Why Lie, It's For Beer

So I haven’t seen anyone else making out in alleys or on IndyGo, but I did observe the best little kid ever. My friends and I are walking to lunch, when I notice a mom and her son (who I almost missed because he was wearing camouflage) and daughter, about six and four years old, respectively. We stop at the corner of Washington and Illinois, and a panhandler featuring a sign that reads, “Why Lie, It’s for Beer” is also at this corner.

Then I hear the cute little boy in camouflage shorts say, “Hey, hey, I tried to say hi to you and you ignored me.” I turn around to watch this. “That’s right, I’m talking to you,” the little camo kid said. He was pointing at the honest panhandler. The mom was mortified. She wasn’t speaking. The panhandler didn’t say a word either and looked quite surprised. “Mom, I tried to say hi to him, and he just ignored me.”

The light changed, and the little lighted man on the crosswalk sign said we had about 27 seconds to cross the street. The mom grabbed her kids and crossed, leaving the panhandler on the corner. They didn’t give him any beer money.