Summary

The story “Anything Helps” follows a homeless man named Wayne “Bit” Bittinger. He is a recovering alcohol and drug addict. One day, Wayne begs for money at a traffic intersection. Wayne finds this act demeaning, and he has not had to resort to it for about a year. Recently, he has been lodging at a free home for recovering addicts and alcoholics. Wayne calls it “the Jesus beds” (1) because it is operated by a Christian group. While Wayne is begging for money, a man in an expensive car offers him $20 if Wayne is willing to tell him what he is going to buy with it. Wayne says that he is going to by the new Harry Potter book. The man laughs, interpreting this as a joke. Wayne then says he is going to buy cheap vodka, and the...