Solicit me - solicit me not!

Solicitors according to bing.com/dictionary means: to try to get something by making insistent requests or pleas.

15th century. Via French < Latin sollicitare "disturb"

Public transport seems to be the perfect market place for solicitation. Have you ever wondered why?

A commuters mind is in a restful and vulnerable state while commuting, and while most choose music or other forms of distraction to pass the time, others fall prey to the fairy tails, dancing, singing, or whatever form craftiness solicitors have to offer.

Kids with candy: "excuse me ladies and gentlemen" commuters are required to help their basketball team get a new uniform. Parents usually go nuts since kids find it hard to refuse candy for $1.00 yet 1 box of Welsh’s fruit snacks available for $20 contains 80 packets. You do the math.

Veterans: back from war no help from the government, this usually gets a great reaction from the older crowd, and people that are familiar with the veteran community.

 

Music makers:  drums, steel pans, mariachi bands, jazz dazzlers, school bands."spoken word"speakers and magicians. Hip-hop beak dancers are usually a big hit with tourists! I guess nowhere else in the world / or country has transportation with live entertainment.

Well dressed: I’ve recently experienced a well dressed man begging for money on the train, unfortunately I immediately turned my music up and did not listen to his story. Not sure what that was about but I was not interested.

Funny signs: Funny signs are usually what softens a new Yorkers heart. If you can make them chuckle you might get some change.

Cartoon characters: Elmo and friends have become quite a hit, by doing nothing. Anyone can show up in a costume and charge a donation to appear in your lovely family photos; out of towners are usually the suckers for a person in full costume even though Halloween has long gone.

Be aware of Scams!

Ever so often a news report will cover subway scam artist stories, and allow commuters to express their shock and outrage (hilarious). So far I have seen, these few :

1.       Old woman ripping commuters off- she pretends to be homelss but after a hard days work of collecting change she hops in her BMW and drives away.

2.       Wheelchair dude. Every one knows this dude, he wheels in begging for change but can be seen walking home after dark.

3.       Young-dancing kid pretends to fall and or hits head. This was very popular at one point, until I saw the act 3 different times, how sad.

Who do you give your money 2 and why

I have done a little research on one of The Richest Beggars in The World, say hello to Ken Johnson, 52 is one of the richest beggar in the world. He begins his morning begging by sitting near the Myer shop at Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales, Australia. His routine is consistent, close to 16 hours everyday. After some time he began to notice that his cardboard sign makes him more money, generally he would make between $60 and $120 everyday. On a good day he makes close to $300. His total income rose to around $40,000 every year. This is just one of the largest annual incomes recorded from begging activity.

I honestly believe everyone has a soft spot for at least one of the usual solicitation tales we come across daily however before you disburse the donations remember that these stories are usually devised to get a generous reaction from the victim (yes that’s you).

 http://thegrio.com/2011/12/06/new-york-city-man-makes-55000-a-year-selling-candy-on-train/

Commutable safety tip: If you decide to be a door hugger (like me) ensure your clothes, bag, hair scarf or coat is completely inside the train, I have seen sleeves wigs and skirts caught in train doors and it is definitely not a good look.