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OK, for years I’ve been saying that “this is the year I’ll take that vacation to Europe.”  Every year I start to plan and something comes up.  A house to buy, a foundation to repair, a car to repair, medical expenses.  There is always something.

Then the other day I was sitting at an intersection, looking at a traveler stranded in this city, begging for a way out.  If I have any cash in my pocket, I’m likely to give at least a dollar to the man on the corner, regardless of sign.  But I sat there watching this scruffy looking guy, with a backpack,a beard and a sign.  Scribbled in marker on a piece of stained and folded cardboard were the words, “Traveling through, need help moving on.”

The first thought that came to mind was, “Where do homeless & broke people always find Sharpie® markers at?”  Then next thing I thought of; watching this man walk to at least 4 cars during this stop alone; was “I wonder who much they actually make a year?”

Now I usually give at least a dollar, sometimes as much as $5 depending on how I feel.  But I’m sure some people reach into an ashtray to grab just a couple of quarters.  So let’s low ball.  let’s say they get .50cents per person, and average 2 people per light cycle.  That’s $1.00 per light cycle.  Now the average wait per light cycle is 4 minutes.  The timers on most intersections are set to 1 minute per direction.

If it’s $1 every 4 minutes, they’re averaging FIFTEEN tax free dollars per hour.  Now that’s not the greatest living in the world but think about it, first off we low balled and secondly they’re not actually working. Still, if they stand there 8 hours a day that’s $120.  5 times a week that’s $600.  That’s over $31,000 a year, tax free, working your own hours and not having no boss or deadlines breathing down your neck.

THEN IT HIT ME:

I have been struggling to try and take a vacation, what if the good people of my city sent me on vacation.  What if I stood on the side of the road and asked people to support me, by giving me money to go on vacation?  I tend to give money to people who are willing to tell me the truth.  A 28 year old with a sign that said “disabled Vietnam Vet” might not get much from me, where a guy with a sign that said “Need a beer” would likely get enough for a 6-pack.  Honesty is, after all, the best policy.

So what if…? What if I stood on the side of the road with a sign that said:

OH YES I DID!

SO THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT BEGINS!

So I figure I’ll give it a shot, just to test the waters.  What if the Good People of San Antonio finally sent a guy on his dream vacation?  One day soon we will find out.

I’ll update this once I start.  Stay tuned…