Not Raptured, the Sequel
May. 29th, 2011 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scott_sanfordBack in my first post on this subject I said I hoped to try this again the next day, and I have been asked to write up what happened on the second day of sign holding. Okay.
The Day After the Rapture
Since I'd tried this with mixed results on Saturday, I wanted to try again and do it better the second time around. The most important point seemed to be site selection, and on that I got lucky. There's a place on a concrete median near the Lloyd Center, where people can cross the highway going south on 12th, which is very popular with sign holders; when I showed up on Sunday it was unoccupied so I seized the opportunity.
I wasn't disappointed with the payoff; this yielded results comparable with Saturday's donations at the freeway site. On the other hand I was a little disappointed that I didn't get so many smiles and laughs. The sign got its share of reactions, yes, but not as much as on the 21st. I suspect both the site was not as encouraging of reading and the joke was not as topical the day after.
The afternoon passed reasonably well, all in all; it rained a bit sometimes but wasn't too bad. Various motorists did speak up to compliment my sign, which was very pleasant for me. (At one point a pair women asked, "Have you ever tried to be a male stripper?", and I had to admit that I haven't - as mentioned in the first post, I'm presentable enough but not that striking; I'm at a loss to explain why they asked. Apparently that wasn't the answer they were hoping for, as they drove off after I said no.) As before, the most donations came from the apparently middle class; neither the poor nor wealthy seem to donate much to sign holders, which isn't all that surprising. Mid-afternoon wasn't terribly productive, but around noon and the late afternoon were; a more experienced sign holder might know if this is typical.
Around 5PM it started raining in earnest so I retired to the Lloyd Center to take shelter, eat, and rest from standing so long. When I passed the site on my way home, at 5:45, a real transient had taken my place and was soliciting money with his own sign. I wish him luck.
The loot
This was the only site to yield more than dollar bills in cash; in fact, two people donated $5 bills, which struck me as very generous indeed considering the low demands of standing at a light holding a piece of cardboard. Also, food donations seem to be pretty common, which combined with the EBT system suggests that starvation is not a major problem for the Portland homeless.
Cash donations: $26.00 in bills
$3.99 in coins
$.13 found on ground
$? Costa Rican 50 colones coin
Other donations: two energy bars
Subway fajita thing (unfamiliar to me, but tasty)
Offer of socks (declined)
Conclusions
A good site can yield about $6 per hour - not as much as even minimum wage, but not so bad for those who only need money for their alcoholic beverages.
Unfortunately, the second day was not as much fun as the first, now that the novelty was wearing off a bit. I may try this again later, but for the moment my curiosity is satisfied, and I'm in no particular hurry to try Will Hold Cardboard Sign for Money - although I'm sorry that April 1st is past; I'd like to try putting on a suit & tie and hold something that just said Cardboard Sign. And, too, I'd hate to do this if I actually cared about the money. As an experiment, joke, or performance art it's fun; holding a sign for money, not so much.
The Day After the Rapture
Since I'd tried this with mixed results on Saturday, I wanted to try again and do it better the second time around. The most important point seemed to be site selection, and on that I got lucky. There's a place on a concrete median near the Lloyd Center, where people can cross the highway going south on 12th, which is very popular with sign holders; when I showed up on Sunday it was unoccupied so I seized the opportunity.
I wasn't disappointed with the payoff; this yielded results comparable with Saturday's donations at the freeway site. On the other hand I was a little disappointed that I didn't get so many smiles and laughs. The sign got its share of reactions, yes, but not as much as on the 21st. I suspect both the site was not as encouraging of reading and the joke was not as topical the day after.
The afternoon passed reasonably well, all in all; it rained a bit sometimes but wasn't too bad. Various motorists did speak up to compliment my sign, which was very pleasant for me. (At one point a pair women asked, "Have you ever tried to be a male stripper?", and I had to admit that I haven't - as mentioned in the first post, I'm presentable enough but not that striking; I'm at a loss to explain why they asked. Apparently that wasn't the answer they were hoping for, as they drove off after I said no.) As before, the most donations came from the apparently middle class; neither the poor nor wealthy seem to donate much to sign holders, which isn't all that surprising. Mid-afternoon wasn't terribly productive, but around noon and the late afternoon were; a more experienced sign holder might know if this is typical.
Around 5PM it started raining in earnest so I retired to the Lloyd Center to take shelter, eat, and rest from standing so long. When I passed the site on my way home, at 5:45, a real transient had taken my place and was soliciting money with his own sign. I wish him luck.
The loot
This was the only site to yield more than dollar bills in cash; in fact, two people donated $5 bills, which struck me as very generous indeed considering the low demands of standing at a light holding a piece of cardboard. Also, food donations seem to be pretty common, which combined with the EBT system suggests that starvation is not a major problem for the Portland homeless.
Cash donations: $26.00 in bills
$3.99 in coins
$.13 found on ground
$? Costa Rican 50 colones coin
Other donations: two energy bars
Subway fajita thing (unfamiliar to me, but tasty)
Offer of socks (declined)
Conclusions
Unfortunately, the second day was not as much fun as the first, now that the novelty was wearing off a bit. I may try this again later, but for the moment my curiosity is satisfied, and I'm in no particular hurry to try Will Hold Cardboard Sign for Money - although I'm sorry that April 1st is past; I'd like to try putting on a suit & tie and hold something that just said Cardboard Sign. And, too, I'd hate to do this if I actually cared about the money. As an experiment, joke, or performance art it's fun; holding a sign for money, not so much.
