Member-only story
Why I Blocked a Homeless Woman on Cashapp
Sometimes all you can do is walk away.
When I first saw Amber she stood outside the 7–11. She’d told me herself she chose this gas station because it was in a nicer area. Her children made me stop. Two school-aged teens with sad eyes who didn’t deserve to go hungry. Neither did she. Everyone falls on hard times of some kind, but I have a weak spot for the innocents. The large man with her didn’t say anything to me but watched all the same. After I went inside and bought them some food and water, I came out and went to hand her another $20.
“Actually,” she told me. “Could I add you on Cashapp?”
“Oh, yeah sure,” I’d told her.
And honestly, it was a big mistake.
Look. I’m not perfect, but overall, I don’t like to judge people. The person who you thought would be one way won’t be like that at all. Good guy ends up bad and scary old guy is just a sweet old grandpa.
Assume innocent until proven otherwise, right?
I’m also kind of a pushover. At first, it didn’t bother me at all that she wanted to add me on Cashapp. I didn’t intend to see her again, but I chalked it up to a “one and done” kind of deal.
