For the last 11 years, Dave Talley has been living on the fringes of society as a homeless man in Tempe, Arizona. He hasn’t had a drivers license since 1999, and has been a recovering alcoholic since 2003, but it’s that newfound sense of responsibility and sobriety that acted when he found $3300 in cash and a laptop computer in a lost backpack at a light rail station. Dave Talley, the homeless Good Samaritan, returned $3300 in cash to its rightful owner.
“It wasn’t my money. I didn’t earn it,” said Talley. “I’m the one that has to lay down every day and deal with myself. If I’d done anything different than what I did, I don’t know if I could handle that.”
The money and gear were lost by Bryan Belanger, a student at Arizona State University. The backpack full of cash was tracked to Belanger after Talley took the backpack to his boss, Stephen Sparks, at the Tempe Community Action Agency. Using a flash drive with the laptop, Sparks and Talley were able to track down Belanger and return his belongings to him. Since then, the praise (and monetary support) have poured in for Talley, including several offers for part-time employment.
Sometimes, doing the right thing pays off in the end.
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