It was another time, another place, but the discussion with Cologne brought it to mind. Washington DC: was walking down the street, when a man approached. He was wiry, not tall and agile on his feet. He started talking to me about his desperate situation. How he had no money to get back to his home – a far out place in Virginia – with which I just happened to be familiar. How he had arrived earlier in the day, by train, [while I knew there was no train service to that town]. Someone has pick pocketed his wallet and then he dived into details about the pictures of his wife and daughter in the wallet, and how hard it was going to be to live without them. His song and dance went on for a good bit; as he embroidered, I found him all the more entertaining. I was on my own mission and so I had to bring his show home and close it down, and did so by asking him what he wanted. $5.00 he said, would be great to help him on his way back home – by train of course. Smiling broadly, I continued to look him in the eyes while reaching for my billfold. Opening it I removed a $10 bill. ‘Here’, I said, ‘Don’t believe one iota of your story, but you delivered it so convincingly and earnestly and in such an charming way, I would pay to see it on stage. He looked confused. I continued to smile as I gave him the money and walked away.
The Moral? ‘Ask and you will receive greater than you expect?’. Well most of the time, not, but sometimes, yes.