To the Guy Who May or May Not Have Scammed Me

To the guy who may or may not have scammed me… in the parking lot of a Jameson Inn…in Shreveport, Louisiana… on Christmas Eve morning. I am sorry. You kept apologizing for asking for help when really I am the one who should be sorry. Well, maybe not me, but all of us as human beings.

We live in a world today where we have to be so cautious in our dealings with strangers. There’s no telling what someone in dire need will do to us. Hardly anyone dares to help someone with a flat tire on the side of the road because they think they might get beaten to death with a lug wrench. Nobody helps a poor old woman cross the street because they’re afraid she may really be the big bad wolf in costume, and nobody picks up hitchhikers because you never know what they really want to do with that thumb of theirs. It’s quite ridiculous to think that we are all scared to death of each other, our fellow human beings.

Why should I have been scared of you Mr. Guy Who May or May Not Have Scammed Me? Yes, you randomly walked up to me on a windy morning when I was walking my dog on the hotel grounds. Yes, you immediately went into a spiel about how you work for an offshore drilling company, but your wife drove off with all your stuff after an argument. You have already done two things completely out of the ordinary; Walking up to someone you don’t know and (gasp) talking to them!

Now I will commend you for this. You were not dressed like a typical guy peddling for money and you were not in the usual places where peddling is done. But what does this say about me? If a man was dressed in rags and looked gaunt and weak from not eating for days, would I be more or less inclined to help him? If he were on the streets of Athens, would I not just ignore him as I often do? What if it were not Christmas Eve?

Obviously there is no way to help everyone who asks for it, but how sad it is that we tune out so many of the requests? How do we truly know when we should help?

I know some people would rather buy a person a meal than just give them money because obviously that person is going to go buy cocaine or even worse, liquor. But so what if they do? If I were out on the street every night, I’d probably want some liquor too. Or take this example, all be it a little more extreme. You stop for a guy on the side of the road and he beats you to a pulp and takes your car. Does that mean you will never help someone out again? If so, then how do you expect someone to help you out now that you’re on the side of the road beaten to a bloody pulp asking for a ride?

So Mr. Guy…I don’t know if you really had some terrible argument with your wife. I don’t know if you really live in Denton, Texas and work for an oil company. I don’t know if you would really pay me back, or just use my address and find a way to extract more money from me (Don’t worry, I didn’t give him my address). I don’t know if you are really just a guy who got screwed over at a casino the night before and needs money for a bookie. All I know is that you asked and received. You may have been scamming me. You may not have. You can live with it one way or another. Just please be so kind to do the same for others if the chance ever arises again. Please be a better person than me and don’t care where it is, when it is, or what the person looks like. Just give because they ask. That goes for all of you. Merry Saturnalia and a happy holiday season to all!