When I was 16 I worked in a Walmart. At least once a week some customer or other would be an amazing human being and help someone else pay for their order. Of course, this usually happened when the amount was relatively small- say $1-$40.
But this one time I’ll never forget it. This family comes through my lane with two carts. The first is full of groceries, piled high- all good things like veggies and meats and school supplies. The other cart is full of children- a baby in front, twin boys in the cart, and an ~8 year old trailing behind. Total comes up to something like $500 and as you can guess the card is declined.
They both look horrified and surprised, and the wife blurts something like “he said he’d deposited it already!” I tell them, oh no worries this happens sometimes and its usually an issue with the bank- I’ll hold your order and you can call them. I take other customers as the wife and kids sit on a bench looking embarrassed and the husband calls his bank, then what I assume is his boss.
They come back and I let them cut ahead of the last customer in my line- they tell me cancel the order, they can’t afford any of it, someone who was supposed to have paid them didn’t and they’re broke. The younger kids are oblivious to all this, but the older kid looks like this is the worst day of his life.
Then, the customer I let them cut ahead of steps forward and pays the whole thing. All $500 dollars of it- won’t even tell them her name. They beg her to let them pay her back but she won’t hear it- won’t even let them put back the few non-essentials in the cart. I cried, the parents cried, the cashier in the next aisle who had been subtly eavesdropping on us cried. I tear up thinking about it.
You can find the absolute best of humanity in the least expected places too.
Please share this uplifting story. Thanks to Meredith for sharing this thru our page.
