Calkins: Why does he give expensive gifts to strangers? A Memphis mystery to melt your heart.
A golfer takes a swing on June 25, 2024. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
Today, a mystery. Why would a Memphis man give total strangers gifts? And what would you think if he walked up and gave a gift to you?
I’m not talking about a small gift, either. I’m talking about gifts worth hundreds of dollars.
Given routinely!
Expecting nothing in return!
What inspires such an expensive habit?
What do the recipients think?
“I’ll be honest,” said Tom Bailey, one of the recipients. “At first, I thought it was strange.”
Bailey is the person who told me about the story. He’s a former newspaper colleague and one of the best storytellers I know.
Bailey sent me an email with the following subject: “Who does this?”
And then he told me the tale.
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