Acts of Kindness

At the store this evening, Kate and I witnessed a kindness that was inspiring. After shopping, we unloaded our groceries onto the conveyor belt not paying much attention to what was happening in that line. It was the only open line other than the 20 items or less. Once the cart was empty I began to pay closer attention and realized that the cashier had a dilemma. His customer was short money to pay for the already bagged groceries. Her already confused state gave way to panic. She didn't understand how she spent so much and she became even more confused of what to have removed. The removal was complicated by the fact that the cost was split between food stamps and cash. She was too paranoid to inform the cashier how much money she did have, so he could help her remove items. The bagger bailed on the cashier. The poor cashier couldn't get his manager's attention for help and his line was growing. I was at a loss of how to help; my attempts were feeble at best. The customers behind me mimicked "It's ok" along with me to the apologies from the cashier and the befuddled customer.

At last, we extracted that she had $50 and her bill was $45 (after the removal of a few items). Relief on the cashier's face was short lived. She explained that this was all the money she had to live on for a few weeks. The mother and early twenty-something daughter behind me pulled out their credit card without hesitation and paid for the groceries. As the mother paid and gave continued reassurance to this woman, I told the daughter how thoughtful this was. The daughter explained that it was a sign of the times, that they had a 3-income family and they could help.

I have thought of this act of kindness all evening and cannot begin to explain how touching this was to me.