Thumper
03-22-2014, 11:00 AM
One thing I can't do anymore is wash my own car, so nowadays I have to run down to the local car wash. It's one of those "hand wash" places where they run it through the automatic car wash thingy, then a crew wipes the car down, cleans the interior, windows in & out, cleans the wheels and shines the tires, etc. As I was sitting inside waiting for them to finish up, I paid my bill and the gal behind the counter asked if I wanted to contribute to "Joe Blow's" (don't remember his name) wheelchair fund. Huh? She then pointed to a poster and a donations jar at the end of the counter.
I stepped over to read the poster and they were taking up donations to buy "Joe" a "customized & motorized" wheelchair. Ok, sounds like a reasonable cause. I continued to read "Joe's" story. Evidently he crashed his motorcycle (no mention of details) and is now paralyzed, so this place is taking up a collection for some sort of fancy wheelchair thingy. Ok, I'm a compassionate dude and was considering dropping a buck in the jar, even though I had no clue who "Joe" was.
BUT ... at the bottom of the poster they had a big 8'X10" photo of "Joe". The pic was of a big, hairy, bearded, tattooed biker dude sitting on a Harley with a dang BEER in his hand.
I caught myself standing there judging this guy ... without knowing him ... and I had a negative feeling about the whole thing. He may be a great guy ... who knows? I didn't drop that dollar in the jar. I sat waiting for my car and the whole time I was thinking, "What sort of moron would post a picture of a dude on a motorcycle, drinking beer and then ask for donations because he crashed his bike?"
It's kind of bugging me. Was I too judgmental?
I stepped over to read the poster and they were taking up donations to buy "Joe" a "customized & motorized" wheelchair. Ok, sounds like a reasonable cause. I continued to read "Joe's" story. Evidently he crashed his motorcycle (no mention of details) and is now paralyzed, so this place is taking up a collection for some sort of fancy wheelchair thingy. Ok, I'm a compassionate dude and was considering dropping a buck in the jar, even though I had no clue who "Joe" was.
BUT ... at the bottom of the poster they had a big 8'X10" photo of "Joe". The pic was of a big, hairy, bearded, tattooed biker dude sitting on a Harley with a dang BEER in his hand.
I caught myself standing there judging this guy ... without knowing him ... and I had a negative feeling about the whole thing. He may be a great guy ... who knows? I didn't drop that dollar in the jar. I sat waiting for my car and the whole time I was thinking, "What sort of moron would post a picture of a dude on a motorcycle, drinking beer and then ask for donations because he crashed his bike?"
It's kind of bugging me. Was I too judgmental?