I was walking down the street when I was accosted by
a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman
who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.
I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked,
"If I give you this money, will you buy some wine with
it instead of dinner?"
"No, I had to stop drinking years ago", the homeless
woman told me.
"Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying
food?" I a sked.
"No, I don't waste time shopping," the homeless woman
said. "I need to spend all my time trying to stay
alive."
Will you go to a salon for your hair instead of buying food?" I asked.
"Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless woman. "I haven't
had my hair done in 20 years!"
"Well," I said, "I'm not going to give you the money.
Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my
husband and me tonight."
The homeless woman was shocked. "Won't your husband be
furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and
I probably smell pretty disgusting."
I said, "That's okay. It's important for him to see
what a woman looks like after she has given up
shopping, hair appointments, and wine."