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| 等 级：资深长老 |
| 经 验 值：2937 |
| 魅 力 值：2381 |
| 龙 币：10790 |
| 积 分：5602.3 |
| 注册日期：2002-08-31 |
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受人滴水之恩,进而反哺社会的天使去世了(美国的"秘密圣诞老人"去了天堂)
Secret Santa was 'angel' who gave away money
Larry Stewart, seen here in Kansas City, Mo. in Nov., 2006, died of cancer Friday night after giving over a million dollars to local folks over 26 years.
Felicia Young shows off the $100 bill she received from Larry Stewart in Nov. 2006. Stewart stamped every bill with his friend, former Negro Baseball League great Buck O'Neil's name.
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Larry Stewart, a millionaire who became known around the world as Secret Santa, gave away $1.3 million anonymously during his too-short lifetime and set an example of generosity that will be difficult to match, friends said Sunday.
Stewart, a successful businessman from Lee's Summit, Mo., died Friday at age 58 from complications from esophageal cancer. For the past 27 years, he handed out money to the needy in Kansas City, Mo., and other cities during the Christmas season.
He told USA TODAY in December: "I see … looks of hopelessness turn to looks of hope in an instant. Isn't that what we were put here on Earth for — to help one another?"
Ted Horn, 88, a retired diner owner in Tupelo, Miss., who inspired Stewart to give away money, said Sunday: "I think he was an angel. The Lord needed another angel, so he called Larry home."
In the winter of 1971, Stewart was working as a door-to-door salesman in the little town of Houston, Miss., when he ran out of money. He hadn't eaten for almost two days when he went to the Dixie Diner and ordered breakfast, then acted as though he had lost his wallet.
Horn, the owner, picked up a $20 bill off the floor. "Son, you must have dropped this," he said.
"It was like a fortune to me," Stewart recalled. He paid and left. Later it dawned on him: Nobody had dropped the money. Horn had helped him out secretly. "Right then, I made a promise. I said, 'Lord, if you ever put me in a position to help other people, I will.' "
Eventually he moved to Kansas City, where he made money in cable television, then with his own long-distance phone company. He was married in the early 1970s and has adult children.
In 1979, just before Christmas, he stopped at a drive-in and ordered a hamburger and soft drink. He gave the carhop $20 and said, "Keep the change."
"You're kidding," she said. "No, ma'am. Merry Christmas," he said. She started sobbing and said, "Sir, you have no idea what this means to me."
It felt so good, Stewart said, he went to the bank, got more cash and started giving it away. He had no strict criteria; he sometimes worked with social service agencies, but much of the money he simply handed to people he saw on the street or in diners, pawnshops and fast-food places.
Stewart carefully guarded his identity for years; only his family and a few close friends knew the truth. He went public late last year and said he hoped his story would inspire others to become Secret Santas and carry on his tradition.
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to be or not to be, that is not a question... |
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2007-01-15 12:06:47
