Good Deeds?

They hold up their cardboard signs
Asking for help 
But I seldom give it. 
And I feel guilty. 
But not enough to roll down my window 
And hand them anything
Because of the sneaking suspicion 
They might not be spending my charity
Wisely.  

And last week I saw a man 
Along the main drag in Daytona
With a sign said,
"Why lie? I need beer."
Honest, I suppose, 
But not the honesty that inspired me 
To heights of charity. 
Nobody needs beer. 
I have seen the effects 
Of needing beer up close and personal 
And the smell alone, 
Much less the behavior that goes with it,
Are enough to make me
Back out of a room
Holding my nose. 

But yesterday, we saw him again, 
With his sign that said, 
"Why lie? I need beer." 
Still honest. Still uninspiring. 
But then, his face brightened.
Looking past my car 
Toward the second lane. 
I looked over to see a passenger side window 
On the SUV next to mine
Rolling down, and a a tattooed arm 
Extend out, a hand holding 
A dewy-cold bottle of Corona Ultra. 

And the sign holder took it gratefully. 
As we waited at the light, 
I watched
As he put the beer away for later
In a gunny sack
And hold up his sign again - 
"Why lie? I need beer." -
Because apparently one beer was not enough. 
He still needed more. 

Was that an act of kindness,
A shining example of generosity,
Or charity, 
Or doing unto others as we would have done unto us? 
Or was the man with the tattooed arm
Helping the the man with the cardboard sign
Down a path to self-destruction?
I don't know. 
But I laughed at the absurdity of it,
Even as the questions hung in the air
And followed me home.