Hold on there stranger!
"America has lost its sense of values. Fifty years ago, during my parents time, people used to be proud to call themselves an American. People today seem to be more interested in themselves and their well-being than in the greater good, the rule of law, or any sense of morality. We've lost our way."
That was paraphrased from an old man I met early last week. But let me paint a picture for you and have you tell me if you think he was full of it or really a just and noble individual.
Wednesday:
I was browsing around the local school computer store, looking at the various computers they had on display. I noticed this old man talking to a sales associate about computers and which applications he could use to enhance his productivity. I noticed him because (1) the old man was somewhat loud; (2) he was definitely older than the average age of the school computer store's clientèle; and (3) he wore all white. Look, its strange for anyone to wear all white, makes you look like you just escaped from an asylum.
Well, because the store had no other sales associate, I waited for the old man to finish his discussion with the current sales associate. Old man talked about Steve Jobs and the stock backdating scandal, computers in general, yada yada yada, all the while I am patiently waiting for an opportunity to be assisted. Old man eventually noticed I was waiting by and brought me into his conversation too.
Finally, I had an opportunity to tell the sales associate that I had a problem with my computer. I explained my problem, detailed what I was doing when the problems occurred and detailed the steps I have taken to diagnose and rule out certain causes of my computer problem. I noted that I had a tight budget and did not want to spend a great deal of money.
The sales associate said to come back whenever I am free and they would spend a day looking over my computer. I thought about it and thanked the associate for his help and began to be off on my way. It was at this point that the old man stopped me and told me that if I was interested that he could supply me with an extra copy of a new operating system for my computer.
Me: Really? How much do you want for it?
Him: I said 'give' didn't I? ::winks:: I was a poor college student at one point too so I know how it is.
Me: Oh, well. Thanks. I really appreciate your generosity.
Him: Think nothing of it! Here's my card. Call me anytime and we can set up a date where I can give you a copy of the operating system.
Me: ::Reads card:: Thanks [insert name of old guy]. It was nice meeting you and I will definitely give you a call.
Friday:
Fast forward to Friday of that week. We meet in a restaurant and he pulls out a copy of the operating system. So far everything looks legit. He gives me the cd, but instead of letting me keep it, he asks that I burn a copy of the cd onto my hard drive and then later boot up the disk from my hard drive. Interesting. Not necessarily the "extra" copy that he had mentioned earlier.
However, I did burn the disk onto my hard drive. While the cd was being ripped, the old man ordered some food and we talked some more about politics, what he was doing later that day, my job interview earlier in the day and so forth.
I told him about California's recent tailpipe emissions initiative that was blocked by the EPA and how even attorneys at the EPA, in internal memos, concluded that the EPA would lose in any court battle with the State of California. The old man got on his soapbox and said "well, that's great and all but California cannot be trusted with that sort of power."
He talked about the tax that California imposed on purchases of out of state cars and how that was wrong. To treat an individual differently because he bought a virtually identical car out of state as opposed to in state was a pure and simple money grab in his view. That it was noble for two young attorneys to convince their partners to bring a class action lawsuit against California and win. And throughout all of this, he emphasized that the attorneys won $42 million dollars for this class action. I just smiled and let him do his talking.
He went on to talk about computer software and casually asked if I could buy him this piece of software with my student discount. The old man knew exactly how much the software was going to cost and gave me exactly that much in cash. Clearly this guy's "generosity" was premeditated. His plan all along was to allow me to burn a copy of his operating system and in exchange, I would use my student discount to get him software at a cheaper price. My suspicion that this old guy was not as ethical as what he tried to make himself out to be was reinforced when we went up to the counter of the restaurant and had the audacity to claim that his cup of soda had a small hole in it and so he wanted a quick refill. Bull. Shit.
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