One bum told me an interesting tale about how he's so poor that his family has to unscrew the lone lightbulb in the house and take it with them if they're going into a different room and want light. I laughed in amazement and gave him a $5.
I saw him again about 2 months later and this time he said he needed bus fare to get back home and wanted to sell me his umbrella for like $3. I asked him what he did with the $5 I gave him last time, and he admitted the umbrella thing was a "hustle" and we ended up in a shouting match with him saying I needed to lose weight and me calling him on his balding hairline. A draw.