Hmmm: News from Norway - Vote for the Good Samaritan

I'm typically leery of stories like this. As the saying goes "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Nonetheless, this was reported by one of Norway's major newspapers and frankly it sounds like something he'd do, so I'm passing it along. I hope it's true but if it turns out that it's not I'll let you know.

As blogged about on the Daily Kos...

It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a surcharge.

You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said.

Mary had no money. Her new husband had traveled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.

I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary. As tears streamed down her face, she heard a "gentle and friendly voice" behind her saying, "That's okay, I'll pay for her."

Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before. He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive.

The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?

She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

Who was the man?

Barack Obama.

To read the full story click here.