Do you believe in the old adage that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished? My story.

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I do not believe in Murphy's Law. I believe that the best will happen, though I prepare for the worst. But I am re-evaluating my assessment of the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Law. As you know from my previous posts, I did a lot of pro bono work for a woman from Africa (Ivory Coast, specifically) as she was starting a new preschool. She does not speak or write well in English, but I took the reins (as an idealistic American who speaks a bit of French) and wrote a bunch of promotional material material for her, as well as her Statement of Purpose, etc. At my normal consulting rate, she would have been charged $1500.00 or so. I can write pretty fast. But I decided to do that work pro bono (for free), as she was an immigrant, and was trying to get a new business started in the United States. I also did some work for her in her "classroom," working directly with the children (remember Harper?), and reporting to her about their progress, as well as my assessment of her teachers' work. I gave her an 80 per cent discount, relative to my basic consulting rate, for that work, because she was just getting started. As of this moment, she owes me $1,150 for the paid work I did for her. She has owed me this amount for about eight months. She said, "They never go after me. I no pay you." I contacted the police in her area, and filed a report, but they said there was nothing they can do, as this is a "civil" matter. A certain MyLotter warned me against doing "business" with people from that Country. But did I listen? No. This evening, after teaching at Guitar Center, I went to my liquor store, to get a small bottle of Scotch. The woman next to me had four items, and I had one, so I, being a gentleman, gestured her in front of me. Thank you, Dad. Then it happened. "I'll have one Powerball." "And four number 27s." "Oh, you're out of 27s? OK, four 28s." And on and on. After about five minutes, I realized I had made a mistake by being a "gentleman," as my father had taught me half a century ago. "...and eight number fives..." After ten minutes, I went into "prayer mode." Nothing could hurt me. I did make it home. And I am now sipping Scotch. What do you think of the adage "No good deed goes unpunished"?