Okay…get this! So I am in the checkout lane at K-Mart minding my own business, as usual. Stop laughing. I have my moments when I stay entirely focused. And no—this is not a blog about going to war with a shopping cart, or stealing someone’s shopping cart, thinking it was mine. No…I am not retelling a tale about a kid named Michael who needed my help in the parking lot or about the time some guy mistook me for another gal who frequents ‘the club’. If you have read some of my ‘ongoing stories’ these tidbits will be familiar. But I digress. How surprising.
Okay…so I have my purchases loaded up on the belt thingy that clearly has a mind of its own. (But that is another story). Then, I look behind me and see this nice looking young man with his arms piled high with brats, franks, packaged potatoes, more brats and such. I mean this guy was loaded. After wondering why said ‘nice looking young man’ lugged his barbecue menu up to the check out without aid of a cart, I wondered if he too, had gone to war with a shopping cart. I regained my wits and mentioned that he could go ahead of me. This guy was about to drop his hotdog. Not that I was staring, of course.
At first he resisted. Then I insisted. We chatted about my dog purchases (regular dogs, not hotdogs) and then his brats were bagged. He thanked me again for letting him be next in line. Truly, no big deal.
As he turns to go, he stops, takes a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and tells the cashier, “Here. Put this on this nice lady’s purchases.” A twenty dollar bill? Holy guacamole! Of course I told him no, that payment was certainly not necessary! He then said, “You did a kindness for me. Let me do one for you.” With that he placed the twenty dollar bill in my hand and walked away.
I am not sure how long my mouth hung open as I stood there staring at the money. Have I mentioned that it was a twenty dollar bill? And it is a real one! My sister checked to be sure it was not counterfeit. I mean, my heart was so touched, but had it been funny money I think I would have had no choice but to pray for somebody’s hotdogs to burn.
Now…I know these random acts of kindness are just the ticket these days. And I have been on the giving end a time or two, but what the heck?? A twenty dollar bill just for relieving a guy of his heavy load? What is this world coming to?
Kindness. And you can put your money on it.
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