Standing in line, ready to pay for her groceries, a 79-year-old retired nurse was told she didn’t have to dig into her purse.
The couple behind her would pay for her top-up, which she guessed would have cost her about $65.
“About 6pm at Coles Marsden Park, I was next in line at the checkout counter, and a kind gentleman insisted on paying for my groceries,” the retired nurse, who did not want to be identified, said.
“Apparently someone had been kind to him, so his wife suggested he did a good deed for some else.
“He chose me and I wanted to say thank you.”
There are a couple of things the man, who she estimated was in his late 30s or early 40s, wouldn’t have known.
He wouldn’t have known that the woman in front of him normally struggles around with a walker due to an ongoing illness.
He wouldn’t have known that she had just received her pension and had used it to pay six months’ worth of rego on her car.
He wouldn’t have known she’d just paid the rent.
The groceries included double ups of a couple of items that were on special.
“He wouldn’t let me pay anything, and the girl at the checkout just told me to pack my things into the trolley and leave. I was so grateful,” the retired nurse said.
She has two children in New South Wales and was quick to tell them what had happened.
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking the “pay it forward” event was restoration of faith in humanity, but the retired nurse didn’t see it that way.
While extremely grateful and certainly surprised, she said she had seen a number of instances of late which showed people were caring more for each other.
“Simple things like asking me if I need a hand lifting things, or putting things into my trolley, or just getting around, people are being very kind,” she said.
“Some of them look frightening with their tattoos, but it’s just a reminder to look at their heart and not judge a book by its cover.
“Shopping can be difficult for me and at the time I was so weary. The man who helped me didn’t know any of this, so his kindness is very special.”
- Got a “pay it forward” story to tell? Send it to media@mycitylogan.com.au.
