Ghost of Midnight

Best of FPF: A Stranger’s Kindness

In late December, Susan shared this story in the Middlebury Forum. We thought it was well worth a share:

“I am a volunteer at the Neat Repeats thrift shop in Middlebury, and the store has been busy with holiday shoppers these past few weeks. Yesterday, a young customer came in, purchased a few items, and after he paid for them, he handed me some cash, saying, “Please use this to help the next customer who needs it.”

And not more than 5 minutes later, a mother and her young daughter came into the store, and it was clear to me that the mother was very carefully adding up the cost of the items that she had selected. She then (sadly) told her daughter to put back a few things because she didn’t have enough money. But thanks to a stranger’s kindness, I was able to give this woman the money she needed to pay for those few items she could not afford to buy.

Needless to say, this lady was overwhelmed with gratitude, and she left the store in tears. Actually, there wasn’t a dry eye in our staff workroom after this incident. So, I want to express our thanks to the wonderful young man who just made one local family’s Christmas that much better. By any measure, this is a beautiful example of the holiday spirit in our community, and I am grateful to be a part of it.”