A Moral Dilemma

Have you ever tried to purchase a $3 metro farecard using a $20 bill?

I only ask because if you haven't had the experience of lugging 5 pounds of quarters and dimes in your cargo pants pocket, you clearly haven't lived.

A couple months ago, I had such a dilemma. I forgot my SmarTrip card at home and only had $22 in my wallet. I needed $3.25. Van Dorn metro can be a pretty lonely place in the morning. No shops to break the $20. The metro station manager was as reliable as the metro system itself (read: not very helpful). All the people in line didn't have change or were too rushed to even notice my plea. I sort of felt like a beggar asking for spare change. I could see the next blue line train to Largo was arriving in four minutes and I certainly did not want to get on it with a bowl of change.

Then suddenly I saw him. Had he been there the whole time or did he just appear out of nowhere? My first reaction was to dismiss the thought completely. However, I noticed he was clutching something in his hand- a McDonald's cup. And from the sound of it, it was full of change. But how do you ask a homeless person for $1.25 in change? Are you even allowed to do that? Total role reversal, but the guy had the better half of a McDonald's cup full and the day was young. So I mustered up some courage and walked over to him.

The first thing I noticed was a slight whiff of urine.

"Excuse me, sir, I know this might seem inappropriate, but I was wondering if you could spare me some change?", I asked ever so politely.

"Huh? What the hell, is this a joke? This is all I got. Are you trying to get funny with me?", he replied.

"No, sir. You see, I'm $1.25 short for my metro fare and I noticed you had a cup full of change and..."

"...and you thought it was OK to ask me? A poor person? Get the hell out of here, man." I started to walk away. "Hey, you do know those fare card machines take credit cards, right?" I hadn't thought of that. "F*cking idiot".

Of course, homeless man was right. They do take credit cards. And I did feel like an idiot. On the train ride into work, I felt a little embarrassed. But at least I didn't smell like pee.