Lonnie,
Would you rather me NOT be honest with you and give you misleading information? Sorry my friend but sometimes we all get news that we'd rather not hear.
On the other side of the coin:
I do believe that some patent attorneys might be willing to listen and see your invention and if it has merit they might be willing to work on a contingency plan (if it goes to market and makes money then they receive a percentage of the profits in order to pay for their work [researching hundreds of similar inventions, design criteria, safety, proper / improper usage, inherent risks, etc.] ).
If you believe your item has a degree of worthiness then by all means seek out a "professional" patent attorney! They are not all crooks!!
Good luck!