Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I was at this looooooooong Christmas line at the Post Office. After a few minutes of going nowhere,  I decided to use the electronic mailing system so I can get out of there quickly.

This line was definitely shorter. I got curious and stared talking to the grandpa just in front of me. Curious because it seemed like he had a single, thin envelope that was already stamped. Why was he in line when all he needed to do was drop it off in the mail box?

Grandpa  said he was sending this Christmas card to someone he loved very much and wanted to be sure that it had enough postage. By this time, others in line joined the conversation and everyone assured him that it already had enough postage on it and he could skip this whole "waiting" business. But he was going to wait and make sure the machine accepted it . Many of us smiled and just waited for our turn.

His turn came and it turned he was right! The envelope did need 24 more cents! But the machine accepted only credit cards and he only had cash.. He looked anxiously at the other long line he may have to go back to.

It was easy enough for me to swipe my credit card to get him a stamp and he smiled with relief as he offered a quarter. I politely declined and said he could pass it onto someone else in need. He grinned and I grinned and he waited for me to finish my mailing. We walked out together and waved good-byes.

On the drive home, I saw a car full of teen-agers that kept throwing eggs at all the cars they could get at. Sure enough, they threw one at my windshield with immaculate precision. And I just laughed out loud. I wonder if those 24 cents made all the difference between a frown and a laugh.