I live downtown and encounter people asking for money on a regular basis. (These people may or may not be homeless or in need.) So when a man approached in my apartment parking with a “sob story,” I was quick to write him off as just another fraud.
I’m glad I didn’t. Sometimes a man in need is truly a man in need.
The man, named Tracy, was in need of gas money to drive down to Indianapolis to be with his daughter who was in critical condition at Riley Hospital for Children. He told me he had tried to get help from some churches downtown, but they were closed since it was in the evening. His last resort was to ask someone for money. That someone happened to be myself.
Despite hearing his sad story, I was reluctant at first. After all, I was going on vacation and strapped for cash myself. Yet something inside told me to help him. I caved and gave him all I had in my wallet. (a measly $7) Despite my donation, he told me he still didn’t have enough money to fill his gas tank. I hesitated and then took a leap of faith. I told him to wait there while I went upstairs to my apartment to get more money.
I returned and he was waiting patiently. I handed him the cash. He expressed gratitude for my generosity and told me how I was a blessing. He reassured me he would settle up with me when he was paid in a few days. I was going out of town, so I told him there was no hurry. Still, he was insistent on repaying his debt and asked for my phone number so he could get in touch.
While on vacation I pondered the incident and wondered if the man was genuine. I had told myself that, if nothing else, I had done a good deed. I didn’t expect to see the money again.
To my surprise, I had a voicemail from Tracy waiting for me when I returned. He said he wanted to meet up to repay the money. I returned his call and told him his honesty was refreshing, but not to worry about repaying me. I asked that he donate the money to a charity.
Moral of the story? Sometimes you have to go out on a limb to help people. Sure, there might be people out there trying to cheat the system, but for every one of those, there are probably four who are truly in need.
