The Day a Stranger Paid For My Meal

I’ve had a few small yet not short of meaningful random acts of kindness happen to me throughout my life thus far.

They don’t happen all that often but maybe that’s a good thing and the way it should be. If a random act of kindness happened on a day-to-day basis, I’d come to expect and perhaps be less appreciative of it. Wouldn't you?

When they do happen, it’s usually quite memorable and I’m left thinking about the act long after it occurred.

Here are a few random acts of kindness that happened to me that left me deeply appreciative and humbled.

Don't Worry About It

One day, several years ago, I thought I would grab a quick bite to eat before I started work. After contemplating where I wanted to go, I ended up going to a small locally owned restaurant that sold flatbread pizzas and wraps. Unfortunately, it has long since gone out of business. Their flatbreads were amazing!

I approached the counter ready to order: A personal flatbread pizza and a basket of their handmade chips. I went to pay with my debit card. The machine displayed an error message. “Unable to process card” or something like that. I shrugged it off and tried again. I knew I had enough funds on my card so that couldn’t have been the issue.

Same message.

“Our machine has been acting up off and on. We’ll have to reboot it. Don’t worry about it for now. Just have a seat and we’ll bring your food out,” the cashier said as he placed an “Out of order. Cash only” sign on the credit card terminal.

I didn’t have a problem with walking to the nearest ATM which was only two blocks away and withdrawing some cash, but I took a seat, and eventually, my food came out. About fifteen minutes later, I overheard the cashier. “Looks like the credit card machine’s back in business.”

I hadn’t finished eating yet, but since there was no one in line at the time, I decided to seize the opportunity. “I heard your credit card machine is back up and running. I’d like to pay for my food now,” I said my card at the ready.

The cashier looked at me and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I remember you're one of our loyal regular customers.” I was. It was one of my favorite places to eat at and I found myself frequenting there once or twice a week.

I looked at the cashier more than a little surprised. “Are you sure?” Of course, one shouldn’t question another’s random act of kindness.

“I’m sure. You’re all good to go,” he said.

I left feeling surprised, very appreciative, and humbled. I thought about the kind gesture all day that day. I can’t recall having any cash on me, but if I did, I surely would have paid in cash right then and there.

So there are actually two lessons I’ve learned that day.

Be honest and good karma will come to you. Of course, not every incident like this will happen, but it is always still worth it to be honest.

And always carry some back up cash on you just in case!

A Stranger Paid for my Lunch

I noticed the local Chinese Buffet just a block away. It had been a while since I had stopped there, so I figured now would be as good of a time as any to stop.

As I stood waiting for a table, the owner of the buffet came through the kitchen door.

"Good afternoon, Jasmine!" he smiled.

"Good afternoon!" I replied. "It will be just one today," I was acquainted with the owner as I was quite a regular customer at the buffet. He, along with a few other employees of the buffet, was a regular customer at the convenience store I worked at.

He nodded and grabbed one set of silverware. "Working later today?" he casually asked as I followed him to one of the tables.

"Yes, later today," I answered as I placed my bag on a chair and took the chair right beside it. 

I walked up to the buffet deciding which foods I should place on my plate first. I settled as usual on the coconut chicken, hibachi chicken, and an eggroll. I love coconut chicken!

After I had my third plate, and the waitress had refilled my glass of water, I was now full and ready to pay. I signaled the waitress over for the check.

In just a moment, she brought it to me along with a fortune cookie. I took my wallet out of my bag, pulled out my debit card and looked towards the bottom of the check for the total. I scratched my head slightly confused. Why did the balance say zero as if it were already paid for?

I immediately flagged the waitress. She looked at the check and I could tell she was just as confused as I was. "One moment, please," she finally said as she walked away.

This time, the owner returned and explained the situation regarding the check. "You know Mr. Jones that comes in here all the time?"

I nodded. I saw him at the restaurant nearly every time I came there and wondered if he frequented the restaurant on a daily basis.

"He paid for your meal."

I immediately glanced across the room where I saw the very individual casually eating his meal by the window. 

Having a difficult time finding my voice, the only reply I could give was "Oh, really?"

When you're out having dinner, the last thing you expect is a stranger paying for your meal. 

However I was sincerely grateful at such a small yet meaningful act of kindness. As I left the restaurant I made a mental note to thank Mr. Jones the next time I spoke to him and to also do my part in some way in completing a random act of kindness.

Cough Drop Savior

One day I was eating dinner at a favorite local restaurant. I was just getting over a cold and had an annoyingly constant and lingering cough.

An elderly couple came in and sat in the booth diagonal and straight ahead of me. When they arrived, my food came. It was a bit annoying eating between coughs here and there. I remember. It was summer and summer colds are the worst!

As I ate my dinner, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed someone standing at my table. They gently tossed what looked like two pieces of candy on the table. I looked over and it was the elderly man. They were cough drops.

I had to look twice. “Thank you!” I’m sure my voice sounded surprised at the very unexpected kind gesture.

They were just what I needed!

He politely smiled, nodded, and returned to his table.

As he sat eating dinner with his (I assume) wife, he glanced up and said to me, “You know, there were times when I’d have a cold and wish, wow! I really wish I had a cough drop! Seems like when you need one, you don’t have one.” He laughed. “Of course, no one has ever walked up to me and given me one!”

Kindness at the Coffee Shop

It was near mid afternoon and I was getting thirsty after a day of shopping so I decided to stop at one of the local coffee shops.

As I was just about to head in, an older gentlemen who stood just outside the door, waved at me to get my attention. When I looked, he handed me a card. At first I thought he was trying to sell me something or was going to preach the good word and hand me a religious pamphlet.

“Here’s a gift card for the coffee shop. It has a few dollars left on it.”

I was more than surprised and grateful.

"Thank you so much," I managed to say in midst of my disbelief.

Talk about the right place at the right time! Thing was, I originally wasn’t going to go anywhere that day.

That small act really made my day! I treated myself to a iced chai latte!

All of these random acts made a huge difference to my day and were a great reminder that no matter how small, they can make a world of difference to someone out there.

May I be able to make a difference to someone's day like these people made my day!