I just have to share this cool story

[hannaugh]

My boss has two stores, and we have pretty much always have a chat window up with the other store.  So when you have a shift at one store, it's almost like working a shift with the people at the other store.  On Sundays, I work alone, and the guy at the other store works alone there.  So this is what happened to him while we were on iChat today:

He was playing music through the store's stereo behind the front desk with his iPhone.  This guy started asking him a whole bunch of questions about shirts near the back of the store, and while he was distracted, a girl snuck behind the front desk and stole his iPhone.  The guy ran out, and my co-worker was all confused until he realized what had happened.  Another customer was in the store, and he told my co-worker to call the cops, and he ran after the thieves.  He came back a minute later and said that they got on a bus and that he was going to follow the bus and see where they got off, etc...

So my co-worker filed a police report and all that, and he was really upset because he has like 2 years left on his contract, and a new phone was going to cost him $650 that he doesn't have.  Basically he got totally screwed. 

So then later, the customer who had gone to track down the thieves came back with his wife and had bought my co-worker a new iPhone.  He tried to refuse it, but they insisted.  He kept asking if he could do anything for them, but he could only get their first names. 

How crazy is that?  An afternoon dealing with scum bags and total do-gooders. 

 

[pabloman]

WOW!!! That is soooooooo awesome!! I love to hear stories like this. It is so so refreshing and somewhat reassuring to hear there are still really good people out there. The media is filled with such gloom and doom it's depressing. Thanks for sharing. ccasion14:

 

[Jusatele]

wow, how cool
I hear stories all the time the other way, good to hear a story about people caring

 

[Cagey]

Scum bags, I can believe. The rest of it? I'm still waiting to hear how Puff the Magic Dragon flew this customer to the perp's hide out, whereupon they both proceeded to peck the guy's eyes out and eat his liver, just for good measure. Then, they came back to the store where the owner was so remorseful that he just gave title to the store to the employee as compensation for his trauma, right after he handed the keys to his new beemer to the hero customer for his quick thinking and compassion.

Has anybody ever bought a cell phone? You don't just throw money at those things and walk out the door. You gotta identify yourself and sign up for services or it's just a curious little piece of technological gimcrackery. So, are we to believe this do-gooder customer bought into a 2 year plan and put his own name on it just to satisfy some clerk who left the register unattended? I'm not sure how rich I'd have to be before I started pulling stunts like that, no matter how many brownie points Jesus gave me.

Somewhere along the line here, we're going to hear

The rest of the story...​

Good day!

 

[Alfang]

great story, But Cagey, theres a ton of well to do people in this country, a lot more than most realize.

Every major city has that neighborhood full of million dollar houses, and theres a million fancy cars on the road that are probably paid for and is just their drive arround town car.

Someone out there is making big bucks putting a plastic knife fork spoon napkin and floss in a sealed plastic bag to be distributed with some meal in a box.

For every scumbag in this world, theres 10 good people and one of those 10 has money. Hannahs co-worker just happened to have the right guy in his store at the right time, and Karma will reward that man.

and by the way, you can just buy a phone and walk out the door, and it's not cheap to do it that way

 

[Cagey]

I know there are a lot of very well-off people in the world - I happen to live in a neighborhood full of them, and have for quite a while.

It really is the best, I must say!​

But, if there was one defining characteristic I'd apply across the board, it's that they don't throw money at things on a whim. Regardless of what The One might think, spending money is not the path to prosperity, any more than racking your Visa/MasterCard to the wall is.

But, I think we might be talking about California here, and they have substantially different ways of looking at things. So, what do I know?

 

[Jusatele]

Cagey the difference in the guy driving a  Jag in CA and MA is the guy in CA is leasing it. Yes It is all appearance here and they throw money away like bad apples.

 

[pabloman]

Now I know what Paul Harvey looks like! Thanks Cagey.. :icon_biggrin:

 

[Graffiti62]

Its always refreshing to hear, especially in the days of "looking out for #1,"  that someone is compassionate enough to help his fellow man, especially with something as generous as this!  I'm glad to see the values that someone's parents had taught stuck with them.

This reminds me of something that happened to me when I was sixteen. My mom sent me to the grocery store for a couple of items that she forgot for a recipe. I went and picked them up without issue, but on my way home, I saw a girl about my age with a broken arm pulled over to the side of the road. She had blown a tire, and with the cast on, she had no way of changing it on her own. I was always a natural with cars, so I changed the tire out for her, and went on my way. My mom had asked me why I was late, and I explained my story. A couple of days later, my dad pointed out in the newspaper's classifieds section that someone had taken out a "thank you" ad, stating "Thanks to the young man who changed my daughter's tire when she wasn't able to herself--Tim Hannah, Mayor of Appleton."  I had no clue that it was the mayor's daughter--I had helped because I simply knew it was the right thing to do.

Now that I'm a father, I'm trying to instill those values into my little girl, especially the fact that knowing you helped someone in need is all the reward you ever need. That, and never date a young man with a lift kit on his truck, or shag carpeting in his van, or someone who has a stereo system worth more than the Blue Book value of the car it is installed in.

 

[hannaugh]

It may sound crazy, but this isn't some fake chain email.  It actually happened yesterday.  I was completely amazed and happy for him, so I posted. 

For the record, my co-worker asked me not to tell my boss that the people replaced the iPhone because he thought "he would be weird about it".  Some people can't take it that there are folks out there who do unbelievably generous things like buying a stranger a new iPhone. 

Keep in mind too that here in So Cal, people pay over a million bucks for a medium sized new house.  The reasonably well-to-do people in So Cal are the equivalent of the filthy rich in most other states, and they're not that uncommon here.  I can probably name 10 people off the top of my head that I know personally who are worth over a million. 

I don't know that these people were rich or anything, but my co-worker said that they were religious, and that they thought it was one of those WWJD situations. 

 

[Cagey]

Actually, it sorta sounds like something my next youngest brother would do. He's the type who won't trade in a vehicle if there's anything wrong with it. "It needs a new engine, transmission, suspension, tires, glass and air conditioner! Plus, there are rust spots and the paint is scratched in 2 places! How can I in clear conscience let somebody else pay for that?" I wish I could have bought some of his "used" vehicles. Dingbat.

 

[pabloman]

Some concepts are just so completely foreign that if they do not fall directly inline with their own thought process that some people will never even attempt to comprehend it. Instead they choose to dismiss, deny, or debunk things they do not grasp firsthand. They refuse to look anywhere else but down the tunnel. They consider themselves to be so much smarter than most yet refuse to learn from life or others experiences. I feel sad for these sorts because chances are they are missing out on meaningful relationships with people who just won't/can't tolerate this mentality. People can only tolerate so much perceived superiority and cynicism before they have to cut ties. Because of my work I see this attitude all the time, to varying degrees, but none the less the effects are usually the same. Most people will just pacify this behavior just to avoid confrontation. Unless it's someone you have some sort of relationship with it's easiest to just let them have their moment. Parents will almost never acknowledge transferring these, or any other thinking errors down to their children. Usually it's apparent in a family where the father thinks he is completely superior to those around him. The dad wants to take credit for the kids accomplishments yet refuses to have any part in the negative things the child has done. Those are usually blamed on the mother, teachers, and friends. It drives me nuts because as I would like to choke someone in an attempt to open their eyes I must maintain a level of professionalism. These types will deny and deflect their part even though their child is now "in the system" because of a breakdown in the family structure all while it's in front of us in black and white in the form of a case file.

 

[pabloman]

Wow! That was an interesting rant. Sorry. I had to deal with a troubling emergency placement this morning. I will never understand how a parent can give up on a child. It's not like the kid was a rapist or murderer. The kid is only behaving the way he's been conditioned. Now because this jerk failed as a parent I need to leave the lake, leave my family in order to clean up his mess. The ass actually had the nerve to comment on the fact that I was wearing cargo shorts. He didn't have anything to say when I apologized and explained to him we were out fishing and having a picnic and I had to rush right over because I was under the impression I had to deal with a child in crisis. Now the 4th will always be an extra special holiday forr this kid. It'll be the day dad gave up and because of her loyalty to the husband mom let him. Going through the file the boy has had police contact twice, once for curfew and once for park curfew. Both cases were dismissed because the kid was walking home from work. He is a B average student, plays baseball and is in the mariachi band at school. He was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. He is prescribed Adderall, that's an amphetamine based med for the ADHD. I dont know for sure but this kid will most likely have a poor self image and probably lots of reactive attatchment issues. Oh well. Time to get to work.

 

[mayfly]

wow - dad gave up on him.  I don't know what that means, but it sounds terrible.

I tell both my kids everyday that I love them and I'll love them no matter what.  I can't imagine otherwise.

 

[hannaugh]

Parents do some insane things to their kids sometimes.  I had a friend who's drug addict dad took out a credit card in her name when she turned 18 and ran up $30,000 worth of debt unbeknownst to her until a year later when she suddenly found out she had to file for bankruptcy.  Then he somehow got ahold of this big scholarship she had been awarded and basically left her with nothing for college. 

 

[llmtelecaster]

That's a great story. What type of store do you work at?

 

[hannaugh]

Comic books/collectible toys.

 

[elfro89]

Parents do some insane things to their kids sometimes.  I had a friend who's drug addict dad took out a credit card in her name when she turned 18 and ran up $30,000 worth of debt unbeknownst to her until a year later when she suddenly found out she had to file for bankruptcy.  Then he somehow got ahold of this big scholarship she had been awarded and basically left her with nothing for college. 

aww really? That is such a sad story, can't believe how selfish that was. What happened to her?

 

[hannaugh]

She had to go to bankruptcy court at 19, and ended up going to a much cheaper school than the one she wanted.  She still got her degree and everything, but basically everything she worked her butt off for in high school (she was a straight A student) went down the drain when he stole that big scholarship.  I think now she is probably finally getting to the point where she can have a regular credit card and take out loans and stuff because bankruptcy ruins your credit for 10 years.  There has been a warrant out for her dad's arrest for a long time now, but they can't figure out where he is. 

 

[elfro89]

man I feel for her  :sad: but at least she got her degree, regardless of where she got it from. A man I respect a lot once told me that every institution is bollocks, a lot depends on who teaches you and what mood they are in, but it does allow you the opportunity to devout yourself full time to your area of study. I think these words are amazing, pretty much made me realise that it's the student and the effort they put into making the leap to being professional that matters, where you choose to do it (and how much money you throw at it) doesn't matter. You get out what you put in.