I normally don't recycle news stories, but this one is just plain special: A Bronx man got mugged on his way home from work, and, instead of calling the cops or shouting for help, offered to give the mugger his coat, then took him out to dinner. Read the story here, and be humbled.
By the way, being mugged can be demeaning at least and life-threatening at most. One of my old co-workers got mugged on the way home from work -- he was jumped by a small group of youths just a few blocks from his home in Brooklyn. They wanted his iPhone and his wallet, and took both forcibly, never giving him the chance to hand over the items himself.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
"You don't look scary"
Yesterday, I was at Penn Station to catch a train. A woman with dark curly hair stopped me as I headed toward the ticket machines: "Can I ask you something? I would ask someone else but you don't look scary and you also look about my age."
I bet she uses the same line on everyone.
"I need to catch a bus to [a city in upstate New York whose name I now forget]. The ticket is $47 and I've gotten about $20 so far. Could you spare some money so I can get home?"
She may have also mentioned why she had no way to withdraw cash from an ATM, but I don't recall, because she spoke very quickly. I looked at her hands and saw a bus schedule and some one- or five-dollar bills. Also, I looked at her face, and although she was wrong about looking my age, she did look sincere. I gave her a $10 bill and wished her good luck getting home.
When I lived in New Brunswick, NJ, I'd often get stopped by men at the train station who claimed that they needed just a few more dollars to buy a ticket to Asbury Park, could I spare some? When I offered to buy the ticket for them outright, however, they refused. One guy made the mistake of approaching me twice in one week with the same sob story (he'd apparently lost his wallet). I gave him a look that would have made my mother disown me.
But something about Miss Curly in Penn Station made me feel some compassion. I'm not the greatest judge of character, though, so I may never know for sure if my $10 went toward that bus ticket. But I don't really care. What would you have done?
I bet she uses the same line on everyone.
"I need to catch a bus to [a city in upstate New York whose name I now forget]. The ticket is $47 and I've gotten about $20 so far. Could you spare some money so I can get home?"
She may have also mentioned why she had no way to withdraw cash from an ATM, but I don't recall, because she spoke very quickly. I looked at her hands and saw a bus schedule and some one- or five-dollar bills. Also, I looked at her face, and although she was wrong about looking my age, she did look sincere. I gave her a $10 bill and wished her good luck getting home.
When I lived in New Brunswick, NJ, I'd often get stopped by men at the train station who claimed that they needed just a few more dollars to buy a ticket to Asbury Park, could I spare some? When I offered to buy the ticket for them outright, however, they refused. One guy made the mistake of approaching me twice in one week with the same sob story (he'd apparently lost his wallet). I gave him a look that would have made my mother disown me.
But something about Miss Curly in Penn Station made me feel some compassion. I'm not the greatest judge of character, though, so I may never know for sure if my $10 went toward that bus ticket. But I don't really care. What would you have done?
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