Would You Trust a Homeless Man With Your Credit Card?

When Merrie Harris stepped outside for a smoke break with a friend last week, she didn't realize she'd end up bonding with a stranger. When a man approached the advertising executive and asked for spare change, Harris reluctantly said she only had a credit card — and then, she handed it to him. The man took her American Express Platinum Card and a few minutes later, he returned with his intended purchases: cigarettes and a Vitamin Water.

Some people might think Harris is a sucker. Others might think she's a little too trusting. But a self-described "eternal optimist," she's also a compassionate ally for the homeless. A volunteer at Coalition for the Homeless, Harris seemed to know, instinctively and likely from experience, that not all good deeds go unrewarded. Though she admits she had doubts as she watched the man walk off down the block with her elite card, she went back inside, hoping he'd return. When he came back ten minutes later, she hugged him. She never got his name but insists, "I had a good feeling."

Unlike some chance philanthropists, Harris may have been able to take the financial hit if her card was stolen. But does that make her any less likely to worry about it? I find her story particularly inspiring because during such a bleak recession, everyone needs any help they can get — even if they don't always want it. The man took a chance asking Harris for her card, but his honesty can be proof for others that doing the right thing — helping someone in a time of need — can be an awesome gesture of trust and respect between two people.

You may not be able to put a roof over someone else's head or feed him more than a meal or two, but you can always do something to get people one more mile down the road, so to speak. As far as I'm concerned, Merrie Harris is a hero. A bleeding heart cynic like me can always use a story with a happy ending for everyone.

[Ed. note: Is your editor a run-of-the-mill cynic or a horrible person if she suspects that Harris called the paper herself? And is sure that Harris was thrilled to have her photo and the name of her ad agency run in the New York Post? And if she frowns on the paper for perpetuating the incorrect supposition that an honest homeless person is the exception rather than the rule?]

Photo credit: orphanjones