in the East Bay-Walnut Creek outside of Whole Foods; Richmond, outside of Costco, and on Piedmont Avenue
by a Wells Fargo Bank in Oakland. The scene is a Romanian young woman with a baby in a stroller holding a
cardboard sign that says "LOST MY JOB NEED HELP".
She told me that she was staying with friends, that her husband had dropped her off on the corner after they
had taken the bus to her destination. I gave her a business card that has phone numbers of the local food bank
and housing help. I gave her $20.00. I feel I was scammed, but when I stood there and saw that little baby on
the street in that stroller, it seemed the right thing to do. I DO contribute regularly to the food bank and other
charities, but why do I feel like a dope now? Should I have just passed her by and felt guilt?
