BoMac
Self-righteous bullshitter
There are many threads in this forum on divisive and not-so-positive issues like war, death, abuse, politics, religion, and cursing, beer-swilling, chute dispensing flight attendants, etc.
So I thought a thread where we could post feel-good and happy stories would be a welcome change of pace. We need to be reminded from time to time of the good that humans are capable of.
I read this story this morning that put a smile on my face.
Of course, all the negativity breeds cynicism, at least for me, so I really hope this is a genuine story rather than one that was created to generate attention.
So I thought a thread where we could post feel-good and happy stories would be a welcome change of pace. We need to be reminded from time to time of the good that humans are capable of.
I read this story this morning that put a smile on my face.
Of course, all the negativity breeds cynicism, at least for me, so I really hope this is a genuine story rather than one that was created to generate attention.
Homeless man borrows executive's credit card, returns it
Posted Aug 13, 2010 by ■ Laura Trowbridge
A high-powered Manhattan advertising executive, perhaps a bit tipsy, let a homeless man borrow her American Express Platinum Card when he asked her for some spare change.
Merrie Harris, 45, was at a trendy SoHo Mexican restaurant with a friend, admittedly drinking margarita, when they stepped outside for a smoke and were approached by a homeless man.
Harris told The New York Post: "He asked me if I had any money. He said he just wanted to get a Vitamin Water. I said, 'I don't [have cash] -- I only have my credit card.' "
When the guy asked if he could borrow her credit card to get the Vitamin Water and some cigarettes, Harris handed the card over to him. Harris said after she let the man take her card, "everybody said they thought that was the dumbest thing, that there's a fine line between charity and stupidity."
She volunteers with the Coalition for the Homeless and said, "I'm eternally optimistic."
She began having doubts about her charitable act after ten minutes went by, and she wondered if the homeless man was out on a big spending spree with her platinum card.
The man did return though and Harris was so happy she gave him a hug and told him, "I knew you were coming back." He replied, "'Of course. I'm an honest person." Harris said:
"People kept coming up to me saying that's the best thing that ever happened."
A bum you can trust - honest!
By KEVIN FASICK and TODD VENEZIA
Last Updated: 7:24 AM, August 13, 2010
Posted: 2:58 AM, August 13, 2010
A Manhattan homeless man had an emotional reunion yesterday with the kindhearted ad executive who lent him her American Express Platinum Card outside a SoHo restaurant, in what became a shining act of generosity, trust and honesty.
"I didn't have to thank him. I trusted him all along," said Merrie Harris, 45, as she hugged Jay Valentine, 32, outside La Esquina on Kenmare Street.
Harris lent her card to Valentine there Monday after he asked her for change. Most people who witnessed the act of extreme generosity doubted he would ever come back. But a short time later, he returned with the card, stunning many and earning Valentine the title of Most Honest Homeless Man in the City.
"What he did was no surprise to me," Harris said yesterday. "People keep telling me, 'Why would you talk to him and trust him?' But are we only supposed to trust people we know? What would Bernie Madoff's friends be saying?"
Valentine told The Post that he was surprised to be handed the card, but he never thought to take advantage of Harris' generosity.
"I wasn't tempted at all," said the 32-year-old Brooklyn native. "She trusted me, and I didn't want to violate that trust. I would never do that."
Valentine said he has been homeless for a few years, since he lost his job at a real-estate company that had allowed him to sleep in the office. He said he now spends his nights in an Internet cafe whose staff allows him to sleep on their chairs. He said he was hungry and low on cash on Monday when he saw Harris standing with friends outside the restaurant.
"I asked her for change and told her I wasn't working," he said.
"She said she only had a card. She said, 'Can I trust you?' I said, 'I'm honest, yes.'
"I went and bought a few things and came back and gave her her credit card back, and everybody was surprised.
"I said thanks for trusting me. I guess she had a good sense of judgment. She knew I was trustworthy."
Valentine said he bought deodorant, body wash, a pack of Nat Sherman cigarettes and Vitamin Water. It all cost about $25, he said.
"She was really lucky it was me she ran into" and not someone who would have stolen the card, Valentine said. "I was really in need. I only had a couple of dollars on me."
"It sets a good example that people in need -- like I am or worse -- can and should be trusted," he said. "Everybody in the restaurant was surprised. They probably thought I would run off with the card."
kevin.fasick@nypost.com