“The working poor haven’t abdicated responsibility for their lives. They’re drowning in it.”

[George II]

26. Excellent observations..

When I was in college (1970s), I drove a taxicab in NYC at night. I noticed that the nicest, most sincere, BEST tippers were the hard working blue collar passengers. They KNEW what it was like to hustle for a living, and they passed on that appreciation to others who worked hard.

On the other hand, the snarliest, most unfriendly and WORST tippers were those going to Sutton Place, Fifth Avenue, etc. It was almost like they begrudged having to spend 15 minutes or so in the same car as a lowly taxicab driver. In fact, one old woman that I drove to a ritzy address on the east side ran up a fare of $1.25. She gave me the fare and then dropped a nickel, then a second nickel, and finally a third nickle into the cup between the driver and passenger seats. I gave her back the $0.15 and told her "this probably means more to you than it does to me!"

Ever since, I've always gone out of my way to be an excellent tipper in restaurants, taxicabs, etc - knowing full well how hard these people (not "THOSE" people!) work and how much they need the extra few cents or dollars.

A little off topic, but I saw many of the same things you mentioned above in my younger days.