Ah, springtime in beautiful downtown St. Louis.

The birds are chirping. The tourists are back. The restaurants have opened their patios. And there's a homeless person on every block begging for cash.

Seriously. The panhandling is out of control here.

My office is only about a six-block walk from my loft. But that's plenty of time for at least two people to ask me for a buck.

After a while, you get to know the usual characters. They'll ask everybody for money once, but if they see you regularly, they leave you alone. It's the new, inexperienced ones you must watch for -- or the ones who are just plain crazy. They'll stop you every time they see you and -- worse -- tell you the same sad story.

Like the effeminate black man who identifies himself as a "little black Barbie doll."

His routine: "Honey! Honey! Oh, honey! My husband and I had a big fight, and he kicked me out of the car back there, and I'm just a little black Barbie doll trying to get $4 for a bus back to Bridgeton!"

Also, he wears a garish fur coat in all weather and carries a purse -- reason enough not to trust him.

Last time I dealt with him, in the drive-through line at Jack in the Box, I said, "That's the same story you've told me at least six times."

"Well? Isn't it sad? he replied.

It was not sad. The only part that was sad was him thinking I was so dumb.

I did not give him $4. But I did get my No. 6 with curly fries.

I've also noticed a trend among the panhandlers of them addressing their victims as "big man." As in, "Hey, big man! I don't mean to be no trouble, but you got a dollar?"

On my walk home last night, someone called me "big man." I am not that big, I informed him. And no, he could not have a dollar.

With the onset of spring, The Homeless also are becoming a lot more courageous in their attempts to collect cash:

• Two nights ago, two separate panhandlers walked right into The Side Bar on Washington Avenue, walked up to patrons and asked for money. They were denied.
• No longer is a dollar good enough. A few weeks ago, a man asked me for $10. TEN DOLLARS. "I don't even have $10," I told him. Inflation affects everyone, I suppose.
• On weekends, a homeless man sets up traffic cones and barricades -- stolen, of course -- in the free public parking spaces in the alley behind Washington Avenue. He then opens the spaces when people need to park and collects tips.

I'm not totally heartless. Homelessness and poverty are big problems here -- not only for the individuals who are victims but also for the city as a whole. It negatively affects the city’s economic development.

Nashville, Tenn., has similar problems with homelessness and panhandling. But the city also has an extensive plan to eradicate the problem and offer proactive solutions to the homeless.

Giving to panhandlers is a lose-lose situation: You lose because they often use your money to support their addictions to alcohol and drugs and they lose by continuing these destructive behaviors.

According to Nashville's Downtown Partnership: The best thing to do is say no. Refer panhandlers to social resources. If you're inspired to give, consider a bottle of water or food gift certificates instead of cash.