New York Bus Crash

[Kerry]

There isn't much to say about the bus crash other than it was a horrible tragedy, but this story caught my attention. This guy has a serious problem. If he can't afford clothes where is he getting the gambling money from?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/c...RjjQTcE6lUiMOI

Survivors of Bronx bus crash head back to casino

They couldn't resist.

Two gamblers who miraculously survived a catastrophic brush with death aboard a Chinatown casino bus climbed back aboard the same company's bus only hours later for another trip to the gaming tables.

Bernardo Garcia, a 50-year-old cook from Brooklyn -- whose buddy Miguel Aquino was one of 14 people killed in Saturday's horrific 5:30 a.m. World Wide Tours bus crackup on the Hutchinson River Parkway -- told The Post he figured Lady Luck was on his side.
"I'm the kind of person that believes when it's your time to go, it's your time to go," he said.

And Theodore Radulescu, a 55-year-old cook from The Bronx, rushed straight from St. Barnabas Hospital still dressed in his medical gown and bloody socks to the Lower East Side's Bowery Mission, where he picked up new clothes before boarding another World Wide Tours bus back to Connecticut's Mohegan Sun casino.

[BBatesokc]

I didn't read that he 'couldn't afford clothes.' I read that he went somewhere to get free clothes. Just tells you where is priorities are. He most likely figures 'why spend $60 on clothes when I could gamble that money instead.'

This is often what happens when you give things away thinking they are going to the 'less fortunate.'

I volunteer and give at the Christian Service Center off S. Robinson Ave. People flow in all day long to get free clothes and household items (and some food). Thing is, many of the people arrive in nice vehicles (as in not clunkers). Obviously their priority is a shiny vehicle, but not food and household items. Really quite sad.

We actually cut our volunteer time with Habitat for Humanity way back after meeting some of the people getting very nice and low cost homes - with all the money they were saving they promptly went out and got a new car payment or in two cases, went out and bought a Harley. That said, we also met people who were genuinely thankful and valued the home and the opportunity it provided.

[Kerry]

True, it didn't say he couldn't afford the clothes. I just assumed that since he was getting them from a rescue mission he couldn't afford to buy them. I checked out the rescue mission and it turns out they are a 'no questions asked' type of outfit. Maybe the need to start asking.

[Jesseda]

what makes me mad is when my wife and i get hamburger helper and lots of rice as fillers, and buyu the cheap off brand stuff just so we can feed our children, and then there people who are in line right next to you with t-bones and name brand stuff then paying with food stamps cards

[BBatesokc]

I'm a firm believer that just because people are taking your handouts, it doesn't mean there is necessarily a real need for them.

The whole time I worked at Children's Hospital I volunteered 1-2 lunch hours a week to serve hot meals at the Downtown Baptist Mission. The place would fill up and some were truly homeless and needy - but many drove/walked there from their job just for a free meal. Food was actually decent and there was a hot and cold meal option and usually dessert.

[ljbab728]

what makes me mad is when my wife and i get hamburger helper and lots of rice as fillers, and buyu the cheap off brand stuff just so we can feed our children, and then there people who are in line right next to you with t-bones and name brand stuff then paying with food stamps cards

I don't really have a problem with that. They get a set amount for food on their cards. If they spend it on more expensive items that just means they can buy less food overall and they have only themselves to blame. It's a matter of poor education not a problem with the food stamp system.

[BBatesokc]

I don't really have a problem with that. They get a set amount for food on their cards. If they spend it on more expensive items that just means they can buy less food overall and they have only themselves to blame. It's a matter of poor education not a problem with the food stamp system.

I guess this thread is getting jacked, but food stamps is a huge pet peeve of mine. Actually, I think it is a problem of the food stamp system. I guarantee you the people buying steaks with their cards are not going hungry the rest of the month. The fact is they have money to cover their basic grocery needs and use the card to buy luxury and non-essential food items. I see it all the time at the Wheeler's Meat Market. I also know several people who sell their cards to others. Not to mention the people you now see at Sam's buying vending machine inventory with their food stamp card.

I hate it because food stamps are essential fro those who actually need them. They should be temporary and qualifying should be highly scrutinized.

[HewenttoJared]

I can't stand "when it's my time it's my time" attitude. Especially from people with families. I see it get used as an excuse for all kinds of awful behavior.

[MadMonk]

Hey, you gotta take advantage of a lucky streak when it happens!

[BBatesokc]

I can't stand "when it's my time it's my time" attitude. Especially from people with families. I see it get used as an excuse for all kinds of awful behavior.

I just have to roll my eyes when people say that sort of thing or they try and say some tragic event was some Godly plan we just can't understand. Give me a break.

[Kerry]

I had a friend that though that. I told him to put it to the test and jump off the building we worked in. I told him if it wasn't his time die then he would survive the fall. If the fall did kill him he was going to die anyhow no matter what he was doing. He never jumped.

[Kerry]

Hey, you gotta take advantage of a lucky streak when it happens!

I guess people have a different definition of luck than I do. I don't consider being in a bus crash lucky on any level. For me luck is at the intersection of opportunity and preparedness. I don't find either of those to exist with passenger sleeping on a bus.

[MadMonk]

From his perspective, I'm sure the luck was when he was not one of the dead.

[BBatesokc]

From his perspective, I'm sure the luck was when he was not one of the dead.

I agree. Luck is about all you can credit in such cases.