davis_square | Spare Change bait, Boston Now switch (Reply)

Hi all-- This is less a gripe and more of a "social splinter" I was pricked with the other day. Maybe someone with quicker reflexes will be spared some awkwardness. In Davis Square train station, often there's a guy asking a dollar or more in exchange the Spare Change newspaper. I'm sorry I don't know his name, but he's somewhat tall, and always wears a kind of beret-like hat and big dark sunglasses. His voice has a practiced, smooth cadence to it, which is nothing if not engaging.

The other morning I was in a generous mood and handed over my dollar. What he approached me with was a Spare Change newspaper, but what he slipped me was a Boston Now. I didn't catch on at first. I'm slow enough that I had time to find it surprising that the Spare Change newspaper had gotten fancy headlines and color photography. It was a few seconds later that he was gone and I realized what had happened.

Since by that time I was paying attention, I noticed that he pulled the same bait-and-switch on another commuter, who, it didn't seem to me, had even noticed.

It just left me feeling weird. I don't regret giving him the dollar, but I also know that I'm likely to ignore him for quite a while.