Posted on 09/02/2013 1:46:17 PM PDT by lowbridge
Kansas City's honest beggar is moving on up after returning the engagement ring a woman accidentally left in his cup.
Billy Ray Harris was able to buy house and car after donors rewarded his act with more than $190,000 in online gifts.
"When I think of the past, I think, 'Thank God it's over,'" he told the "Today" show. "I mean, I feel human now."
Harris was living on the streets of Kansas City, Mo., in February when Sarah Darling dropped a few coins and her diamond and platinum ring in his cup. Neither noticed until later.
Harris said a jeweler offered him $4,000 for the ring, but he decided he couldn't sell it. He instead returned the jewelry the next day.
"I'm no saint, but I'm no devil either," Harris said.
Darling gave Harris all the cash she had on her, and she and her husband, Bill Krejci, set up a donation drive online. When the campaign ended in April, more than 8,300 people had donated a total of $191,745.
A lawyer helped Harris set up a trust to manage the money. The former beggar bought a Volkswagen Beetle and put a down payment on a fixer-upper of a house. He's doing the repairs himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
The last sentence is a kicker. Sounds like he’s the right guy for this kind of charity. Good for him.
Property taxes?
Hopefully the trust fund covers the taxes and utilities.
Hate to rain on everyone's parade but reality *can* be a b*tch.
I hope that’s not the case, but I know exactly what you’re saying, by family experience.
This guy might be the one in a hundred thousand that doesn’t blow his good fortune. I really hope he makes it.
I was thinking much the same thing. I used to work as a hiring manager for a lower-end service sector industry. I got a lot of guys from the local homeless shelters looking for work. There were many folks with deep (and obvious) emotional and mental issues, often coupled with signs of substance abuse problems. I has some success stories, but more often than not, their personal demons got the better of them sooner rather than later.
I hope this fellah is different, because he truly has gotten a chance to get his life on track. But I would not be entirely surprised if there is some backsliding in the near future.
Spending the money is easy.
What he needs is INCOME.
Perhaps a JOB, and job skills.
Even then, it’s tough and we’re in a tough job market.
I hope he makes it.
Although the poor can be expected to spend a windfall of cash unwisely, this is the kind of safety net that the country needs to support poor folks with instead of Constitution-ignoring socialists in DC buying votes on the “promise” of redistributing wealth.
Exactly, his house will be up for auction by next year by the Obama IRS brownshirts.
2 thoughts.
I am glad for the guy.
It is sad to see our society where an act of honesty is such a deviation from the norm that when it is done, money falls down like a lottery.
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