The kindness of strangers...

When I have to go use the copy machine at work, I usually read parts of the newspaper while I waiting for the machine to copy/email/fax whatever it is I am doing there. When I read the newspaper, it is almost always a downer. So many stories in there about senseless crimes, I have been known to walk back to my desk really pissed off or with tears in my eyes when it is a crime against a child. Ranting and raving against the senselessness of the act.

I will never, ever understand any type of violence against a child. Never. There is never any excuse in my eyes. There are stories about greed, about politics that just seem stupid to me, stupid lawsuits, all kinds of sad and depressing stories.

Stories in the newspaper make me lose a little faith in mankind. Anyway, before I go off on a rant about that (I could go on forever) I will get to the point of my post. Every once in a while I witness or read something that reminds me that there is still some kindness and generosity left in this world.

I do know that there are a lot of good people in the world. It is sad that all you hear about on the news and read about in the newspapers are all the bad people.

That is one reason I love to read other people's blogs. I have found so many that I like and can read about real people in other parts of the country (and world) who are kind and generous. In case you don't read the links I have on the side of my blog, this post over at Truths and Half Truths was very heart warming to read.

This morning, I witnessed a little bit of that same kindness from someone I do not know. I stopped at the truck stop on my way to work this morning to get some coffee. Their coffee machine was empty so I had to wait for it for a few minutes. Conor went in with me and he immediately spied a cheetah stuffed animal that he wanted. It was hanging near the cash registers and so he went over to the cashier and asked her how much it cost. She had to get it down and look, and when she did, she handed it to him and told him how much it cost. He was instantly in love with it, he has a fondness for big cats (lions, tigers, cheetahs) and since we just watched Duma on DVD (great movie, btw), his most recent is the cheetah.

So, stuffed animal in hand, he walked over to me to show me how soft and cute it was and beg for me to buy it for him. Conor needs another stuffed animal like I need a hole in my head. But when we went up to the cashier, there was a man standing there who had been in line behind Conor when he was asking how much it was, and he saw how much Conor loved the cheetah and he paid for it so that Conor could have it. He said, "It's already paid for and it's all yours buddy."

Conor is thrilled. The whole ride to his baby sitter's house was filled with comments on how soft and cute his new cheetah is, how much he just loves it.

So, that man just made a little boy's day. And mine. Not because Conor got another stuffed animal, but because he did something nice for someone just because it was a nice thing to do. I know it does happen, I just don't get to see it very often.