Recently a young man asked if I had a nickel. He wanted to purchase something from a vending machine and was apparently five cents short. I told him I did not have a nickel, but I did have a dime, which I gave to him.
He proceeded to make his purchase and sat down near me without saying a word.
Frankly, since he only needed a nickel, I was expecting five cents change from the dime I gave him. But either I was too optimistic, or the young man didn’t know much math. He did not give me a nickel, nor did he thank me for the dime, but that’s another story.
My father taught me that if someone asks to borrow money, and you have some to lend, go ahead and make the loan. If the person never pays you back, the wise course of action is not to hound him for it, or hold a grudge, but rather to simply remember never to make a second loan to that person.
Based on that philosophy, there are quite a few people who won’t be getting a dime from me.
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