Object lesson

A woman was walking down the street when she was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked her for a couple of dollars for dinner.

She took out her wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy booze with it instead of dinner?”

“No, I stopped drinking years ago,” the homeless woman told her.

“Will you use it to buy things at the mall instead of buying food?” the woman asked.

“No, I don’t waste time shopping,” the homeless one said. “I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?” the woman asked.

“Are you nuts?” replied the homeless woman. “I haven’t had my hair done in 20 years!”

“Well,” the woman said, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.”

The homeless woman was shocked. “Won’t your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The well-to-do woman replied, “That’s okay. It’s important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping at the mall, hair appointments, and liquor.”