A pair of “teenagers” in New York’s Upper West Side stooped to a new low when they stole a jar of money from a boy’s lemonade stand, with the jar containing the stand’s entire earnings.
According to the local police force, the little entrepreneur, Julian Lin, was running his stand when two teenage males got in the line for the lemonade stand. When their turn came up, they asked for two cups of lemonade. Julian turned to pour their cups and, when he did so, they snagged the jar of cash and sped off on a pair of electric scooters.
The jar had about $100 to $150 in it when stolen, but, fortunately, some of his customers had paid him using Venmo, so not all of his earnings were lost. Further, the community rallied around him, giving him large tips so that the “teens” didn’t ruin his day.
Julian was then interviewed about the incident by the “I Love the Upper West Side” blog, which asked him, “Did the incident that took place at your lemonade stand change the way you feel about humanity?” Responding, Julian said, “Definitely. I feel disappointed in humanity. I didn’t realize that someone would want to rob an 8-year-old.”
The blog then asked what it felt like for the community members to see what happened and then contribute a little extra to make up for it, saying, “How did it feel seeing the community support you after the incident took place?” Responding, Julian described how they did so and added that it was very welcome for them to have done so, telling the blog, “When I lost all that cash, a lot of people wanted to help me recover, so they gave me extra big tips. It made me feel good that so many people wanted to help me recover from this attack. It made me feel happy, joyful and grateful.”
The blog then asked Julian if he would do anything differently moving forward to prevent such an incident from reoccurring, asking, “Do you think you’ll make any changes moving forward?” He said that he would, describing what he would do differently to make the jar more difficult to steal and would trust his instincts. He then described how he knew the “teenagers” were “sketchy.” Continuing, he added that the incident would not stop him from wanting to run a stand and sell things, as that’s what he loves doing with his time and he donates a large chunk of the earnings to charity. “Yes. I will not have my money out there for anyone to grab. I will be more alert. I will trust my instincts because I could tell that those guys were shady since one of them was wearing a ski mask. But I will keep doing what I’m doing, because I love being a businessman, and I love dogs. And 30% of all of my profits go to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary,” Julian said.
In a previous interview with the same blog, Julian described why he likes being a “businessman” and earning money, saying, “I just love working. I love everything about it. It makes me feel good. It is very satisfying to make money. Earning money makes me feel relieved. Relieved about college. Relieved about paying for my mom and dad’s meals when I’m older. And relieved that I can do good things for people who don’t have money. Like homeless people and people who are hungry. And dogs who need a home.”
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