Have you ever been approached by someone who wanted to scam you? I have on several occasions, and I have noticed a fascinating trend in the art of scams. Yesterday, I was at the gas station, staring with wide eyes and jaw dropped at the numbers as the dollars moved so quickly. All of a sudden, I was accosted by a man in a cheap SUV.

He started out by saying "Sir, can I ask you a question?" He then immediately mentioned that he was from Missouri. Naively, I figured he would simply ask me for directions. After all, isn't that logical? Anyway, long story short, he launched into a wild tale of intrigue and life overseas, and terrible events with parents and dragons in a land far away.

I found myself tuning the man out, and finding sudden interest in the machinations of as pumps. As he droned on, I took in bits and pieces of his story, and actually began to admire how well rehearsed it was, and how much thought must have gone into it. Thinking back to other scams, I realized that they, too, were crafted with extraordinary care.

I had planned on launching into an explanation of the scam in this blog entry, but in the midst of my thoughts I was struck by an idea. I harkened back to the 360 Freestyle event that took place a few weeks ago, and decided it might be really fun to turn this into a fun blogging opportunity for everyone.

So the question becomes: how pathetic a story can you come up with for the sake of scheming money?

The rules are simple:

1. The goal of the work must be to scheme money.

2. How pathetic or sappy your piece is is entirely up to you.

3. It must be written in first person. After all, you're trying to convince me to give you money.

4. Title your entry "Fun Fiction: My Pathetic Scam".

I want this to get creative, and I want people to be able to join in and have time to put a piece together, so we'll set the date for posting this blog for this coming Monday, February 27.

If you'd like to join in the fun, leave a comment below, and I'll put a link to your page in this blog. That way, we have a central location with links for everyone to visit to read your entry.

Now go forth and scheme.

*Update:

So far, here's a list of everyone involved:

Joonuper
Mame
Lynn
Lucky Lisa
Doug
Javacat
Missy
Adrian C
April
Witch
Gary N