3 times I got hurt

I get annoyed and upset when people take advantage of you. Three stories stick to my mind when I was still in a New York parish. The first one was when an old woman came to the rectory sobbing and told me a long story of how she got evicted from her house and had nowhere to stay. She was so convincing and her frail appearance made me feel sorry for her. We usually never give out any cash, but I weakened that day and gave her $50. Big mistake. As she left, I looked through the window and saw her running, literally running across the street, and climbed with great agility a big truck, it was a Penske truck, and waiting for her was the driver, a young man. I noticed her laughing and gave him a high-five and drove away. I learned that day, never again!

Another day, a homeless man came in the rectory asking for some money to buy food. I told him we don’t give out any money but was happy to prepare a few sandwiches for him. He reluctantly accepted although he insisted he preferred money so that he could buy whatever he liked. So I gave him a brown bag with two healthy sandwiches, an apple, some cookies in a plastic bag and can of lemonade. Off he went, and as I looked through the window, I saw him approach the first garbage can and threw the entire bag in there, without even opening it. I was fuming and really angry, and but I learned that day, never again!

This one was from my years in Oregon. A man came begging for some gasoline money (petrol) and I weakened and gave him a voucher for $20 to buy some gasoline. A few minutes later, the Gas Station attendant called me and told me “Father, sorry to tell you this, but this guy to whom you gave the gas voucher, had enough money to buy a carton of cigarettes, worth over $50.” Another highway robbery! I tried to be a Good Samaritan, but sometimes you have to be more cautious because there are people who take advantage of your kindness.