The Kindness of a Stranger

It was one of the most beautiful random act of kindness I have ever witnessed.

We were in the checkout line at Target, and a man in a wheelchair a couple of people ahead of us was having trouble making his payment. It seemed as if his credit card kept getting denied. He kept trying to offer an explanation to the very patient and understanding cashier, but still to no avail.

It was then that a customer at the checkout line next to us, a complete stranger, gave her credit card to the cashier and told the cashier to put the man’s charges (about $76) on her card. The man was very grateful, and his transaction was soon completed, and the woman wished him a Merry Christmas.

The woman who had paid the man’s bill acted as if she had done nothing, and it seemed like not many people noticed what she had done.

When she completed her own checkout, I was hoping she would walk past us so I could acknowledge her act of kindness, but she went in the opposite direction.

So I’ll use this post to offer my thanks and admiration for such a kind and selfless act. It was right up there with the final scene in It’s a Wonderful Like, but this was real, and I was there to witness it.

It really is the season of giving.