Ryan Bray is a good-hearted person who constantly attempts to assist those in need. On his way home from work one Sunday, he came upon a panhandler on the street pleading for change. In his neighborhood, this kind of sight was not unusual. Bray approached the man with an offer because he felt driven to improve his life more.
Bray suggested offering the man a $15 hourly compensation to work for his family business rather than just handing him extra change. To his amazement, though, the beggar laughed at the suggestion and rejected it flatly. He didn’t see the point in working when he could beg for more money.
The man reacted angrily as Bray contemplated raising the wage. It seems that Bray’s idea shook his notion of an easy life where wealth came to him and questioned his complacency. Disappointed by the beggar’s reply, Bray made the decision to act independently.
As soon as he got home, Bray made a sign of his own. Then he returned to the same area of the street and openly criticized the panhandler for his apathy and lack of drive. Despite his overall kindness, Bray felt obliged to explain to the beggar the ramifications of his actions.
Speaking to reporters in Florida, the homeless man—who wished to remain anonymous—said that Bray had misled him about having offered him a job. All he sought was assistance to get off the streets. Every money he makes from begging, in his opinion, is a chance to gradually better his situation.
Still, Bray holds fast to his version of events. Holding his placard urging drivers not to give money to beggars, he is adamant that these people will be forced to leave the neighborhood if the community stops providing financial support for them.
Bray views the beggar’s insult as a chance to influence people’s viewpoints and persuade them to quit aggravating the situation. The episode in which the beggar reached inside his car and demanded money further strengthened Bray’s resolve.
Barry Manilow explains why he waited decades to come out as gay
During a guest appearance on HBO’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, the 80-year-old Copacabana singer said he didn’t think it was important to announce his sexuality during the earlier decades of his career.
Manilow came out in 2017, almost three years after he married his husband and manager Garry Kief in a private ceremony. The couple have been together for 45 years now, though they’ve kept much of their relationship away from the public eye.
When he came out to People magazine in 2017, Manilow — whose real name is Barry Pincus — worried he’d be “disappointing” some of his fans by revealing his sexuality. Instead, Manilow, who was 73 at the time, said the reaction from his fanbase was “beautiful.”
Despite his current feelings of nonchalance about his own coming out, Manilow said announcing his sexuality as his career was booming would have been a bad idea.
“Now being gay is no big deal,” he explained. “Back in the ’70s it would have killed a career.”
Regardless, the usually very private Manilow said he thinks “everybody knew that Garry and I were a couple all those years.”
“Really, Garry and I’ve been together for so long,” he said. “It just never dawned on me that we’re going to come out. But when we got married, it was a big deal, so we did.”
Manilow credited Kief for saving his life. He said he is thankful he had Kief to support him as his music career was taking off, despite keeping their relationship under wraps.
“As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, going back to an empty hotel room, you can get into a lot of trouble if you’re alone night after night after night,” Manilow explained. “But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had somebody to cry with or to celebrate with.”
Manilow said he did not wish an isolated hotel room for any young people.
“It was pretty lonely until I met Garry. And then it was fun,” he smiled.
Kief is not Manilow’s first spouse. In 1964, Manilow married his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler. They were married for one year.
Manilow told CNN’s Wallace he “really did love” Deixler, but added “the gay thing was pretty, pretty strong. I couldn’t deny it.”
The singer said he knew he was gay before marrying Deixler, but their marriage ended because Manilow couldn’t be the committed husband his then-wife needed. He revealed that his sexuality was not the reason his marriage failed.
“We had a very nice marriage, it was great, but I was away every night making music, as a young musician would be,” Manilow described. “It wasn’t good for me, and it wasn’t good for her.”
“I couldn’t be the proper husband,” he continued. “I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats. I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
Brooklyn-born Manilow skyrocketed to international fame in 1974 after his release of the ever-popular pop-rock ballad Mandy. He became one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time. Prior to his success as a singer-songwriter, Manilow was behind a number of famous commercial jingles for brands like State Farm and Band-Aid — a gig that he has said helped him create catchy hooks for his own hit songs.
Leave a Reply