The two sides of giving.

First, let me share this heartwarming story from Yahoo Sports:

Young Brandon Jacobs fan gets his $3.36 back, plus bounce house time with his hero

By MJD

Remember the adorable little New York Giants fan named Joe who sent the contents of his piggy bank to Brandon Jacobs because "money" was the reason that Jacobs had to leave the Giants? The young fellow got his money back this week, hand-delivered by Jacobs, along with a signed Giants helmet and a bouncy, memorable afternoon with his favorite football player.

Jacobs told Matt Barrow of the Sacramento Bee that he and his son took Joe and his brother out to a bounce house for the afternoon and had a blast.

"It was just us in the whole place and we were just going room to room - just bouncing and flipping all over the place, hitting each other with balls, sweating, our shirts filthy. We were just dirty, stinky boys, you know?"

Added Joe's mom, Julie:

"He told me he really wanted to get out there with the kids. [...] He really wanted to enjoy it, and he did. It was amazing."

I love a story that ends with warm fuzzies all around. It was a sweet act by the child to send Jacobs his piggy bank money, and it was sweet of Jacobs to make sure the little guy knew that the gesture was appreciated. Jacobs is even pulling inspiration from the whole thing to get him motivated for the season.

"I'm at a point in my career when people have stopped believing in me and not believing that I can still play. But that's not the case. Joe believes in me, gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of want-to. And I'm ready to go. I can't wait until the season starts."

Not only did he take the little fan, but his little brother, along with his own son, and the four of them had the place all to themselves.  Jacobs also gave the boy a signed Giants helmet and $5.00 (not just the $3.36 he sent) to refill his piggy bank.   It's rare to hear this kind of class from anyone, and I wish Jacobs the best with the Niners.

image courtesy Brandon Jacobs

The other side of the coin comes to us from that paragon of vitrue, Barack Obama. From BarackObama.com:



Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?
Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.
Setting up and sharing your registry page is easy—so get started today.


If you're saying to yourself, "C'mon, Chris, Obama can't POSSIBLY be this crass", just go here.  Sign up at the OER now- it's the gift that keeps on taking!

And guess what?  I'm published on Yahoo!  See my poem about the misconceptions of Independence Day at http://voices.yahoo.com/the-true-independence-day-11486302.html.  Go now! I get paid for this!  And it's pretty good, too!