In Deeds

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to have someone do something for you ‘out of the blue...' just for no reason? No strings attached? Well, I have.

In today’s society, with all of the wrongdoers, making the headlines and outshining the ‘do righters,' it stands to reason why morale is so low and negativity prevails and is up in most cases.

And then out of nowhere comes a ray of hope that all is not as bad as it seems...

A few days ago, I was in a McDonald’s line seeking my ‘afternoon fix’ of coffee. When I don’t have my own ‘Coffee Fix” available, Mickey D is my go-to alternative. So there I was in this looong line and I would guess, this was rush hour, as a high school across the way, was just dismissing students. I had a long frustrating day, so my attitude displayed such. I thought I could get ahead of the barrage of thirst-quenching seekers, but no such luck.

It wasn’t a very cold day but to a coffee lover, does that matter?  So I crept along, contemplating getting out of the line. Only because of the two lanes, of course, I chose the slowest lane. And then I knew when I would finally place my order, I’d be the only coffee request at 3:30 pm.  So I pulled up to the kiosk and placed my order, requesting ALL of the bells and whistles of condiments I HAD to have, ‘inside’ my coffee.  And on top of that, I made sure they knew I wanted it FRESHLY brewed.  I thought to myself, the clerk would probably give me an irritated ‘worse customer I ever had look,’ when I got to the window to pay.  That expectant attitude, showed on my face as I drove up to pay. I was about to hand him my cash and he said, “It’s already paid for Ma’am.” Imagine the shock as well as total embarrassment on my face.  All I could respond with was WOW!

I can never adequately explain the emotional impact the gesture of unselfishness generosity from my anonymous ‘drive-thru’ buddy, did for me. I believe my whole demeanor changed.  My drive home was with a smile on my face. The bumper-to-bumper traffic had no bearing on me.  I had peace with my perfect brew. Thank you, God, for sending me what I needed, when I needed it. Revelations.  

I was in such disbelief of the generosity of that individual, I didn’t think to do the same- at the time.  The next afternoon, my ‘Pay It Forward’ felt liberating.

Blessings,

PJ Payne