To the lovely lady in Petawawa, Ontario, who saw me struggling down the street from the bus station with my 50 pound bag: thank you. Thank you for offering me a ride.
Your name was Leslie, and you were on the way to the movies with your daughter.
You offered me a ride home and your kindness made my day. I shall pay it forward, as we all should. Thank you Leslie.
My wife and I eat breakfast out once a month. For the past year or so we have picked up the tab for someone in the restaurant. Makes us feel good and always makes the day for the folks we buy for. A couple places have thanked us with gift cards, they also go to the person that we paid for. We are lucky enough to be doing good, it’s costs us very little to help out others.
This past Thursday I was in Whole Foods and got to talking to a guy who was in the store for the first time (a Whole Foods virgin!). He said he was a trucker and had told his wife he was going to stop in and look for some healthier snacks than he normally ate on the road. The next day would have been my late husband’s birthday, and on an impulse, I went to the bakery area and picked up a box of their oatmeal raisin cookies that he had loved. I bought them then found the guy and gave them to him, explaining about the birthday. He cried, I cried, we hugged. It was a nice moment. Never got his name. Told him to drive carefully.
I wish the news was filled with more stories like these. What a wonderful world.
I regularly get a coffee or lunch picked up for me (not because of my drop-dead beauty :D, I suspect the uniform). I do my best to pay it forward whenever I have the opportunity.
My buddy and I took off a couple of weeks every summer to jump on the bus, following the Grateful Dead. While we were not rich, we did budget well and know how to live well on the road.
The last two summer tours, 1994 and 1995 we “paid forward” the parking fees for the vehicle behind us. It was fun and a good way to get to know people who were going to be partying and vending right beside you…
Damnit, I sill miss Jerry.