Robert De Vincenzo, the great Argentine golfer, once won a tournament and, after receiving the check and smiling for the cameras, he went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave. Some time later, he walked alone to his car in the parking lot and was approached by a young woman. She congratulated him on his victory and then told him that her child was seriously ill and near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor's bills and hospital expenses.

 De Vincenzo was touched by her story, and he took out a pen and endorsed his winning check for payment to the woman. "Make some good days for the baby," he said as he pressed the check into her hand.
The next week, he was having lunch in a country club when a Professional Golf Association official came to his table. "Some of the boys in the parking lot last week told me you met a young woman there after you won that tournament." De Vincenzo nodded. "Well," said the official, "I have news for you. She's a phony. She has no sick baby. She's not even married. She fleeced you, my friend.”
"You mean there is no baby who is dying?" said De Vincenzo.
"That's right," said the official.
"That's the best news I've heard all week,” De Vincenzo said.

- The Best of Bits & Pieces

Good news

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As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first baseline, I asked one of the boys what the score was.

 

"We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.

"Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged.”

"Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet.”

- Jack Canfield

Discouraged?

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A little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign, “Puppies for Sale.” “How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.
The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”
“Can I please look at them?” the little boy said hesitantly.
The store owner smiled and whistled, and out of the kennel came five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”
The owner explained that it had no hip socket; it would always be lame. The little boy became excited. “That is the little puppy that I want to buy.”
The store owner said, “If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you. But I know you don’t want to buy that little dog.”
The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, and said, “I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”
The store owner advised, “You shouldn’t buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”
To this, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understand!”

- Dan Clark

Puppies for sale

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Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed that the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects, and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

Mark went home after dropping Bill at his house. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school, where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long-awaited senior year came.
Three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. 

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill.
“You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that
memorable moment and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”

- John W. Schlatter

A simple gesture

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