| A Gentleman |
22 September 2003
|
Teacher Gives Away $1 Million
Pepsi recently held the drawing for its $1 billion prize winner, and thankfully for Pepsi, or more accurately, Pepsi's insurers, the chimp (yes, as in monkey) who picked the winning number selected numerals that did not match those chosen by Richard Bay (the grand finalist). Mr. Bay received a $1 million consolation prize. Up to this point, the situation was worthy only of scorn and derision, but Mr. Bay saved the day by an act of selflessness that one thought only occurred in Frank Capra movies.
Mr. Bay lives in West Virginia where he earns about $30,000 a year teaching high school. Needless to say, $1 million would radically change his life, more comfortable, more secure, more everything material. And so, he decided to pay off his credit card debt, buy his wife a new car, and then donate the rest to his church, open a library and establish a college scholarship.
There used to be an ethos in America and Europe of giving to the community. The massive New York Public Library began from donations from John Jacob Astor and the Vanderbilts. The custom descends from ancient Rome, where the rich provided public works for the greater glory of the empire and themselves. Examples of this are found not only in the west, but around the world. Somewhere along the line, though, selfishness became a virtue. Building monuments to oneself continues, but it is done with shareholders' money, deducted as a business expense.
Mr. Bay is worthy of special note for something else. The Astors, the Vanderbilts and the Caesars gave away only a part of what they had. Mr. Bay has given up everything American society has come to represent, the title "millionaire." It is doubtful that he will ever get a second million, not teaching high school in West Virginia. However, he has secured the only title that the Kensington Review values. Mr. Richard Bay is a gentleman.
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