Gimpy (aka John) the Professional Panhandler redux

OK.

I have been out here for almost six years and I have seen this guy limping back and forth on the median strip on the corner of N and LVB for all of those six years. He is out there day and night, even in the dust storms, hoping for someone to hand him a buck or two out a barely cracked window. Because of the limp, most people just refer to him as "Gimpy".

But his real name is John. He is NOT homeless, he is not hungry and he has enough money coming in to live comfortably. But John likes meth, I am told by a former friend of his. So he needs to beg to get the money he needs to feed his habit. You can see how the drug is messing him over as he shuffles by the cars waiting for the light to change. I won't give him money, but occasionally I see a "touron" (a word I am borrowing from a friend. It means "tourist moron") pass him something.

I may get stuck at the light and have to watch him shuffle along at least four or five times a week. He has become part of the scenery. But then I have to wonder...

He gets picked up by the cops at least once a month. They keep him in jail for a couple of days and then he is right back on the corner. This kind of ties into my belief that jail time is NOT the solution for the drug addicted. They aren't kept in jail long enough to dry out and get the help they need. How can 48 hours even begin to do any good?

Meanwhile, all you see is the man limping along every day, looking pathetic and hoping to get enough money to feed his habit.