A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

Published: March 28, 2008

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]


I want to be like Julio Diaz. I want to change people's lives by simple unexpecting actions. I want to be a better person and see the good in everyone around me. Perhaps this is just a good story to most people, but this is one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard.

Texas!

Nuff said.

Kid History

My roommate showed these videos to me the other day, and I was laughing out loud! Kids are hilarious. So, basically, I guess the story behind these is that some parents took a video of their kids telling a story, and then they made a video to go along with it. It's pretty great!

Episode 1:


Episode 2:

Julian Smith | Malk

This tickles my funny bone.

"I'm going to kill myself over THIS!!!" hahaha

Sara Bareilles | Kaleidoscope Heart

This song I think is so pretty. It's just a short one, but I love the a cappella harmony. It really does sound like a kaleidoscope to me. :-)

Best Holiday Ever (excepting Christmas, of course)

I LOVE Halloween. Why? Because it's the one time of the year that you can be anyone you want to be! It's a time to show off your creativity, and have fun, and collect candy. What is better than that?! This year, I didn't have time to come up with and make an awesome Halloween costume, but I did make a sweet Jack-o-lantern, so I thought I would share it here along with some of the coolest ones I have seen. :-)

So this is my Cecil-o-lantern. Pretty awesome. In case you don't know, Cecil O. Samuelson is the president of BYU.


The rest are just ones I happened to find online. This one I just think is a clever and fun idea.


This one makes me laugh. Simple, but funny.


This is hilarious! The pumpkin seeds as seeds on a bun--great idea. This could start smelling real bad real fast though.


This is what I considered doing this year--Michael Jackson from the Thriller. Whoever did this did a really good job!


Someone went to a LOT of work for this, but it turned out great. It reminds me of Picasso.


And of course, saw the owl, and couldn't pass it up:

Leona Lewis | Better In Time

This is one of my favorite songs. I feel like it's been my theme song! It has this sad quality to it, yet so empowering and optimistic in the end. I love this song so much! Leona Lewis's voice and energy are amazing. Please listen to the lyrics!



It's been the longest winter without you
I didn't know where to turn to
See somehow I can't forget you
After all that we've been through

Going, coming
Thought I heard a knock
Who's there? No one
Thinking that I deserve it
Now I realize that I really didn't know
If you didn't notice, you mean everything
Quickly I'm learning to love again
All that I know is I'mma be okay

[Chorus:]
Thought I couldn't live without you
It's gonna hurt when it heals too
It'll all get better in time
Even though I really love you
I'm gonna smile cause I deserve to
It'll all get better in time

I couldn't turn on the TV
Without something there to remind me
Was it all that easy
To just put aside your feelings

If I'm dreaming don't wanna laugh
Hurt my feelings but that's the path
I'll believe in
And I know time will heal it
If you didn't notice, boy, you mean everything
Quickly I'm learning to love again
All I know is I'mma be okay

[Chorus:]
Thought I couldn't live without you
It's gonna hurt when it heals too
It'll all get better in time
Even though I really love you
I'm gonna smile cause I deserve to
It'll all get better in time

Since there's no more you and me
It's time I let you go
So I can be free
And live my life how it should be
No matter how hard it is, I'll be fine without you
Yes I will

[Chorus: x2]
Thought I couldn't live without you
It's gonna hurt when it heals too
It'll all get better in time
Even though I really love you
I'm gonna smile cause I deserve to (yes I do)
It'll all get better in time