The word from the street
TONY
“Did you see that story in Metro about the guy who won the $4 million?”
PHILIP
“That was pretty amazing.”
TONY
“So he gets himself locked up when he shows up to collect. Turns out the cops were looking for him. With $4 million, I’ll tell you, for some jail time, think I would do it noooooo problem.”
TONY
“A cop gave me a ticket yesterday.”
PHILIP
“For what? For being homeless?”
TONY
“Almost. I was standing at the top of the street and this cruiser stopped and the cop gave me a ticket. She said I was panhandling near a bank machine which was an offence. So I asked if I could at least get a warning first, since I didn’t know about the law but he officer didn’t budge at all.
“So today a friend tells me that CFRB radio said that a lot of street people had been ticketed recently for all sorts of things. The guy on the radio said that it costs way more to lock folks up than the city will ever collect in fines. No kidding! I mean, where am I going to find the ninety-six bucks anyway?”
Homeless Man Speaks 