The new National Anthem

I have been meaning to relay this story for sometime now, but I just didn't have the chance before now.

 With the worldwide economy the way it is, it's no wonder it has affected us here as well, with our government recently laying off a few more public service employees.  If you have been following my blog, you already know that most of our government employees show up to work, but that's it.
Anyway, I'm not going there today.

Over the years, my neighbourhood has had a few beggars and folks requesting money for various clubs and events, and many of us residing here have always been able to reach into our purses to help a good cause, especially those girl scout cookies.

Back in December, I was approached by a guy who was walking through our neighbourhood selling CD's.
His own music which he had produced and burned his own copies.  I was outside working on my project, and he stopped to ask me if I was interested.
Very politely, I informed him that I wasn't interested, but he continued,
"Don't you like music then?"
"Of course I like music, but I'm not interested in purchasing any music today," I answered. "Furthermore, I don't keep money in the house anyway, so it would be kinda hard to make a purchase." I went on to tell him.
He then went on to elaborate about how he had fallen on hard times, and it was becoming quite a headache to survive.
I told him we were all feeling the pressure, and I wished him a good day and hope that he sold many CD's along the way.
I figured he got the message , and he ambled off down the street.

Okay, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  Sunday morning, I'm preparing Sunday lunch, and my phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hi V, it's Sean next door, I saw a suspicious-looking man open your gate and went down your driveway leaving the gate open a good few minutes ago, I have not seen him come back out, and your gate is still open."
The neighbourhood was still wary after all the robberies that we had been having. Not only that but door-to-door begging was a thing of the past.  I thanked my neighbour for alerting me.
I rushed outside with my kitchen towel in my hand (in ready-to-fight mode) to find the said man standing on my front patio ringing the door bell and calling out to see if anyone was at home.
The SAID MAN from before.
Today, he has a different story.
Today he is collecting funds to sponsor a booth at Agrofest 2014.  He wants to showcase how to start your own kitchen garden.
I told him he was very lucky that my dog was not outside when he opened the gate and ventured on to the property, if not he would have been torn to pieces.  Yes, I'm referring to Brownie, so wipe that smirk off of your face right now.

Once again, I patiently (at first) explain to him, that I'm not interested and I have no money in the house.
He is not giving up.  He reaches into his bag and brings out to my dismay, some craft items that he now wants to sell to me.
"I have no money to buy anything, so maybe you should move on to the other neighbours," I told him.
"Dem all tell me de same thing that they don't have any money, and that things brown."

My patience is running quite thin now.  We're not talking about a guy trying to feed his kids or pay his medical expenses, we are talking about a strong robust "hard-back" fellow, who has a lot more odd-job work ahead of him as far as I can tell. I can bet you if I had told him to cut the lawn or prune the hedge for the money, he would have said no.
"That's true," I answered, "It's a worldwide ting......things brown and I can't help you today or any other day."
To which he replied, "That seems to be the new National Anthem for everybody these days!!"
Can you believe it?

My Mum always said, Never Start Something You Can't Finish.  If I had started giving him money, he'd never stop coming around to beg for more  in a smart way.
I ushered him through the open gate and sent him on his way.....he is a real nuisance, and if he knows what's good for him, he'd better not show his face here again.

Although, if he were more like this guy, I would have found some spare change just because.....

"things brown" = local term for things bad financially

N.B. All images taken from Google Images