A little while back, I was not very motivated to go to the shops all day and kept putting it off. I finally got to the small local Supermarket late in the afternoon. While I was there I thought of dinner for that night and decided to keep it simple, because of the hot weather, and just buy a tin of (dolphin friendly) tuna and add cold steamed rice, lettuce from the garden and a few other bits and pieces from the fridge, like home made dressing and a couple of boiled eggs. So there I was with my one tuna tin in hand lining up to pay. Waiting in line I observed a small lady in front of me and found myself wondering about her story and looking at her packed basket.

Next she turns around and looks at my tin and me. She starts to point at me and the register saying “You Go” with a warm smile. I said that I was not in a hurry, but she would not take no for an answer. So I went up to the register and finished my business as quick as I could, so her ice cream wouldn’t melt. I made sure to thank her very much for her kindness as I walked out of the shop smiling.

When I started to reverse my car out of the parking spot, right out the front, she came walking out with her smile lighting up some more when we made eye contact. Then I drove off to go home while returning her smile and waving goodbye and thanks again. I felt really happy!

On my short drive home I thought about this encounter with a total stranger, How often do I look at people behind me in a queue? How such a small gesture can make two people both feel really happy? She felt great for her good deed and so did l for the warm hearted gift! Not only that, upon arriving home I went on line to write this down and spotted an old friend logged on, that I had not spoken to for ages, so I had to share this story with her and guess what? It even made her feel good hearing about it!

This event reinforced to me why I am writing these stories and my mission to try and make this world a better place. I am glad I put off going to the supermarket all day and went there when I finally did!