Mourning Florida Father Grateful for Stranger's Honesty
If you've ever wondered about the basic honesty of man, ask Florida resident Carlos M. Rojas, 62. He'll tell you there's at least one honest stranger out there—and he's really grateful they met.
The really weird thing is, the two men, who work in the same building but for different companies, carry the same name, according to The Associated Press.
The elder Mr. Rojas, whose son perished in Iraq last October when a land mine exploded near his Humvee, had been waiting for his son's life insurance company to produce the military death benefits they had promised.
But he had no way of knowing that the checks had already been delivered, albeit to the wrong man. And he never would have found out had it not been for the stranger's honesty.
Carlos G. Rojas, 29, received an undeserved windfall when $200,000 in life insurance benefits were sent to him at his job in January. Mystified, he contacted the insurance company that issued them, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, who told him to just cash the checks.
But the younger Rojas couldn't do it. He later said, "...Somebody's life was connected with that money. I couldn't just spend it and go on like nothing happened."
According to the story in The Ledger, a Lakeland, FL newspaper, he instead spent nine weeks searching for the rightful owner of the money. When he discovered the checks belonged to the elder Mr. Rojas, he searched the Internet for the grieving father's phone number.
He then called the man and turned the money over to him last week.
As it turns out, the checks listed no middle name, so they had simply been delivered to the wrong man at the wrong business—in the right building.
No one is more grateful for the kindness of a stranger than the elder Mr. Rojas, who says he considers the money a final gift from his son, whom he misses very much.
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance has apologized for the mix-up, and plans to send this father a letter of apology.
I don't know about you but, in these days of seemingly common dishonesty, this story just warms my heart. Read it in its entirety here.
