Urban Bus Adventures: The Drunk and the Kid

He stumbled onto the bus weaving and swaying as he staggered up the steps and attempted to pay his bus fare. He was grabbing around in his coat and his pockets looking for money. "It was just here! I know it was. Hang on bus driver, I know I have my money. Just give me a minute." The bus driver eyed the man. This passenger certainly wasn't your average well-kept, wits-about-him citizen. My seat right behind the bus driver gave a front row seat to the goings on of this bus drama. The passenger wreaked of alcohol and his slurred speech gave away the number of drinks he'd recently had. His clothes were tattered and looked like they were two sizes too big for him. His long hair was matted and his face was unshaven. There was a film of dirt that covered his skin and dark smudges covered his shirt and jeans. He was a pitiful sight if ever I saw one. We were still sitting still - the bus driver was still debating whether to let the man keep searching for money he obviously didn't have or to kick him off the bus and keep going.
"Here, sir" I turned at the sound of someone behind me talking. I saw a kid, maybe 14, getting up from his seat. He was walking towards the front of the bus with a dollar in his hand. He inserted the fare and the man stared at him with a dumbfound look on his face. The boy immediately turned around and headed back towards the back of the bus. The bus lurched forward and the drunk man grabbed at a rail in an effort to steady himself. The bus driver looked at him and then focused all his attention on the street in front of him. "Sir, please sit down." The man looked at the driver as though he was dazed. Then he looked around him and realizing there was a seat directly behind him he sat down.
At the next stop the drunk man got off the bus and stumbled down the street. Where he was heading was not clear and it didn't seem to matter. He was going to wander around aimlessly until the liquor wore off and then he would find some more to fill himself and the cycle would start over. The bus driver shook his head and started the bus forward again. The next stop we pulled into the kid who had payed the bus fare stepped off the bus, thanking the bus driver as he did so. The bus driver acknowledged him and then turned to me and said, "That kid probably thinks he did that guy a favor, but trust me, that man would have been better off left on that sidewalk where he first got on. He rides these buses day in and day out and never goes anywhere or does much of anything except get drunk."
I thought about this for a minute and then asked, "Where does he get the money to ride the bus if he doesn't work a job?" The bus driver shrugged and said, "He plays on the sympathy of people, just like he played that kid to get him to pay his bus fare."