice a panhandler behaving strangely. The woman, who was unaware that she is being watched, does something in the next instance which took the men by surprise.
Due to heavy traffic, Jake and Paul have to wait at the traffic signal for at least 30 minutes as the cars slowly move forward. Traffic during the rush hour was an unpleasant sight. But by this point, they were almost immune to the waiting. As a result, Jake was almost immune to waiting anywhere, even outside Paul’s house as he honks the horn repeatedly urging him to hurry up! Paul’s attention was caught by a woman standing at the end of the line they were waiting in. Paul had noticed her before too, many times. As soon as the cars would stop at the signal, she would come knocking at their windows to get some cash from people. Paul couldn’t help but feel sad for the woman. He couldn’t imagine living his life on the road, asking strangers for money. Paul’s track of thought came to an abrupt halt as he heard some commotion coming from the front of the line. His eyes caught the panhandler shoving her envelope to somebody’s car window, asking for pennies. Paul noticed that the man inside the car did not open the window, probably refusing to help the woman. But what happened next was something he did not see coming.