Last time I was in the Magnificent Mile, I’m pretty sure I gave money to some fourteen-year-old con artists. Three kids, trying to get money for entry to a basketball tournament. They showed me a very unofficial-looking document with some generic information. No dates or organization names or anything. Yep. I gave them a buck anyway. I just wanted to continue drinking my tea and smoking my cigarette.

I suppose I shouldn’t encourage that behavior, but I was actually impressed with their initiative. Instead of just panhandling, they went through all the trouble to come up with a scheme and then carry it out. They could be run the country some day.