Mid-October mailbag

Contingency, irony, solidarity — and whether to give to panhandlers

Years ago, when we were all new in town, my roommates and I wanted to throw a big fun Halloween party that all our friends and acquaintances would show up to. But we realized the Halloween party market was extremely crowded and that without many deep social ties or actual money to spend on anything beyond a keg of beer and some plastic cups, it would be…