THIS HAPPENED TO ME
A Short Story About Luck and the Kindness of Strangers
Random acts of kindness can happen when you least expect them
I have the privilege of telling you a cool story. It’s a true story — a heartwarming story from yesterday.
I had to go to the supermarket to get some food. We had just spent over $200 in groceries at the store. I got in and out of the line quickly.
The store we went to has you bag your groceries after. My partner was doing that while I was chatting with our favorite cashier. As I chatted and he organized, other people went through the line.
The conversation was brief and light. The customers were all smiling and it was a beautiful morning in and out of the store. I guess that’s why everyone was in a good mood.
While I was chatting and smiling at strangers, I smiled at one lady who had come to the store to buy gift cards. Without thinking, I jumped in line as I saw one more item I wanted to buy before we left the store.
Mike was still packing. I figured I had time to grab one more item. I grabbed a family-sized box of fruit snacks. They were a brand name and a good bargain. I grabbed the box since it was only $11.99 for a large pack of fruit snacks. We love eating fruit snacks and I love bargains even more.
I got to the line, right behind the gift card customer. I was watching as all of her receipts printed. I commented on how much paper that was, smiled, and chatted with her briefly and cordially. “Oh, young man, do you want one of these $10 gift cards?”
My smile got super big. “You’re a sweetheart. How do I repay you?” “No need, I have to go. Have a great day,” she walked away, smiling. To the cashier, I looked at her and gleefully stifled an excited scream, “Isn’t that awesome? Who does that any more? There are good people in the world. That was the highlight of my week.”
“Yeah, just $1.99 for your huge pack of fruit snacks.”
I smiled at the cashier and I almost started dancing with joy. Mike was already done bagging our groceries and hadn’t noticed what had happened. “Hey, look at our luck. I just bought these. They were only $1.99 because a sweet lady gave me a $10 gift card.”
“Cool, honey, you never expect that,” “I know, I said pretty much the same thing to our favorite cashier.”
Despite having to haul all of this stuff back to camp, our luck and that stranger’s kindness made me feel a lot better about the trip still yet to be completed. It also made me feel good after spending too much on the groceries I’d bought before that.
I wish I knew how to reach out to her again. She’s likely a regular customer there. I could return next week and leave a thank you note for her and her kindness.
She made our day. I hope hearing this story can make yours.
