Several years ago, we needed construction work on a house in Whitewater, WI. We hired a young man from the area who did a good job. So when we needed some work done on our Edgerton house, we called him.
He made an office for John in the basement, and we found a few more updates we needed to the house. Seeing he was here for many weeks, he started telling his life story. It was a sad story, and I am a very compassionate person. He told us he grew up in foster homes. Those responsible abused him and the other boys. He and his sister were separated.
I am also gullible because I was impressed that he made a good life after such a terrible start. Years later, I realized he and his family (wife and stepdaughter) were users. First, they started telling us that we were the family he never had. Then they started asking for favors, but they never asked. Instead, they would start with, "You are not going to mind doing this or that?" When I finally said "NO," they stopped talking to us.
If I had not known and believed his story, he would have been just another worker we had hired.