You should disabuse your audience that there is anything admirable or endearing about a man who wastes an opportunity to show his kids how to make charity count. He should have informed his wife and children of his intentions, then enlisted their participation in selecting a worthy charity, of which there are hundreds: nursing homes, disabled vets, animal shelters, childrens' hospitals, medical research. He had an opportunity to demonstrate both generosity and good judgment, but he blew it. You have to ask yourself if he showed the same lack of judgment and impulse control on the job. If so, I doubt he'd be the recipient of a bonus. Years down the road, when this story is retold at family gatherings, and you can bet it will be retold, his kids will not say with pride, "Our family did something really terrific with Dad's bonus money." It will be, "Remember the time Dad got conned by a bag lady?"

What you call a lack of judgment I'd call a willingness to be used to help others and a real faith that all things work together for good.

Your doubt is irrelevant to the fact that he had already received the bonus. He acted out of what his core beliefs were.

Planned compassion is great, but we must be willing to act when opportunity presents as well.

I'm glad you replayed this commentary again. (This is the 3rd time in 4 years.) This commentary reminds us that, sometimes, some things are of a higher priority in our lives than our little triumphs & failures. Sometimes, certain victories, seemingly unconscionable (in this case, the "baby" being free of the leukemia), are more important than anything else we should expend emotional energy on.

Rose, you missed the point of the story. Dad's attitude and heart was in the right place. This story is not about a dad who was conned. It is about looking at the cup half full, not half empty. The point of the story is no matter what happened, the baby was not sick and did not die. That is good news. Thanks Michael for your great commentaries!

I disagree with Rose. I believe this is a perfect example of a successful man. A true success is doing your very best, anything less is a failure. His very best was to help that child, whether sick or not. To do any less would be a failure. This man taught his family an important lesson. Doing your very best, not winning or losing, makes you a success.

I am surprised that a person with Rose's attitude visits this site. Sometimes we have a split second to do something nice for someone else and not think it to death. We can't always know the outcome of our kind deed. The man's intent seemed to be noble. Sure he got scammed, that is the chance giving people take. But we don't allow the scammers to make us bitter. Is this the best example of being selfless - probably not, but it is a step in the right direction. We must take our ego out of the equation. I believe it is better to err on the side of generosity.

Rose,
Shame on you for discounting the meaning of the story. I, personally, love the silver lining in his cloud (that the baby was not going to die). I have probably given money to people who really did not need it but I would rather give it to them and let them be wrong. In God's eyes this man did the right thing. If his family does sit around the table years later, it is their lack of character that would make them say such things as you have written. And, no, I do not show lack of judgment on my job just because I give money to people who "appear" to need it.

My husband has been "guilty" of helping people many, many times. Once driving a family of six who had broken down on the highway many, many miles to their home. Another pushing an old man's car for 2-3 miles to a garage because he'd broken down on a bridge and had to move the car. Another time giving a man $10 to help feed his family. He told the story that he'd transferred here to a new job and wasn't supposed to be here for several days and had no food. The next day the same man approached him. No sign either time of a family. Would I change him? Absolutely not. I'm proud that he'll stop and help a stranger in need.

Thank you for reminding me that I have a heart. I was misled momentarily into thinking the man was irresponsible. The punch at the end demonstrated that his altruistic attitude was worth more than the money.

Again, the reader is missing the point. The father was struck by pity for what he thought was a dying baby and a desperate mom. He was overcome with compassion.

Okay, he made a bad choice!

But there's nothing wrong with being overwhelmed with compassion from time to time.

And his comment at the end -- "The baby's not dying!" -- that's really the point, isn't it? He didn't want the baby to die. And guess what -- the baby isn't!

The wife and kids are justified in being proud of the man in the story. And yes, next time around he'll probably do more research because he was scammed.

But the point is that he was stung with compassion!

Shouldn't we all be stung with compassion from time to time?

It would be regrettable to live in such a family that would remember "being conned" ahead of "being kind" and it is equally unfortunate that people are so attached to their egos and their material world that they would feel humiliated for being swindled before feeling joy that a baby didn't die. To confuse a spontaneous act of kindness and generosity with poor judgment shows how easy it is to miss the point. Rose's comment is a wonderful example of the self-centeredness and conditionality through which we all too frequently live our lives. Random acts of kindness just simply can't be overdone in this world.This is a wonderful story!

What a moving story! Although, at first glance, the man may appear a naive fool - easy to take advantage of, easy to cheat, etc., he struck me as an extraordinarily generous person with an outlandish sense of humor.
It reminds me of a story I heard or read somewhere about a mother who drove past a panhandler at some public place (could have been a freeway offramp). Her young son asked his mom if she would give some change to that person, to which she replied that he/she would probably just spend it on wine and get drunk. The child then asked, "But what if he's really hungry?" I also recall a comment made by Mother Teresa that went somewhat like this: "When in doubt and given a choice between being right and being kind, choose to be kind." Easier said than done, of course, but I begrudgingly agree.
A thousand bucks is a lot of money to most of us, but what about a quarter or just a dollar bill? Would that be too much? Many of us spend much, much more on beer, cigarettes, junk food, candy, videos, videogames, etc. Well, that guy might have been conned, but it seems like he wasn't going to be hurting too much (his wife understood) and he took advantage of an opportunity to help another human being (following his heart). Regardless of whether he was conned or not, his character shone brightly and won more admiration from his spouse and may have even hastened exposing the bag lady for what she was. If there were more people like him, there would probably be fewer bag ladies. Why? Because generosity, kindness and compassion would reign supreme and there would be little reason for "bag ladies" to even exist. There would be plenty to go around!

I'm sorry but Rose makes excellent points here. Whether the baby is dying or not is beside the point, as the "random act of kindness" was impulsive to the point of being foolish. Face it, giving the lady $1000 -- whether or not she was a con-artist -- was not going to prevent the baby from dying. His son proved his dad's folly and, of course, that is what will be remembered. What's truly sad in this is that the money COULD have gone to useful charitable purposes as your reader describes -- and his family would have respect for the dad rather than considering him a sap. And that's what he was, for not providing charity for those who truly need it.

Once again, this story proves the point that your mind-set, or your belief system, can literally change your reality because it forms the way you look at, and think about, events. Those folks with a more cynical belief system view this as a man getting conned. Those with a more altruistic point of view see this as a generous & spontaneous act of kindness. It's all in what you believe to be true.

The gross misuse of the money by the woman does not negate the generosity, kindness, and good intentions of the giver.

One must look at the bigger picture here: the man will be rewarded for his good, kind-hearted deed. The woman who lied and basically stole money from people will be judged for her intentions and her deeds.

It's interesting to note that almost every one of your "posters" has included their full name...In this age of anonymity, it's refreshing to see people who are willing to be up front on the Internet. When you speak, act, and write with the intent of integrity, you're not afraid to say who you are!

I have to side with Rose on this. While the man did indeed demonstrate compassion to his children, he also demonstrated lack of good judgment. If he wanted to help the woman and her child, that is commendable. But to hand over $1000 to a stranger is just plain stupid. He should have shown better judgment and responsibility by making a donation for that specific cause to the hospital handling the child's case. Compassion is commendable and an invaluable lesson we should teach our children. Blind trust, poor judgment, irresponsibilty to society and family, and plain stupidity aren't lessons that should be fostered. Moreso, Andy Bird, remember the phrase "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Further, Andy, this site is not just for the pie-in-the-sky dreamers like you, but also for those who not only have to deal with reality each day, but know that incomplete lessons are more dangerous than those left untaught. (Think swimming or guns.) Maybe Andy just checked his own compassion and character at the door...

I DON'T care it he was conned, stupid and irresponsible. Let's say Rose and KIMO were right. The point is ... he was a good man. Not like you who will always balance things before helping other people. Good people, when they help, DONT THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES... NOT TO WONDER SO MANY PEOPLE DIED JUST BY HELPING OTHERS.