Ken wrote:

I think there is a government program for your problem. I believe it
is called "Cash for Shopping Carts" or something like that. If there
isn't, just claim to be a victim of discrimination and some lawyer
will take your case, put you up in a hotel, and only take about half
of what the defendant pays to settle. Is this a great country or
what???

Yes, you are correct. A few years ago I heard about a private organization
that tried to solve a grievous problem in L.A. which was a foreshadowing of
a current problem.

It seems owner of the shopping carts, say "Lucky Giant," had operatives
prowling the streets looking for their purloined portmanteaus. When one was
found, they strong-armed the granny-lady out of the way, dumped the contents
of the cart on the sidewalk, and repossessed the cart! This, of course,
essentially evicted the cart's resident.

In a fit of compassion, a group was formed to solicit donations with a view
toward buying carts to give away to those unfortunate evictees. I think the
group's name was "Habitat for Hobos" or something similar.

This group also produced a video tape on how to successfully
"dumbster-dive"; how to spot the best dumpsters, what sort of food to
ignore, that sort of thing. The video was entitles "Gourmet Dining for Those
Who Don't Have Shoestrings."