This is based on a trope that doesn’t really happen any more. Rather than begging, homeless people would sell things and pencils was a common item. The joke is that they were really representatives of a big pencil conglomerate and would be fortunate to be able to go into pencil retailing.
I ran into a homeless dude in Chicago selling tourist magazines, I told him I didn’t need a magazine but appreciated he was at least not just asking for money and gave him some cash anyway.
This is based on a trope that doesn’t really happen any more. Rather than begging, homeless people would sell things and pencils was a common item. The joke is that they were really representatives of a big pencil conglomerate and would be fortunate to be able to go into pencil retailing.
I ran into a homeless dude in Chicago selling tourist magazines, I told him I didn’t need a magazine but appreciated he was at least not just asking for money and gave him some cash anyway.
Streetwise has been a thing in Chicago for decades as well!
The Big Issue is the UK equivalent. Evidently both were inspired by Street News in NYC, which is the the first with that purpose.
The Danish counterpart, Hus Forbi