Tonight a young man came to the door. He explained, in perfect English, that his high school fees were due tomorrow and he needed help. His mother had $500 pesos but the dues were $900. He wanted to borrow $400 pesos until Saturday when his father would be home.
We took a chance and gave him the money. We told him we had never been cheated in Mexico before and we did not expect to be cheated now. We told him if he came and washed the motorhome and car on Saturday, he would owe us nothing. I hope we were not foolish in our trust.
Booked another flight!
15 hours ago
Hi Croft:
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the input on my blog. P.S. Eric, ever the pessimist says "You are going to get taken!" I hope he's wrong.
Kathy
The bottom line is, that you cannot be foolish with your trust. When you fail to trust, you yourself have lost something precious. If the boy receiving the money does not prove worthy, it is on him, not you.
ReplyDeleteGeorge
I was going to say pretty much what George said.
ReplyDeleteWe probably would have done the same, but would have asked to meet the mother first.
ReplyDeleteTime will tell. We put faith in people and it is up to them to follow through.
ReplyDeleteI can't judge what one will do with the money I give. I give in good faith.
I think we are all waiting for Saturday.
If he doesn't return, next time you guys will still give the money but you might go to the school with him to make the payment.
I'm with Kathy Tycho on this one - never have been paid back here (and seldom in the U.S. btw).
ReplyDeleteGood policy is to keep friends and your wallet closed. IMHO
Or just give the kid the dough and feel good about that.