My Dad and I didn't always see eye to eye. I canmunderstand that today, I am sometimes set in my ways too.
My Dad always respected everyone, it didn't matter if they were a hobo, a drunkard or anything else. Because of this a lot of these people's families thought well of our family.
I guess he taught me to stop and think what it would be like to walk a mile in other's shoes. I think this may be one of the reasons why I am broke today.
My Mother would often try to put a litle aside or save a few dollars so she could do something special for her family, maybe somethig like on the 4th of July. Then an Indian would come along and want to borrow money, Dad would give it to them. They didn't expect to borrow money but knew it would be and expected it to be a handout. No, I don't feel that I was ever short changed by this, but in my mother's point of view, this diminished what she had tried to do.
Now I am an old man, I realize now, that some of these people who were walking in those uncomfortable shoes, were doing so because they didn't have the gumption to get out of them.
That brings to mind the old German saying "To soon oldt To late smardt"