My Lost Icecream Cone, from Rob

No I didn't drop it on my pants or something like some of you have probably already guessed. Glenn and I were in Amritsar, had lunch and were walking to a park with some damn good icecream cones. Out of nowhere came a couple of beggar kids. A girl about 6 years old was tapping my arm with her hand saying, "Hello. Hello. Hello...." I don't know why but from some reason I have yet to understand they are so beautiful in a strange way. They are also persistant, haunting, and numerous. I don't usually give them any money for a few reasons. One, its just not responsible. There are different groups that try to help these people, so the best thing to do is make a donation to a charity. In Amritsar for instance anyone can get a decent meal of dal and chaptis 24 hours of the day at the Golden Temple. Glenn and I both made a sizable donation when we left. The second reason is if you give to one then more will appear out of nowhere and you will be mobbed. I could see more children in the direction we were walking so I knew pulling out any coins would be a bad idea. Sometimes I try to have some food in my bag but this time I did not. I decided I would eat a bit more of my icecream and then give to the girl when out of nowhere she snatched it out of my hand! I couldn't believe it, and I dont think she could believe her fortune either. She ran away laughing hysterically and her smile was worth a thousand times the price of my cone! We kept on walking when suddenly at the entrance of the park when we were mobbed by children. One boy ran up to me and grabbed on with two hands. Aghhhhh! What am I supposed to do, start shoving kids out of the way? "Glenn, we have to get out of here!" I turned and flagged down the first rickshaw I saw. Its the one of the picture of the old man with the big ears from behind. I think he was about 97 years old, weighed even less than Glenn if you can believe that and his rickshaw was a real piece of crap. I never would have asked him to take us all the way to the Golden Temple, 4 Kms away if I had thought out the whole situation but there hadn't been time for such business. We passed by the girl who stole my icecream and she waved and was still smiling. At least it made her day. The rickshaw ride took a long time and we had to get out and walk up a hill because there was no way the old guy was going to make it up. When I get back to Canada, I am going to get my brother to build me a cycle rickshaw out of lightweight titanium with disc brakes, suspension, clipless pedals and of course gears. I will then be outfitted with spandex shorts, gloves and an aerodynamic helmet and I will return to India and be the fastest cycle rickshaw driver in the whole country, and maybe the world...