Ken,
I am getting in on this conversation without knowing what preceeded it but I must
say this.  Knowing that you live in a large city, and I come from Los Angeles
originally, I think you tend to see it all in a place like that and you do become
cynical and skeptical, for safety sake.  I now live in a small rural area and we
don't think about things like that as much, but a person cannot be unaware that
even here, demons do appear and strange things happen.  Being kind to strangers
is a way of life here, but being from the city, I always have a reflex that seems
ready to spring.  I hope this isn't totally off course since I missed some of
this but just an observation.
Jennifer Smith

KEn Becker wrote:

> Thanks for the correction, Janet, it came from a usually reliable source. On
> the other hand it is something that COULD happen, so it is better to be safe
> than sorry.Too many people have been injured or killed becasue they were just
> being nice...The following is true, I witnessed it myself: A young man was
> standing in the middle of  a large intersection, holding  a small gasoline
> can, asking everyone who stopped for $2, as he had run out of gas on the
> highway.  I had a few questions in my mind: 1 Why was he there three days in
> a row? 2 How unlucky would one be to not only run out of gas, but to not have
> $2 to buy some from the filling station located 3 blocks away? 3
> Conveniently he had a nice new container for gas, but after getting a
> donation he did not go to get it filled, but kept asking for donations, Why?
> 4 How often does a nicely dressed person leave the house without any money or
> even a credit card, when driving on the highway?  5 Why was he not near his
> car? Call me Mr. Cynical, but I believe it was a scam!  True, he wasn't
> hurting anyone except for slowing traffic through the intersection, but he
> was stealing money from anyone willing to give it. Truth is stranger than
> fiction!
> Ken B