When my husband was sixteen, he was involved in a truck/skateboarding accident. Fortunately, he did not suffer any long-term, major damage; however, he still has a wicked scar running across his head and down the back of his neck. As an adult, he is a bit self-conscious about his scar so he keeps his hair long to hide it. He uses hair gel to keep it pulled back.

Unfortunately, he and I have just moved and are in a financial bind. It’s been a long and stressful day and I’ve run to the store to grab some essentials, after having scrimped around for as much change as possible. I’m standing at one of the registers, a long crowd behind me.

The cashier scans my three items: milk, eggs, and hair gel. I quickly pull the crumpled bills and coins out of my pocket and start to count them out. Feeling nervous for taking so long with such a long long line behind me, I eyeball it and hand what I have to the cashier. The cashier counts all of the change.

Cashier: “It’s $1.12 short. ”

I’m embarrassed, tired, and trying not to cry.

Me: “Oh. Um… Well, can we put the hair gel back, then?”

Suddenly, the gentleman behind me pipes up.

Man: “Really? Just a dollar short? Here, let me help you.”

Me: “Oh! Thank you, but that’s not—”

Man: “I insist.”

He hands the cashier a bill and few coins, and the cashier takes them and hands me my receipt. She shakes her head, mumbling.

Cashier: “A dollar. I could’ve done that. You have a nice night.”

By then, I really was in tears, and I thanked the man profusely. He smiled, nodded, and told me to get home safely. Thank you, sir. I’ve never forgotten your kind gesture, and I think of you every time I help others — and when I pick up hair gel for my husband.

I showed up to work one day and there was what appeared to be a large package just to the side of the main entrance. I went in and asked coworkers what it was. Turns out it was a homeless guy who decided to camp on our doorstep. The owner refused to call the police and was looking into at least getting the guy a tent and telling him that there was space behind our office building. She even looked into setting him up in a campground nearby. He turned down the offer since, apparently, he had work in the area despite being homeless and the campgrounds were too far. Otherwise, we gave him some bottled water. By the time I left at the end of the day, he seemed to be gone.

I was wrong. Apparently, he took the owner’s offer and parked himself behind the building. I arrived at work early today and found I was the first person at work. There were three police cars at the back end of our parking lot. I walked over to see what was up. The officers were all returning to their cars.

Me: “Is everything okay?”

Officer: “No problems.”

The homeless guy was still there, sorting through his belongings. Nobody seemed distressed or angry, so I returned to opening the office. Shortly after, a coworker came in. He had talked to the guy and found that he had been told he couldn’t actually stay where he was, but the cops told him to take his time to collect his things. 

The pot of coffee I started when I came in was full, so I filled a cup with coffee and creamer and used that as an excuse to talk to him for a minute. He was grateful for the fresh cup of coffee to go with the breakfast someone had just given him. In fact, he had been given so many things in the last forty-eight hours that he was trying to sort things out before moving on.

Despite the one anonymous person who called the cops on the guy, my faith in humanity was renewed by all the people who offered help to a guy who was clearly just a bit down on his luck. Even the cops were cool enough to do the very minimum to respond to a complaint and generally leave the poor guy alone.

Related:
Homeless Is Where The Heart Is, Part 12
Homeless Is Where The Heart Is, Part 11
Homeless Is Where The Heart Is, Part 10
Homeless Is Where The Heart Is, Part 9
Homeless Is Where The Heart Is, Part 8

I pull into my favorite fast food drive-thru for breakfast and place my order at the box.

Employee: “Our credit card reader is currently down and we’re only accepting cash payments. Is that something you can do?”

I agree, and we confirm my order. As I’m watching, the two cars in front of me both try to give their credit cards. Then, a car pulls in behind me and then leaves. As a long-time reader of NAR, I can only imagine what the employee is dealing with, so when I go to pay:

Me: “Please, keep the change! I’m sure you’re going to be dealing with a lot of angry people this morning, so you deserve a tip!”

She brought me my drinks and gave me a free upgrade from the large to an extra-large! I wish that young lady the best because, as I was pulling away, another person was flipping her off at the window. It pays to be nice and understanding!

I was working the closing shift at a full-serve gas station and it was 9:00 pm. I was just about to lock the door and call it a night when a lady came running up and knocked frantically. I was pretty tired by this time of the night and had already signed out of my shift and turned off the debit machine and the computer, but I decided to hear her out.

She said she cleaned the floors at the local grocery store and the polishing machine was out of propane. We also fill propane tanks; we’re the only ones that do this in the area. She was obviously in need, and this was for her job, so, of course, I turned everything back on and filled it for her. She thanked me over and over again, and I kept telling her it was no problem at all!

I ended up only about ten minutes late for close and messaged my boss to tell him what had happened so he wouldn’t be confused about the two closing receipts — I had to reactivate the debit machine. He was super surprised and happy that I did that for her, and he gave me a little bonus for it.

I was surprised by his reaction at first, but I guess there are some people out there who would turn her away, but it was really no trouble for me. I was glad I could help her and super happy about the praise from my boss.

I was doing my weekly grocery shop and was in the canned vegetable aisle when I heard a quiet “Excuse me” behind me. I turned around and there was an older woman easily under five feet tall.

Me: “Yes, ma’am? Can I help you?”

Woman: “I can’t find the tomato paste. Can you show me where it is?”

I knew it was two aisles over with the pasta sauce, and I knew it was on the second shelf from the top and that she would never be able to reach it, so I walked her over and grabbed it for her.

Me: “Is there anything else you need help with?”

Woman: “Yes!”

She showed me her list. I proceeded to walk around the store with her and take her to the items she needed. When we were done:

Woman: “I’m going to ask for the manager to tell them how helpful you’ve been and what a kind lad they have on hand!”

Me: “Oh, I don’t work here. I’m just getting my shopping done.”

I had not taken my cart into the aisle with me as I needed a can just a couple of shelves in.

Woman: “Why did you help me shop, then?”

Me: “We all need to help each other. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

When I went to check out, I saw her in the parking lot. She pulled the tomato paste out of her bag and shook it in the air as she waved at me and gave me an ear-to-ear smile. 11/10, would help her shop again.