A subscriber sent me this wonderful story about kindness. I think you will enjoy it!!

“Last Friday I stopped at a gas station to fill my car with gas. As swiped my credit card, a station attendant walked past me to the other side of the pump. A commotion followed and I heard the station attendant exclaim, ‘Why does all this happen on a Friday?’.

It seems the pump ran the money meter, but no gas came out. The customer turned to me and warned to be careful and cautioned to not buy gas. She was quite upset as she showed the attendant the gauge was on empty and $36.00 was charged to her card. She had three nice looking young boys with her trying to help. As I pumped my gas, she proceeded to scold them for touching things and causing the pump not to work properly. The boys were very respectful with their mother. I found this impressive given how she was treating them.

Once my car was filled, I stepped beside the pump, nozzle in hand and asked the oldest boy if their car used regular unleaded gasoline. Stunned a bit he said yes. Wary of the mother I confirmed with her. She was equally stunned. The boy cautioned, “but the pump does not work. I said, ‘this one does.’ The look on the child’s face was priceless.

His mother complained about the price of gas as I pumped and then let me know that she had no cash. I said, ‘I need nothing. I see that you are having a bad day and want to make it better.’ One of the boys immediately thanked me along with his little brother. I do not recall what Mother did. After filling their SUV, as I was putting the nozzle away, the oldest boy came around to my side of the pump and thanked me again. The kid was bowled over, showing me sincere gratitude and respect. That child’s eyes said it all and it choked me up a bit.

I don’t recall $50 bringing me that much joy, ever.”

One Sentence Wisdom

• “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” — William Arthur Ward
• “How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!” — George Elliston

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