Good news in our quest to create a true big-city atmosphere downtown: The number of panhandlers appears to be up this spring.

The first time I was approached last month, I gave the poor soul a dollar. He showed up in line at a sandwich shop a few minutes later, so that investment worked out fine. It was just like putting tax money into a welfare program, only without paying a series of government bureaucrats to get the job done.

A few days later, it was a respectable-looking and seemingly frazzled middle-aged woman who needed $3 to buy gas. Where was she going to get the gas? I wondered, and she mentioned University Avenue.

How are you going to get there? I asked, and it turned out her car wasn’t completely out of gas — but the needle was on “E.” She must be really cautious, I decided. A good forward thinker. It was surprising that she didn’t have a credit card handy, but maybe she was too upset to think straight.

However, she did have the presence of mind to ask for a business card, so she could get a repayment to me by Friday. That was a nice touch, and we closed the deal.

Two hits in a short span is an exciting urban development, although we’ve always had a few freeloaders working the sidewalks. Up until now, my local favorites were the guy who needed money to buy water and the one who had artwork for sale.

The pictures he was offering seemed to be, technically speaking, torn out of a book. But we art patrons try to keep an open mind, and I gave him a quarter – 10 cents for his initiative and 15 cents for his audacity.

Other cities, other tactics. Once in New Orleans, a guy with blood under his nose – just a little trickle, not much by French Quarter standards — asked for a couple of dollars so he could get back to Illinois. His fortunes seemed to have brightened when I saw him again that evening. He showed me a tiny T-shirt he had bought for his 3-year-old son, printed with the slogan “I choked Linda Lovelace.”

I wonder how that kid is turning out.

And sometimes, people don’t ask for money at all; they just want to be friends. Two of us were walking down the street in Anchorage when a couple of women cruised by in a car and asked if we wanted a date. I thought, gee, these Alaskans really go out of their way to make visitors feel welcome.

Back home in Iowa, on a dark street in Sioux City, a young lady walked up and suggested a couple of extremely friendly activities. It was an encouraging moment, because that’s just the kind of entrepreneurial spirit this state is looking for.

As for the most recent encounter: Friday came and went without a repayment, so I’ve finally learned my lesson. Next time, I’m definitely getting a receipt.