I was Ripped Off--Or was I Really?

One evening leaving the grocery store, I had just loaded my groceries into my car when I heard a voice.

"Sir? Sir?" the voice called.

I turned around to find a man carrying a belt.

"Sir," he said, "the belt on my car broke and I and my wife and kids are stranded here."

I looked at the belt in his hand.

"A new belt will cost $19.95 at the automotive store. Could you see clear to lend me anything to help? If you give me your address I'll even send your money back."

"Huh-huh," I said, studying the belt.

"My wife and kids are sitting in the car," he said with tears in his eyes. "I'm from Yakima. I work at the McDonalds down there."

If you don't have money for a belt, how the hell are you going to pay for gas to get back to Yakima? I thought to myself knowing good and well he was probably no more from Yakima than I am.

"Any money you can lend me sure will help my wife and kids and me get back home," he pleaded.

Normally before the conversation even gets this far I tell these people to "buzz off." (Usually, I tell them I spent all my money in the store.) Instead, I opened my wallet and handed the guy a twenty. He thanked me profoundly saying he would "pay it forward" and left.

There are two questions you probably want answered. One, how did I know he was not telling the truth, and two, why did I give him money knowing that?

The first question is easy to answer. I have a degree in auto mechanics and I have never seen the type of belt he carried used on a car. The other giveaways were the belt was too clean to have come off of anything--it was a new belt. And the last clue, I've seen several broken belts and none were as clean of "break" as the one this guy had. This belt didn't break, it was cut.

The second question is harder to answer. I suppose one reason I gave him money was he gave a superb performance right down to the tears in his eyes. If I didn't know he was lying I would have probably forked over the money anyway. But the main reason I gave him money was because I have a good job, working fifty to fifty-seven hours a week. All that overtime adds up. Many people are struggling and don't have jobs at all. I felt this guy was one of those out of work and used this story to keep some sort of dignity rather than just flat out begging.

And, yes, I know the guy could have been a professional con man. I have even heard of con men using this story to get money and taking your address in pretense of returning the money. Then breaking into your house when you're not home. That's one reason he didn't get my address (nor did he ask for it after I gave him the money).

I'm not usually such a compassionate guy and if someone else approaches me with the same story I may just tell him where to get off. I once chewed my brother out for giving a guy a dollar bill, partly because I felt he could not afford it. My brother's response was, "You never know. Some day you may be the person standing out in the cold asking for money and getting nothing but the finger."