I was out for lunch with about 20 coworkers - some visiting from other cities, some from my office- and we went to eat at a nearby restaurant within walking distance. We had to wait for everyone to pay their tab, so about half of us walked out of the restaurant, and were standing outside.
A parking meter police guy was walking around, checking the meters. One of the meters was expired, and one of the guys in my group walked over, asked the policeman if he could put coins in the meter, and the cop said yes.
My coworker didn't know who owned the car, but he put in 50 cents and saved the guy from a parking ticket!
I admit I was in complete shock. Why didn't I think of that? Why didn't anyone else in the group think of it? The rest of us stood there watching the cop start to write a ticket, but this coworker walked right up and helped out a stranger.
Because we had to wait so long, eventually the guy who owns the car came out and he was told what happened and he thanked my coworker.
I know it really seems minor, but it was awesome. And, this happened about 5-7 years ago!
After I shared this story on a forum, a friend shared his story. It was so moving, I HAVE to share it!
(if you are friends with me, you might know him. His initials are M.V.N.)
When I was young… maybe 8 or 9 years old, I lived in Winona, MN. We were pretty poor and often we'd go shopping at the local Salvation Army store. They had all manner of items from toys to clothing… well, mostly clothing… and for less than 5 dollars, you could pretty much buy anything in the store. In fact, one dollar would go a long way. I remember having a bunch of change in my pocket, maybe 60 cents at the most and feeling pretty good about my prospects.
When you're young, you watch a lot of people. In fact, children are naturally very curious… and on this particular day, I happened to be watching the lady at the cash register. I saw a very old man walk up with a black, silk scarf and ask the lady at the register how much it was, commenting that it was for his wife. The lady at the register replied to him that it was 5 cents. At this, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a very old and very worn wallet… and pulled out a single penny. This was all he had… and I was struck by how poor he was at that moment. I almost offered to buy the scarf for him, but the lady at the register kindly told him that the penny was enough. He gave her the penny and he left with his scarf.
Now I was young, so I don't remember the situation perfectly, but I do know that this moment in time affected me greatly. I witnessed two great things in a single moment… a man who loved his wife so greatly that he spent his last penny on a scarf for her and the lady at the register showing great kindness by recognizing that selling him the scarf for a single penny was the right thing to do.
To this day, I keep this moment in my mind and always try to love unconditionally and always try to show kindness to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment