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September 9, 2002

don't wipe your eyes | attempted acts of kindness

don't wipe your eyes | attempted acts of kindness

It's Carls' Jr.!!! One of the west coast's fast food secrets. Earlier this year, I referred to them and no one east of the 101 knew what I was talking about. I LOVE fast food but this week I decided that it was a time for as many random acts of kindness as I could possibly squeeze into 7 days. Three thousand seems a bit out of reach but I would do my best. I rarely leave my house thanks to crippling depression so this is an especially huge challenge for me.

Since I can't afford to pay for someone's order behind me in the drive through I instead went to the grocery store to pick up dinner. There I found a very elderly woman with a cane struggling to open one of the plastic bags in the produce section. As many of you know I most often get slammed over the head when I'm expecting otherwise so here I was anticipating a slap on the wrist for offering to help. Rather, here I was risking a caning for offering to help.

me: Oh, let me help you with that

senior:
my....thank you, that's kind

me:
I'll get this open, I have trouble myself

senior:
thank you dear

Here I am thinking this is an easy way to help someone out when suddenly I find myself struggling with a tiny plastic bag. Hell I wrestled with it. I even got my hands wet under the well timed produce spray which usually seems to provide some sort of traction against the unruly bags. Still nothing.

senior: See? It's not my age!

me:
No, this one is particularly surly

Finally a grocery store employee came over. I don't know if it was my grunting and cursing or if the graceful senior signaled him over without me noticing. He removed the bag from my hands and with ease opened it, both the senior and I laughed in embarrassment. I don't know what it is about me that invites failure into my den, but I'm still going to count this as a random act of kindness.

{feel free to do something nice for a stranger this week and report it here}

Posted by Moxie at September 9, 2002 1:49 AM |Stumble It! | | del.icio.us