I have never
paid for someone behind me in line. When I would periodically hear about these
“random act of kindness” they would always catch my interest given the
altruistic and touching nature of the stories that came with them; however, I
never took it upon myself to engage in the gesture of good will myself.
Acknowledging the blessings I have received in my life afford me the
opportunity to help a stranger with such an act, I decided early in my “I have
never...” journey I would make paying for someone behind me a part of my year
of new experiences. Of course, that meant I wanted to have a lasting experience
that went beyond simply paying for someone’s drive-thru order or cup of coffee.
As a result, I decided my first experience paying for someone behind me in line
would have to be tied to something more than a passing event on a day like any
other.
As I
contemplated about the best way to follow through on my desire to pay for
someone behind me in line, my thoughts eventually began moving toward the spirit
of giving that is frequently associated with Christmas holiday but often
forgotten in the individual actions of many around the season. That
disassociation ultimately caused me to settle on the idea of following through
on my plan to pay for someone behind me in line on Christmas Eve; a day that I
felt should embody spirit of giving more than any other. With intentions to
make the most of the experience, I decided on that day I would go to local
Wal-Mart in an effort to find a person or family that appeared in need and pay
for their last minute Christmas gifts as a gesture of kindness. In that
decision, I recognized it would likely be an experience I would remember for
some time, but I never expected it to be an event that would move me to my
core.
The beginning... |
With Christmas
Eve upon us, I made good on my plans and headed to a local Wal-Mart store
today. As I anticipated, the store was bustling with the activity of last
minute shoppers seeking gifts for friends and family before the onset of the
Christmas holiday. As I walked into the store, I promptly decided I would take
my time in scoping out shoppers as they moved through the aisles, hoping I
could locate a person or family that I could help by paying for their items at
the checkout line. At first, my effort proved challenging given the surprising
number of people that were picking up personal care products, food, and other
goods that seemed somewhat unrelated to the pending holiday. As a result, I
decided I would work my way back to the toys section of the store where I
thought it would be more likely to find someone that fit the profile of someone
shopping for Christmas gifts. To my luck, the approach ended up working
perfectly.
Almost
immediately after I entered the toy section of the store, my eyes fell upon the
sight of a woman looking longingly at a display of toys in the center of the
aisle. For some time she glanced back and forth from the price tag displayed in
front of the toys to the few toys and DVD movies she had already placed in her
cart. Doing my best to make myself appear busy, I watched as she stood still
before the display before taking a deep breath as a look of disappointment
crossed her face. Slightly hanging her head, the woman moved away from the
display of toys and started walking her shopping cart further down the aisle.
The woman’s
actions were enough to let me know I had found the person I wanted to help by
paying for her items. In turn, I casually worked my way to the front of the
store, grabbed a bottle of cola as a reason for standing in line, and took up a
post near the registers. There I waited for several minutes until I saw the
woman I had observed earlier slowly making her way toward the registers. As she
approached, I hurriedly moved into action, doing my best not to make it obvious
I was trying to cut in front of her in line. As I paced myself near the front
of her cart, I waited for some sign she was turning into a register, which came
with the slight turn of her cart. In response, I promptly turned with her,
establishing the position I needed to make good on my intended “I have
never...” event for the day.
Keya and I |
A few
seconds after we settled into our places in line, I turned to the woman and
greeted her with a smile. Without hesitation I announced my intent to pay for
her goods. “Hello. If it’s ok with you I would like to pay for your things,” I
said bluntly. The woman gave me a confused look and responded in a soft voice
that carried hints of an unfamiliar accent. “I’m not sure I’m understanding,”
she said looking back to the items she had begun placing on the register belt.
Realizing I may have been too forward with my original remarks, I rephrased my
statement. “I’m sorry, as a gift to you I would like to pay for your items.”
The woman took a step back as her face moved from confusion to shock. “You want
to do what?” Smiling, I reiterated my intentions, “As a gift to you I would
like to pay for your goods. You get to take them home and keep them. I would
just like to pay for them on your behalf. Is that ok?”
Reacting to
my offer, the woman took three steps back and raised her hand to her heart
as she slowly nodded her head. With that, the cashier shot me a subdued smile
and began scanning the woman’s items. As the register beeped with each passing
item, the woman looked on with her mouth slightly agape in disbelief. Still
holding her hand to her heart, she stood silent as the last of her items
crossed the register and were placed into shopping bags. As if the transaction was anything but atypical, the cashier then announced the total, which cued me to pull my credit card from my
wallet and swipe at the nearby card processing terminal.
A momento from the experience |
Putting the
card back into my wallet, I turned to the woman who had shifted her attention to
my action at the card processing terminal. She slowly lifted her eyes to meet
mine and spoke briefly. “I don’t know what to say...” she said, holding the
position she had taken at the beginning of the transaction. “You don’t have to
say anything,” I said, “Merry Christmas.” Taking the bags from the end of the
register, I turned back to the woman who slowly outstretched her hands to
receive the bags. In that moment the reality of the
event struck her, causing a look of happiness to light up her face. Overwhelmed
with emotion, tears started softly streaming down her face as she grabbed the
bags from my hands. “I don’t know... Thank you,” she said quietly as she placed
the bags in her cart and turned back toward me. Then, in a moment of candid
expression she opened her arms and embraced me in a hug. Wrapping my arms
around her in kind, I leaned in and said softly, “You’re welcome. I hope you have a
great holiday.”
With that,
the two of us grabbed our receipts and began to head for the doors. The woman
was quick to tell me the items in her bags were gifts for her children and that
my actions would help make her holiday a little brighter. I smiled and placed my hand
on her shoulder before asking her for her name. “Keya,” she said smiling, “My
name is Keya.” In response, I stopped my feet and turned to her, “Well, Keya,
it is nice to meet you. I’m happy I could help make your Christmas a little
better.” Keya wiped her eyes once more as she looked back at me. “You have no
idea...” she said looking back at the bags of gifts, “This means so much.”
Damn you. Well - I'm happy I read this post. You are indeed a good man. But you started my day with some tears. This was just as happy a story as the hot pepper one. I had tears of laughter in my eyes then. It sure looks like I need to catch up on your 'never done that before' stories before they go to press. Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete