Good People: the Value of Small Acts of Kindness

 We hear so often about bad people doing bad things – examples abound in the news – that it sometimes seems as if bad people are ubiquitous. 

  Then something happens that makes you realize how far from the truth that is.

  It happened to me recently in a grocery store. A small act of kindness – three of them, actually – that reaffirmed my faith in the everyday goodness of our fellow humans.

  It has been, as you know if you haven’t been living 24/7 in air conditioned buildings, a very hot summer. My approach to getting through a recent stretch of 100-degree heat was a low-tech solution hearkening back to childhood.

  A kiddy pool.

  I hadn’t had one or so much as seen one in years, but they must still make them, right? You know the kind:  kiddy pools, plastic circles just big enough for a couple of kids to play in a few inches of cold water from a garden hose.

  My wife and I used to buy one every summer when the kids were small. They’d splash and squeal to their heart’s content on hot afternoons while the grownups of the neighborhood enviously looked on and suffered. By summer’s end, the pools were dinged, dented and ready to be recycled, but had more than paid for themselves in grins and giggles.

  If kids could get cooled off in them, why not adults?

  Why not indeed? This was my thinking recently upon seeing a display of royal blue kiddy pools at a supermarket on a hot afternoon. Not only were they strategically placed outside near the front door where you couldn’t help but see them, they were bargain-priced. Normally $18, they were on sale for ten bucks.

  Ten bucks? That’s less than it costs to use the air conditioner for a couple of days. At least I think it is, and apologies to Idaho Power if it isn’t. And instead of a couple of days, the relief is available for the price of a few gallons of water from a garden hose whenever you need it.

  Sold! I chose a pool from the display and toddled inside to the checkout line to pay for it.

  It was a long line. You’ve undoubtedly noticed that with growth we’ve become accustomed to long lines. They’re everywhere from grocery stores to traffic lights. I queued up with my pool, expecting a long wait.

  “Is that pool all you have?” the woman ahead of me in the line asked.

  I told her it was.

  “I have quite a few things so why don’t you go ahead and get in line ahead of me,” she said. 

  “Thank you. That’s really nice of you.”

  Noticing this, the woman ahead of her told me to go ahead of her as well.

  The checker rang up the pool. The price on the register:  $18.

  “The sign outside says they’re on sale for $10,” I told him.

  “That’s only if you’re a rewards member. Do you have a rewards card?”

  I didn’t.

  “Here, use mine,” the woman behind me said, handing it to the checker.

  The checker didn’t seem to care that it wasn’t my card. Bottom line: $10.

  It wasn’t so much the money that mattered. Not getting the sale price wouldn’t have ruined my day. But the kindness of those  complete strangers made my day – and then some. If any of you considerate women read this, know that your small acts of kindness to a guy buying a kiddy pool meant more than you know.

  Not long after this, I happened to read a story about a group of young boys at a Taco Bell. They all hungrily perused the menu, but only one of them ordered anything. They were sitting at their table when a man described as “a 6 foot five giant” approached them and stood over their table. The boys were understandably nervous until he asked them if they’d like some slushies.

  Slushies ordered, he asked the boys who hadn’t ordered anything if they’d like something to eat. They ordered; he paid for their lunches. Then he turned to leave without waiting for a thank you.

  As he waved goodbye, all the boys shouted in unison:

  “Thank you!”

  “Today,” the story ended, “love and kindness looked like a 12-pack of tacos and three Starburst Freezes.”

  Yes, there are lots of bad people doing bad things and making headlines in the process. But for every one of them, there are way more good people doing wonderful things without any recognition at all. And that’s a good thing for all of us. 

                                                          ***

  To readers who expressed concern after reading my most recent column, thank you, 

  For those who missed it, the column was about symptoms that made me think I could have been having a stroke:  numbness and tingling in my feet, lower legs, hands and lower arms. The feeling lasted about 90 minutes and was scary enough that I was all but out the door to go to the E.R. when the symptoms subsided. 

  Happily, tests done over the next few days ruled out a stroke. The cause of the symptoms, however, remained a mystery. 

  A mystery, that is, until a health care provider told me that one of the lesser known side effects of a prescription medicine I’d been taking was … numbness and tingling.

  Bottom line: I’m fine. But again, thanks for your concern.

Tim Woodward’s column appears every other Sunday in The Idaho Press and is posted on woodwardblog.com the following Mondays. Contact him at woodwardcolumn@gmail.com.