...then I started wondering about the snacks.

Today I was waiting to take the subway home and a woman approached me (as I was playing Brick Breaker) to ask if I would give her 50 cents.

Normally in this situation one would assume that the money was going for some sort of necessity--most likely food. But this woman seemed clean and relatively well-dressed, so I figured she might need it for something else, perhaps to make a phone call from the subway station. My asking her came on almost instinctually--like a curiosity as to why someone so evidently not homeless would need to ask me for 50 cents.

She told me it was to buy food when she got into the city.

Then I peered into a plastic bag she was carrying and could easily identify two soda bottles and a bag of some sort of greasy snack food--likely cheese puffs of some sort, due to the orangish hue of the bag's top.

I immediately asked, "but what about your snacks?"

She asked me what I meant.

I raised my voice: "all the SNACKS you have in that bag."

"I need to feed myself AND my husband," she said, walking off in a huff before I could respond, or give her the 50 cents, which I very well may have done.

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At first that seemed to make sense. She had two sodas, and only one bag of potential cheese puffs, so perhaps she needed money for more cheese puffs for her hubby. Perhaps she was telling the truth.

Then I started wondering about the snacks.

First off, why soda? If you're really hungry, you spend all your money on food, NOT sugary sweet liquid candy. Even I show hesitance towards buying soft drinks when I'm short on cash and need some grub. And even if you want some soda (we've ALL been there!), why get only one bag of cheese puffs and TWO sodas? Why not do the reverse, then split the soda? Also, why get bottles? Bottles are a relatively expensive way to drink soda. Why not get two cans? Better yet, why not spring for a two-liter, you know?

Also, why get cheese puffs? Even assuming they weren't cheese puffs, they were clearly some form of air-packed snack food. She seemed to have a home, and with homes come stoves. Why not get some rice or pasta? A bag of pasta is good for about 4 meals and probably costs less than that bag of snacks. Don't get me STARTED on how many meals you can get out of a $2 bag of rice.

Lady, if you're out there reading DaveHerr.com, please answer these questions for me. Also, I'm open to more possibilities and more questions that would help you, my audience, understand this situation better.