The one conversation that seemed to be almost made of T-N-T was about helping those less fortunate. Inevitably, I’d get answers like, “Why should I? What have they ever done for me?” And “They need to stop being so lazy and get a job.” When I transferred the idea of helping the less fortunate from other countries, it became even more caustic. Comments like, “I ain’t helping those people. No way! They dug their own hole; now they need to be buried in it.” That was mixed in with the inflammatory commentary were always genuinely heartfelt statements of gratitude and hope from people who either had helped others in the past or had been helped and continue to help others to this day.