Saturday, April 17, 2010

Playing on Team Kindness

Pay it forward...random acts of kindness...
I saw one happen today and a smile was reflected on my face for a few minutes, but the one reflected in my heart wil last longer.
I was at the light rail station with my daughter , waiting to get a ticket to go to the Twins game. The line was long, but people were waiting in a "Minnesota Nice" fashion, despite the sound of the nearing train.
A young man ahead of us in line inserted his card into the machine. He tried several times and was obviously having a hard time getting the machine to read his card. He looked over his shoulder and realized tht line was about 10 people long and took his card from the machine and headed to the end of the line, so he could try again but not make so many people wait.
When it was our turn, my daughter bought three tickets instead of two, and went to the end of the line and quietly handed the young man one of them. He was surprised and thanked her in words and with a smile. ( I was not surprised, this is a young woman who has a very big kindness gene, and acts on it often).
She explained to me that this was not the first part of the story, but that a few weeks ago while riding the train in New York City, she had inadvertenly bought a non-rush hour ticket and was riding during rush hour. A gentleman sitting next to her gave the conductor the difference in her ticket price when he overheard her telling the conductor that she did not have cash but only cards, which were not accepted on that train. She said ever since that happened she has been looking for a way to pass on that act of kindness.
It is very rewarding when you see your offspring becoming a player on the world kindess team.
It also is a reminder to me to become a little more aware of what is going on around me so that I can play on that team...now.

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