Were we had?

[flyingmonkeypoop]

That was nice of you. I am bad at quoting things but if you have heard the Brad Paisley song about the guy that helps the lady with a broken down car and when she offers to pay him he tells her not to and that when she sees some one in need that she should help them. She goes to a diner, the waitress is pregnant so the lady leaves a $100 tip. It turns out that the waitress is the guys wife.
So to summerize good deeds will come back to you.

 

[sweetshoplady]

I don't have an ATM card. I have credit cards. I stopped using ATMs about 8 years ago, maybe 10.

You helped someone, a lot of people wouldn't.

Flyingmonkeypoop, I love that song!

 

[ruth]

I give to all who ask and some who don't. The way I see it is:

If they are scamming, shame on them, and it's between them and God.

If they are truly in need and I don't give, shame on me, and it's between me and God.

Here's my favorite story:

DH is getting gas at gas station. Man comes up and asks him for directions to Lafayette. As DH tried to give directions, man told him he had just been informed that his daughter had been in a terrible car crash and needed brain surgery and he needed to get there quick but he had no gas for the trip. I can't remember his whole story but DH drove him to his home, picked up his van, drove back to gas station and filled it up and gave him $100. Got the name of the daughter and the hospital whe was in. Came home looked up hospital number, called, but no one by that name. O.K. not so bad, good deed done, maybe man got hospital name wrong. DH looks up daughter's name and address thinking he could send money or something, can't find anything. So with nothing more we could do, we prayed for this poor man and his near death daughter.

Next month I'm shopping in Wal Mart. Man comes up to me and asks me for directions to Lafayette. Tells me his daughter has just been in a terrible car accident and needs immediate surgery but he doesn't have his ATM card and needs to fill up his van in order to get there. I don't let on that I've heard this routine before. So I ask the name of the daugther and the hospital, and of course it's the same name. I still don't let on that I know so I start asking questions about the daughter and the accident and he had all the answers. I gave him what little cash I had in my purse and he went on his way.

Why did I give him more money knowing he was scamming and why didn't I say anything? I can't really explain that one - something about the lack of human dignity it must take to beg for money and how embarrasing it would be to get caught in your lie.

I've been blessed in my life, I like to be a blessing to others. Besides when the Lord said "If a man asks for your coat, give him your cloak as well." He didn't say "...but first make sure he really needs it and is not just scamming you."

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Quote:
TY - you are right - I helped someone. I can sleep well tonight. Of course, the cash I need for tomorrow is not there - $1 and some change is all that is left....Oh Well. Hopefully it was the right thing to do.

 

[DomiHentrix]

Quote:
No offense at all, I mean this with all honesty and sincerity, but if you want to know if you were "had" the question is not if she "needed," the money, but if you did it to help someone, or if you did it because you actualy expected her to pay you back.

I don't mean that as a barb, I just thought I might offer another point of view.

Blessings, Lara

 

[Mrs MIA]

I just don't ever carry cash, so I can honestly say I don't have any cash to give. I once gave a guy $5 because he said he needed gas money... I followed him back to a car with 3 other guys in it, and followed them past many gas stations before I gave up... oh well.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

I live in the country now but about 15 year's ago I lived in Atlanta, southside, bad part of town. Well I had been in a store that had a deli and I bought two po boy sandwiche's. I was going to eat one for supper and take the other one to work to eat for lunch break. When I was leaving the store I had a man approach my car and tell me he was hungry and wanted to know if I had some money so he could buy his self something to eat. I didn't say a word but reached into my bag a retreived a sandwich and tried to give it to the man. The man looked at the sandwich and then walked away from my vehicle and never said a word. That say's it all in my book.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Quote:
No offense at all, I mean this with all honesty and sincerity, but if you want to know if you were "had" the question is not if she "needed," the money, but if you did it to help someone, or if you did it because you actualy expected her to pay you back.

I don't mean that as a barb, I just thought I might offer another point of view.

Blessings, Lara

No offense taken, when I gave the $ we did it knowing full well that it might be a story. But once I was home I started the internal debate.

Many years ago, we were down to nothing in our band account, and still had a couple of weeks until pay day. My minister gave me $200 with the only stipulation being that at sometime in the future I do the same for someone else in need. When I was working again and I found out that my school secretary's husband had been laid off and there was no money for food or Christmas - I donated $200. The person collecting contributions came to me and asked if I really wanted to contribute that much. I told her my story and said YES! So I guess that I assume people that ask do really need it - but the ATM thing made me start thinking tonight. $35 - lots of chicken food - but if it helps someone - then I can make do even if it is never paid back.

I try to explain to my students why I would return a wallet filled with several hundred dollars and refuse to take a reward. Why my son and I would help a man in a motorized scooter when the battery died, and refuse any $$ in return. Why I would follow obviously lost children and alert security or wait for a parent to appear, or pick the child up to look over the crowd to find the parent - always making sure another adult was aware of what I was doing. I do these things because it is right to do.

And I suppose I have answered my own question. Was I had? Maybe. But on the other hand, maybe I helped more than I can ever know.

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[cwc362]

Ms Ruth - I really loved the story about the man who you gave the money to for his daughter. That man ,even though he was lying, probaly really has a miserable life. I think that was very good of you to do that even if you knew you were being conned. Thanks so much and I would like to forward your story to some friends who always appreciate an inspirational story. If that's okay. Have a great weekend--Wayne in Huntingdon Tennessee.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Thank you Wayne. I always try to do the right thing. I've had a saying that I've applied many, many times in my life: "There but for the grace of God go I".

By the grace of God, I've never had to beg and I can't even imagine how inhumane it must feel.