Honesty Really Pays Off: Homeless man receives so much more for being honest

It never hurts anyone to be honest, and honesty really pays off. That is what happened to a homeless man named Billy Ray Harris. That fateful day in February, he was at his usual spot at The Plaza located in Kansas City. The down-on-his-luck man was holding a cup, asking for alms from generous passers-by.

Sarah Darling was one of those generous enough to spare Harris some change. Almost an hour had passed after that before Harris took a look inside his cup where he found a diamond and platinum ring among the loose change.

The story went viral and attracted media attention when Sarah Darling’s friend leaked the story to the press.

Realization of the loss

It was only the next day that Sarah Darling realized that she had lost her very expensive engagement ring. She remembered taking it off the other day and putting it inside her purse with her loose change because the ring was bothering her.

Retracing her steps

She thought she might have no other way to recover her ring but still traced the steps she made the other day, and ended at the Country Club Plaza where Harris was seated, and as usual, was panhandling. She squatted beside him and said she might have included something valuable among the coins she gave him the other day. She could not contain her excitement when she got her ring back, and gave Harris all the money she had in her wallet as a token of appreciation. When she was interviewed, she did not reveal the actual cost of her ring and just said that it is the sentimental value of the ring that counts the most.

Honest Billy Ray

Billy Ray Harris, when approached by Sarah did not hesitate. He asked her if it was a ring and when she said yes, he said he has it and handed it back to her. When interviewed by media, Harris told them that he might be homeless and penniless but he still retains what his grandfather taught him. He said his grandfather, who was a reverend, raised him since he was only six months old and he had brought up Billy Ray as an honest man. He said that he realized that the ring was an expensive item because of its size. Billy Ray, after knowing about the donations given by people who have heard of his story said that he does not deserve all the attention because he was only doing what his grandfather taught him.

It is not the first time that Mr. Harris has done an honest deed. It was revealed that on another occasion he returned a Super Bowl ring. He picked it up near a creek and brought it to a hotel where the eventual owner, a retired player of the Oakland Raiders, was staying at that time. He was rewarded financially for his good deed and the hotel extended him a free three-night stay.

Outpouring of support

Sarah Darling’s fiancé (or already her husband), Bill Krejci, was also very grateful to what Billy Ray Harris did and started an online Give Forward Page, to request generous people to give donations to Harris. So far (February 26th) the online fund-raising has collected $152,000 for Mr. Harris. It is already enough for him to buy a three-bedroom house in Kansas City and get him off the streets.

The donations did not come only from people in Kansas and places in the United States. The story has touched the hearts of many people worldwide and donations are still coming from Europe and Asia.

Sarah Darling added that oftentimes when you see homeless people panhandling, you immediately jump to bad conclusions. The honesty of Mr. Billy Ray Harris and others like him makes you realize that there are still many good people in this world. You never know when and where an “angel” will appear.

Video by john herhavits