Pay It Forward

For attractive lips, speak word of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
-Sam Levinston (and read by Audrey Hepburn)

Hello, Lovers. So today's subject is light and fluffy. It's about giving back. I have two stories I'd love to share with you.

Mind you, this all happened the same night, and I was a fair bit sleep deprived. The beginning starts at 4:00 in the morning. I had my roomie and her boyfriend (well, at that point they had just met) in the car with me as well. We were just winding down from a fantastic night of hookah smoking, Walmart shopping, and Denny's eating. We had another hour to kill before picking up my friend from his overnight shift. I drove half an hour away to Sedalia. Why? I really don't know. Trying to stay awake, I suppose. My car was running out of gas by the time we got back to my side of town.

I pulled into a 7-11 at 4:30 am. Now, this is far from being a sketchy neighborhood (the closets are bigger than my room). However, when you are approached at 4:30 in the morning at a gas station, it's difficult to not feel afraid. I heard an "excuse me, do you have, like, 50 cents I could use for gas, my car ran out." This woman, about my size and maybe 5 years older than me, was shivering in the crisp dawn air. Now, I never give out money to panhandlers. Ever. I have an alcoholic mother and would hate for someone to give her money to go blow on booze. Still, this woman seemed fairly genuine and I doubted if, at that early in the morning, she would find enough gas to make it home.

I pulled a ten out of my wallet and gave it to her. She threw her arms around me and cried on my shoulder. She then began to explain that she had been lost all night, trying to find where her boyfriend was. We exchanged phone numbers and she was able to put enough gas in her car to make it home. We then picked up my friend from work. He had something very interesting to give me.

Children, do you remember that friend of mine who had a drug habit and an abusive boyfriend? Well, she had given my friend something to give to me. The first thing was a nearly full pack of Newports. As my friend explained, she only smokes when she does drugs. This alone was a huge gift to me. The second, however, was more precious than money could ever buy. It was a note, thanking me for talking with her and driving her around. She explained that she will not be contacting her boyfriend anymore and that she was going to quit cocaine and heroin. I have not smoked those cigarettes.

After reading the letter, the woman from the gas station texted me, letting me know she had made it home alright. She also thanked me, saying that there needed to be more people like me in the world. I felt like arguing. I'm not a Robinhood. I'm not an angel. I just wanted to help her. It was 10 dollars, but to her it was so much more. To her, it was a stranger who cared.

Now, what am I saying with this post? That you should go buy a hobo a happy meal? Not necessarily. What I am saying is to look for opportunities to improve someone else's day. If we all did that, can you imagine how much happier this world would be?

Food for Thought. =)

I love you all and hope your day is as fantastic as you!

-Alaska