Greedy Painter

Samuel was a painter. His drawings were among the best being done in these modern times. Each of his paintings sold for a lot of money and many of them were sold and resold, each time for more and more money. Many rich people wanted one of his originals hanging in their homes, and museums everywhere fought to own even one of his paintings.

Whenever someone came to Samuel and requested that he paint for him, Samuel always made two requests. First that he be paid beforehand and, second, that his price be met without argument. His prices were steep and with each new painting, he asked even more. People were indignant over his arrogance but they all wanted one of his works and so they paid.

One day a young wealthy woman came to Samuel and asked that he paint a portrait for her father. Samuel, as always, agreed, but only if she paid him in advance and if she would pay him twice his normal rate. She was sure she was being taken advantage of, but she was very rich and she could afford the cost and she really wanted the portrait and so she paid.

She insisted that she be allowed to watch Samuel throughout the drawing of the portrait. Samuel had no objection and so the young maiden sat and watched. The moment he finished, she picked up the portrait and announced to all her friends who had gathered, "This may be a beautiful portrait, but it is not fit for my ass to sit on. I should not have wasted my money on this canvas and should have had Samuel paint this on my underwear."

Samuel was unamused. He had heard her and remarked, "If that is your wish, I can do that. Of course there will be an additional fee, but I will be happy to paint the portrait on your pants."

Backed into a corner, the next day, the young woman brought a pair of panties to Samuel, agreed to a fee, and Samuel set the panties on an easel and began to paint. A few days later he finished. Now she could do as she claimed and sit on the portrait and Samuel had collected yet another large fee for his work.

Samuel shared none of his life with anyone else. He had been brought up in poverty, but had always kept to himself. As an artist, he collected enormous fees, but never kept much beyond his living expenses. Most of his funds went for three activities. Samuel financed a large program for feeding those who no longer could provide meals for themselves. Samuel also provide money for housing programs in extremely low income areas. Yet the thing that Samuel cared for the most was that he funded a elderly home, in the neighborhood in which he grew up in, the one his elderly parents lived and died in, without any assistance and without any place to go when their time came. He did it all with money he received from rich people who every day denied funding to the same programs those funds went to.