I was traveling to Charlotte today and had a couple of opportunities to spread some kindness. Our plane out of Philly was delayed nearly an hour due to some maintenance paperwork (this kind of thing has unfortunately become all too common), and this put a lot of pressure on many people who had connections to make. Charlotte is one of US Air's hubs, so there were quite a few people stuck in this position. In fact, the man sitting next to me spent most of the flight muttering obscenities as a way of venting his frustration. When we finally landed, I sat patiently in my seat and let everyone who had connections to make get off ahead of me.
After I settled into my hotel this evening, I went in search of a good pizza place to have dinner. Several blocks away I found one called "Libretto's." I noticed they had whole wheat dough on their menu and I was excited to enjoy a whole wheat pizza. Unfortunately, the waitress informed me that they ran out of whole wheat dough over the weekend when they served a big convention. Nevertheless, the pizza was still quite good. When the waitress brought my check, she also brought me a $10 gift card as a way of apologizing for not having the whole wheat dough I was craving! This was a surprising, but thoughtful gesture, and gave me a chance to expand the kindness.
As I walked to the restaurant before dinner, I noticed a man out front about a block away who was playing the drums, seated in front of a basket in which he was collecting money. I tossed in a few coins that were in my pocket and gave him a friendly smile. When I was leaving the restaurant, I decided that it might be nice to give him the gift card. When I gave it to him and explained what it was, he was incredulous. I don't think I've ever seen some one so excited. He kept thanking me, telling everyone around us what I had given him, and saying, "I get to eat!" While it was sad to think that "getting to eat" was such a momentous occasion, I was nonetheless glad to be able to bring him such joy.
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