Mâna întinsă care nu spune o poveste nu primeşte pomană

             Living downtown on the main street of Bucharest, I see all sorts of beggars around.  There are the usual old ladies and kids who sit down by the sidewalk. Some are even dropped by their families in their usual spots every morning and picked up in the afternoon.

I don’t usually help them because I know there’s a mafia of beggars operating in Bucharest and even the government has a campaign against it with a huge outdoor advertising saying that some beggars make more money than honestly employed people. So I rarely give them money. And I make a special point in not helping when they call me “china”. And most do.

But one day, long ago, when I was still living in Ploiesti I was walking the streets and an old lady asked me for help and called me “Domnul Japonezu” (Mr. Japanese). So I stopped, thanked her and gave her a 50.000L note, which in that period was enough for her to buy bread for more than a week.

Most of the beggars just simply ask for money.  Some even quote a sum. The minimalists just shove their open hands towards you without a word.

            But in the famous words spoken by the late Gheorghe Dinica in the celebrated Romanian movie Filantropica by Nae Caranfil: "Mâna întinsă care nu spune o poveste nu primeşte pomană" or  "a stretched hand without a tale receives no alms."

            So this is when they have to exercise their creativity.

            Yesterday under the Coloamne on Pta. Romana there was a man with a sign that read: "Mi-e foame" (I'm hungry). Simple and straight to the point. The font he chose was not a real good choice but I suppose he was no designer. At least he knows how to write.

            Also under the Coloamne there use to be an old man with a sign containing a double page magazine article about himself. As I never stopped to read the article I have no idea what it is about but he seems to be a celebrity beggar.

            Today in front of Cartureşti there was a lady with a small kid and a sign that said simply: "Chiria 80 Lei" (Rent: 80 Lei). Which I hope meant that she was asking for people to help her pay her rent, not that she was renting her kid for 80 Lei.

            When I was living near Cismigiu Park there was an old man in ragged clothes and disabled legs who used to camp  at the corner of Ion Campineanu. One day I passed and he called me Domnul Japonezu. I saluted him and he asked me where in Japan I am from and I told him Nagoya. Then he told me that he has been to Japan and I thought: Yeah right. I asked him where in Japan has he been and he said Tokyo and Oklahoma. I had difficulty in keeping a straight face and not rolling on the floor laughing. He continued his story and told me that he used to be a physics professor and he was invited on a government delegation to Japan to visit the Kanagawa Institute of Physics in the 70s.

            Then I realized that the guy was serious. As the Kanagawa Institute of Physics is in Yokohama, he probably meant Yokohama instead of Oklahoma.
             He continued his story and told me he was a physics professor and because of a disease he had his legs paralyzed and had to retire early.

            After that talk he saluted me every day on my way back from work and one day he asked me if I could lend him 16Ron and he would pay me as soon as he gets his monthly pension. I gave him 20 and told him to not worry about giving it back.

            When I lived in the Muncii area, on the Subway station there used to be a guitarist who was always singing Romanian folk songs but whenever he saw me he would start playing Elvis, probably trying to appeal to the foreign audience. 

            There was also the girl who played violin, not in the station but in the train itself. She used to play a short song and then walk around with a cup collecting  coins. Maybe I’m being a little picky but I used to find very annoying that her tempo was always spoiled by the train’s shaking. If she would use it to her advantage and play songs that had the shaking in tempo with the song I would give her a considerable tip.

On the entrance to the metro station at Stefan Cel Mare there was a violinist who was always playing those Romanian folk songs that have tempo signatures that are a mystery for me. Probably something like 8/17 or some other signature that I find impossible to tap my foot to. But one day when I was on my way home he was playing Bach’s Air from the Suite No.3. I was so surprised that I stopped and put a tenner on his violin case and told him that this is for Bach and he thanked me profusely.

About a year or so ago I was coming home from work and on Magheru, at the traffic light in front of McDonalds, a girl stopped me to ask me for some money to go to Timisoara. She was in her early 20s and very polite. I asked her what she needs to go there for and she smiled shyly and said she wants to go to a rock festival. I thought that was nice. I mean, she could have told me that she had to visit her dying grandmother in the hospital but she decided to tell me the truth. And also, I was her age once and have hitch hiked to go see rock concerts too. So I gave her 20Ron and told her that I am giving it because she was honest. She crossed the street after me thanking me profusely.

Then about 6 months later I saw her again. In the exactly the same spot and she was again asking me for money to go to a rock festival, this time in Brasov. However, she was changed. This time she had her hair much longer, dyed black with red streaks, she had more piercings on her face than Tony Montana in the end of Scarface after saying “Say hello to my little friend!!” She was wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket with metal studs. She was completely stoned and called me “dude”. And I started thinking… Maybe it was my fault…? Maybe if I haven’t given her the money for her to go to the first festival she wouldn’t have met the bad influence that transformed her? Naaah. I don’t need this kind of weight on my conscience. So I told her that this time I won’t be giving her any money.

Remember how she thanked me profusely last time? Well, this time she was also profuse but I don’t believe she was thankful. I remember her suggesting in a very loud voice that I should go to a pool. Though I am not sure if she meant billiards or a swimming pool. She crossed the street after me suggesting very vehemently that I go to other unholy places as well.

Now this last case happened a week or so ago, again in the same spot: Magheru in front of McD.
I was waiting for the light to turn green and a guy approached me and asked me if I speak Romanian. I said yes. And he started: “You seem to be a very intelligent and serious man so I’m sure you will understand my problem. I have some serious psychological problems so could you help me with some money for a medical treatment before I become paranoic?"

Now that was a pretty good and original one! Too bad he didn’t pretend to look over his shoulder or to hear voices in his head. I would have given him a 50 for the act.