POVERTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

I delivered our Nissan parts load to Greenville, South Carolina tonight. (Friday night). Before delivering, I stopped in Duncan, South Carolina for fuel. A man approached me asking me to help him get something to eat. It's often conflicting when these situations arise. So many of these panhandlers are drug addicts or simply lazy beyond forgiveness. This man knew I was agitated, yet he continued to talk to me. He pulled out his prison inmate release card. Now I was interested. He had more to present than the average sob story -for which I have very little use. I invited him to come up stairs and order whatever he wanted from the Wendy's restaurant. He was taken aback by my generosity. We continued to talk for a while. My desire for realness and fascination was being satisfied. I felt it was a fair enough exchange.

Prior to my fuel stop, I noticed that there were many more vehicles than usual broken down on the side of the freeway. (Don't you know I collected more than a dozen Waze points along the way? Ha ha)
Seriously, I suppose this is an indication of how little people are able to afford to maintain their vehicles. They break down on the side of the interstate and the expenses get costlier.

After my delivery, I drove north for a while, deciding to end my workday in Duncan, South Carolina – the town I had fueled in just a few hours earlier, only I pulled into a different truck stop. Before I could properly eyeball a vacant parking space, a skinny white man approached me, asking how I was doing tonight." Are you going to ask me for money?" I asked. "No, I'm just trying to see if you can help me get something to eat" He said. He looked like he was well-versed in panhandling. Then he told me that he wasn't allowed to go in the truck stop building. He obviously has made a lifestyle out of mooching off of the sympathies of others, and had become a local nuisance. I have a tender heart for helping others, but to this one I had to say "no".