Sean Says: Do not be tricked into spending

Sean Hastings, Sports Editor

 A couple years ago, Gary, his friend Jesse, my friend Frank and I all went to the Chicago Bulls game. 

Between parking, ticket prices and the pregame meal, it is already not a cheap day in the great city of Chicago.  But for Frank, that day got really expensive, really quick and it is nobody’s fault but his own.   

We all got to Chicago hours before tip off. We wanted to walk around the city and just enjoy the sites that we have seen hundreds of times before.  We did the usual: Millennium Park for the Bean, up and down Michigan Ave. Our final stop of our journey before the game was the Chicago Blackhawks Store on Michigan Avenue. 

From there, we decided to hike it on over to the United Center. And for anyone that can picture that distance, it took about an hour for us to walk there in the middle of January.  

The walk was bad enough. Freezing cold, we went through parts of Chicago we had never seen before with no sidewalks for a while. It was a dumb idea and we saved what, $10 on a cab ride between the four of us.

Anyways.  That is when Frank’s troubles began.

If we would have just hailed a cab, Frank would not have been dealt his situation. It also would have been cheaper for the kid. And we would have not had to listen to an angry Frank complain the whole time. 

We walked maybe one block, just past the Trump Tower, when someone kneels down in front of Frank without saying anything, starts scrubbing Frank’s shoes and says how dirty his kicks are. Knowing what was happening, Gary, Jesse and I walked away, thinking Frank would do the same. 

Nope. Frank let the guy scrub his shoes in attempt to clean them, thinking it was a nice guy dong a free gesture. Again. Nope. Gary, Jesse and I are on the side talking about how Frank is going to get charged for this, trying to guess how much it was going to put a dent in Frank’s already thin wallet. $10. $15. $20. As far as I remember, Frank was charged $30 for the quick rinse job of his shoes.

In disbelief and great concern, he looks at Gary, Jesse and I to find nothing but us giggling at our friend for getting ripped off. Frank continued to say how his shoes were no cleaner than they were before. Karma came back to get me. Since Frank was my friend and Gary and Jesse just met Frank, I had to spot him money at the Billy Goat so he could eat before the game. That was as far as my gestures went. Frank unfortunately had to go the whole game drink-less, but hey, it was his own fault. 

Do not be like Frank, especially if you are short on cash.   

Sean Hastings is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]