Disturbing trend

I just recently completed an 1100 mile drive along I-5 to the California border and back. In the process, I saw a disturbing new trend.

The dozens of Rest Areas in both Washington and Oregon, are over-run with panhandlers. Every rest stop had at least one, and several had more. One had at least three different groups asking for money.

I took the opportunity to talk with some of them. In one case, a man sitting in a wheelchair had a sign proclaiming that he was a disabled vet. After talking with him a few minutes, it turned out that he had a back problem, didn’t really need the wheelchair and was not disabled while in the service.

At another location we saw a family in a car, with a large cardboard sign covering their entire windshield. The sign said they were stranded and needed money for food and gas. Upon talking with them, it was obvious they were from the nearby town and had lived there for many years.

It wasn’t the stories that made the impression, but the fact that the rest stops have become panhandler heaven.