Hey----Give this man a chance. If he is off drugs, that's a good start. That Hare Krishna stuff is usually a fad for most people, unless he has already shaved his head and bought a sari and a tambourine, then maybe not. Hare Krishna is a by-product of the Hinduism religion, so how many of them are around? Probably more than I think.
This reminds me of the time when I first stepped off of a train in New York City and my wife and I were walking up the platform to the stairway when we were approached by 2 Krishna's (they were actually 2 young boys) asking for what else, but money. I had to ask the youngest one how old he was. He told me 14 or 15, I forget. I asked him if the other dude was his brother. He said he was. I asked him how old he was and he told me, I believe 17. I then asked if they lived in the City. One said no and the other shook his head, No. I asked them where they were from and the oldest said they were from Connecticut. I asked them why don't they go home and go to the movies or something else that kids their age do and enjoy life. The oldest tells me, "Oh, we're not Hare Krishna's, we are filling in for our sister who was supposed to be doing this, but had to be in a wedding." I said to him, "Wait a minute. You're taking your sister's place begging." He said, "Yeah, if she doesn't do it, she has to get someone else to fill in for her or else she could get kicked out or something bad like that." By now, I had a smile on my face. I asked him how old was his sister. He said 22. Next, I asked him, "Why didn't you shave your head." The oldest boy says, "Hey, I'm just trying to collect some money for these guys and I'm not into this stuff myself." I said, "I'll tell you what. I'll give you a $50.00 bill, but only if you stop this foolishness and go home." He said, "Mister, you got a deal." I asked him how he got there. He said by train. I said, "OK, you go get your ticket for the next train home and come back here within 10 minutes, show me the ticket and I'll give you the $50.00 bill. He did just that. I really liked this kid, actually I liked both boys. They were good kids that were trying to help out there sister. I love family loyalty. They actually reminded me of Wally and Beaver, only they were older.
After we walked away, my wife, who was smiling all the time, told me that she knew that I was going to get them to leave. I told her, "Well, I wasn't sure that they would, but I thought that the $50.00 would kind of nudge them into making the right choice." This probably happened back in the late 80's, I guess.
Not a criticism, just an observation.
