Life Needs a Better Reward System

Yesterday I had the experience of giving away money for nothing. I was on my way to the PAC to perform in the show I'm currently in (the pit of) and due to our small little production having a performance the same night as the ballet's monster production of Dracula, parking was $5.00. Not having five bucks, this is not where I parted with my cash. Instead, I kept driving down 2nd Street and found a spot on the side of the road just past Main Street (about a block away from the theater) and, seeing as paid parking is free after 6, this is also not where my money left me.

I grabbed my sax from my trunk and started down the sidewalk. I was on the wrong side of the building so when I saw a small "Hey look, trees!" park thing right next to the theater, I thought I'd just cut through and be on my way. As it turns out, the opposite side of that grotto is totally not street level. It's actually about 20 feet above it. Being rather awesome, I could have easily survived the fall quite handily, but the sax wouldn't have. I didn't see a way down, only a bridge connecting to City Hall, and some double doors into the PAC. I went up to check them and naturally they were locked. They even had a convenient sign on the other side that, when read through the convenient glass, said that it was a convenient sign, conveniently located to inform you that those doors were, in all convenience, "Emergency Exit Only."

Now, this whole time I had had it in the back of my mind that this little nature preserve was picturesque in its setting for a horror movie. Now that I had reached a dead end, these thoughts came running to the front of my brain screaming bloody murder and telling me that a 20 foot drop wasn't such a bad deal. Fortunately I gave those thoughts a sedagive and turned around to head back the way I came.

Because of my navigational expertise, I had gotten myself into a corner with no exit were I to be accosted by a bum. I was accosted by a bum. He was now in the national park I had just passed through and intended to pass through again along my merry way. He pleaded for my attention with, "Sir? Sir!" and I, with no way out, gave it to him. He proceeded to tell me that all he wanted was a couple bucks to rent a cheap room so he didn't have to sleep in the rain. He promised he was willing to work for it (by washing my car or anything else I could come up with) and also that if I declined, he wouldn't hold it against me and that he had also never been to jail. That's what I caught, which is only about half considering how much he said I couldn't decipher. While Pearl Jam's Even Flow buzzed through my mind and I contemplated shifting my sax from the hand closest to him to my other one for comfort and whether or not he'd take offense to this "protective" gesture, I decided I'd give him some change and wish him luck. I dug into my pocket and grabbed only part of my change (still a lot more than I meant to), gave it to him, and walked off.

At that point, nothing happened. He didn't give me any special items or a tip to a hidden treasure or, in a massive logistical failure, a monetary reward. He said thanks, didn't give a "God bless." (thank God) and went on his way. I didn't get any experience aside from not to grab as much change. I didn't even get a deep rooted feeling of bettering the world or having done something good and right. The only thought I really left the encounter with was whether or not I had enough change left to get a 75 cent soda from the machine backstage. Maybe somewhere down the line he'll track me down after making billions of dollars and offer me a few million, but in all honesty, I seriously doubt he got the $7 he needed in time to sleep with a roof over his head.