50¢

Description

What is a man’s life worth? 50¢? Not in the City of Brotherly Love, especially when that man is just another old, black, homeless bum. But George Thomas Wilson was much more than that. He was an army veteran, a retired history teacher, a friend, and a mentor to many.

The early stages of Alzheimer’s ended George’s teaching career leaving him involuntarily subjected to the guardianship of his daughter who loved his double retirement income far more than she ever loved her father. As he became burdensome, she simply changed the locks on the house. He adapted to life in the city’s homeless community where he became known by some as “T Willie.”

One early winter day, George found a dollar bill. A nearby convenience store’s monitor announced an anticipated lottery prize of $50 million. “Why not?” he thought. Two nights later, he matched five of five numbers winning a $1,000,000 prize!

Most people would feel fortunate. Not George. He felt as though he had robbed the dollar’s true owner and set out to share half the winnings with the first person to give him 50¢. This decision led him on a downward spiral in which he not only lost possession of the winning ticket but also his very life. The ticket passed from hand to hand bringing misery, pain, and suffering to any and all who touched it.