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When Julio Diaz stepped off the New York City subway platform after work one night, he was simply planning to walk over to his favorite local diner for a meal. But when a teenage boy approached him with a knife blade gleaming in his fist, Diaz, a 31-year-old social worker, knew the evening was about to take a more dramatic turn.

The young man demanded Diaz's wallet, and Diaz passed it over without objection. But just as his mugger turned to walk away, Diaz called after him: "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something."

The mugger turned around, surprised.

"If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The teenager looked at Diaz in disbelief, and asked why he would do such a thing. Diaz replied, "!f you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money." He told the young man that he'd just been heading out for dinner, and that he would be happy for some company.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz told NPR's StoryCorps.

The young mugger decided to take Diaz up on his offer, and they headed into Diaz's favorite local haunt together. As they were sitting at the table, the manager, the dishwashers, and the waiters all stopped over to say hello to Diaz, and the young man was amazed at his popularity. "You're even nice to the dishwasher," he exclaimed.

"Haven't you been taught that you should be nice to everybody?" Diaz asked him.

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teenager replied. Thanks to Diaz, he was beginning to see that kindness wasn't such a strange phenomenon, after all.

When the bill came, Diaz told the teen that he'd have to get the check. After all, he still had Diaz's wallet.

But the teenager slid the wallet back across the table without a moment's thought, and Diaz treated him to dinner. Diaz also gave the would-be mugger a $20 bill to take with him - in exchange for the young man's knife.

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right," Diaz said. "It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

This story was originally posted at Gimundo.com.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/0 ... 95178.html



This is my kind of story....the kind that gives you hope that there are people out there that DO make a difference, I know that there are many more that go un-noticed....it is nice to read/hear about them though.

It reads like an apologue evoking the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I was waiting for it to end-

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."


...but it didn't.

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right," Diaz said. "It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world." A very contemporary variation.

Julio... Jesus... freaky coincidence, no?



In all seriousness, it is a gorgeous story.

A very nice story, inspiring :-6

Excellent point Jimbo and what an excellent story this is.

[QUOTE]if you never bother talking to people you never make any friends [/QUOTE]

I was in a shop a few weeks ago and I was looking through some bedding and there was an elderly gentleman next to me and he was looking as well but he looked kind of confused.

I looked at him and asked if everything was alright. He said that his wife had just recently passed and that he was not so good with this stuff.

I asked him what colour was the bedroom and what size bed and I helped him pick out one. I felt so sad for him and I said that it will get easier, to take just one day at a time.

He was glad of the help.

Anyway just as we were leaving he came up to me and said to me, thanks so much, that he would tell his friends he met an angel that night.

I know it sounds corny but this absolutely made my night. It was a night when I had been feeling really terrible anxious and depressed and I was just as delighted as he was.

I always end up chatting to people everywhere too.

Sometimes you meet people with the most amazing stories