Uptown on the F

Last week, I was riding the F train uptown to our client's office. On my way there, I heard someone announce "Hello ladies and gentleman. I do not usually do this, but I was laid off from my job and I have a wife and kids to take care of. If you could spare some change ..."

Now, panhandling in the subways is by no means a unique event. But in all my years of riding the subways, both here and in Toronto, and in other countries for that matter, I've never seen anyone use a baby. Yes, this man was pushing a boy, who was not quite a toddler yet, in a baby carriage. I must admit that they caught my attention.

Usually, I never give money to anyone in the subway trains. I prefer to give through charities or charity shops like Housing Works. That way, I know where my money is going. But because this guy had a baby, I considered giving them something.

But then I reconsidered. If I were that guy, I would never ever bring my child along for something like this. There are a lot of other environments where you can get help that would be much better for a baby. And giving him money for his kid (if it even was his kid) would be encouraging this child exploitation.

Then, as if to confirm my suspicions, the guy suddenly lost his tired hangdog expression and replaced it with one of alarm instead. He grabbed the baby carriage and broke into a run through the subway train and out the door. So the big question is... who was he running from? I tried to see who he was looking at, but couldn't find anyone obvious in a police uniform, etc. I guess it could be a plain clothes cop whom he had recognized, or maybe... some shadier person...? dum dum dum!