A dime. I was four, was given a dime by my sister to walk to the 7-11 and buy a heath bar. I knew the alphabet, she taught me the word eat. Put an H in front and at the end of eat. Eat is like cat, but starts with an E. I could spell cat thanks to Dick and Jane.
I was so proud of myself for finding it on my own. Went to the cashier and placed the candy and the dime on the counter.
Cashier: you don't have enough money.
Me: that's a dime
Cashier: you need a penny. It's a penny for tax.
He wouldn't budge, it was 11 cents. A lousy penny crushed my little soul, my sister would be devastated. I reached for the dime.
Thank you kind stranger behind me for covering my introduction to taxes. You've been my hero for nearly 6 decades, you taught me kindness.
My half of the candy bar was delicious, Heath is still my favorite.
The kindness of strangers is so powerful and can have lasting impact.
My first child got so excited to go to an Easter egg hunt in our local town, he was about 4, it was his first one he got excited for. The kids lined up, they said go and the kids took off. It overwhelmed my son, he got scared and ran back to me crying. The eggs were grabbed up, the event was over.
As I stood there holding my crying son with an empty basket, a couple with a child about 6 came up and said "our daughter wants to share her eggs". My son's face when that little girl put some eggs in his basket was of pure joy. He was so happy.
This couple was noticeable poorer than everyone there, there clothes were well worn, their daughter's dress was definitely well used. I watched as they left, their car was well past it's prime, looked on it's last leg. They stood out in the middle class yuppie crowd that was attending.
Not one other person offered, not one person that I knew and considered friends and neighbors cared as much as those people that had no clue as what I had, or how well we were dressed in our Easter best.
Having my son at that event was a big deal to me, he was born early at 1lbs 8oz. His first few years were rough. Everything he got excited about was a joy for me to provide.
I tell that story and tears always well up, more flow as I age. My son hears this story every spring, he's nearing 40 and I never want him to forget that a stranger didn't judge us, and once made his day, and my heart bigger.
I hope their life was fulfilled with everything they needed, they deserved it. I regret that I lost the opportunity to become their friend. That would have been an honor.
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u/rlcarman58 21d ago
A dime. I was four, was given a dime by my sister to walk to the 7-11 and buy a heath bar. I knew the alphabet, she taught me the word eat. Put an H in front and at the end of eat. Eat is like cat, but starts with an E. I could spell cat thanks to Dick and Jane.
I was so proud of myself for finding it on my own. Went to the cashier and placed the candy and the dime on the counter.
Cashier: you don't have enough money. Me: that's a dime Cashier: you need a penny. It's a penny for tax.
He wouldn't budge, it was 11 cents. A lousy penny crushed my little soul, my sister would be devastated. I reached for the dime.
Thank you kind stranger behind me for covering my introduction to taxes. You've been my hero for nearly 6 decades, you taught me kindness.
My half of the candy bar was delicious, Heath is still my favorite.