Isn’t This How It Should Be?

How about the story that Mi Hyun Kim, a pro golfer on the LPGA Tour, donated $100,000 to victims of the Kansas tornadoes? She saw footage of the destruction on TV when she was playing in nearby Oklahoma and just decided to fork over the money even though she’s never been in Kansas.

That’s a nice sum considering she doesn’t make ridiculous amounts of money (for a professional athlete), and she’s not even an American citizen. It’s even more astounding considering the fact that some of America’s most famous pro athletes can’t even match that. I realize that a lot of pro athletes do work behind the scenes that we don’t hear about with their own foundations and programs, but when you hear about an athlete here or there donating $10,000 or something like that when they make in the middle seven-figure range in salary alone, it pales in comparison to what Ms. Kim did.

I keep thinking back to what an acquaintance of mine told me several years ago: “You might as well spend money and enjoy life, because you can’t take it with you.” I don’t think he meant spending money in a frivolous way on nicer clothes or flashier cars. It was about seeing the world and probably for something like this. I’ve been thinking about money a lot recently, with the need for a larger home for my family and a newer, bigger car, but I suppose that we can all contribute something when the need arises. I guess we just have to get it in our minds that most of us are pretty lucky with the things we do have and the opportunities that have been presented to us. I just wish my family was in a better position to be able to contribute more.

Here’s a link to the original story about Mi Hyun Kim on ESPN.com.