Sidney Beck Poet Couplet

Panhandling In Almaty

PANHANDLING     IN     ALMATY

Used to  think  I was street smart   till a couple of years ago
Touring in  Almaty*,   strolling the street,  looking western,  you know.

Young guy  comes up to me and shows me a large bill and asks for small change.
Foreign language….who knew?   I got out all my coins and offered to exchange: 
He took them all politely.  He   walked  slowly  to another tourist and then
Politely did exactly  the  same thing  again.

I’d never seen this con, asking for small change  -  misleadingly simple  ruse  -
But not in exchange for  his  large bill :   gambling that tourists  he would  confuse.
I reckoned his income was greater than mine,  maybe 50 000 bucks a year.
Panhandling   in  Almaty makes a  profit  big  and clear.

………………………………………………………………………………………………
*Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan.  The city was  formerly 
  called Alma Ata, and it used to be  the Kazakh capital.

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Carolyn Devonshire January 14, 2011 at 2:04 PM Well, I haven't been abroad yet, Syd, but I'll take the message in your poem as a warning. There are all sorts of con games played here in the states as well and when I worked for the Attorney General's office, I wrote about them frequently. Great work here; we can learn from this. Love, Carolyn

Dr.Ram Mehta January 14, 2011 at 9:37 AM Very fabulkous write on the foreign exchange, Sydney. You have great flair for imagination

Nette Onclaud January 14, 2011 at 8:18 AM real glad to know more about people in another place behave in their own milieu... oh, fine write for the contest, sydney.. did a piece too called " ordained origins.." :) nette