Generosity to Friends and the Need for Recognition

While Ruby often flared up and acted aggressively, he seemed to calm down or forget his anger quickly, and there is also a great deal of evidence that he was extremely generous to his friends. He loaned money to them and apparently cared little whether the loans would be repaid.483 He was quick to offer employment to persons desperately in need of a job 484 and he lent considerable aid to persons seeking work elsewhere.485 Moreover, when friends or new acquaintances had no roof over their heads, Ruby's apartment was frequently theirs to share.486

Ruby's unusual generosity may be explained in part by his extremely emotional reaction to persons in distress, which may have resulted from his firsthand familiarity with poverty, and by his unusual craving to be recognized and relied upon.487 Many of Ruby's acquaintances described him as a "publicity hound," "glad hander," and "name dropper," one always seeking to be the center of attention.488 Apparently the "egocentrism" of his youth 489 never left Ruby. Yet, frequently he sought reassurance from persons he admired.490