Letter to the Editor: Kindness is Contagious

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Dear Editor,

This is good news.

Late Friday night I went out to the grocery store. My car was flashing a warning about my tires. That was odd. I had just filled my tires the day before — a difficult task for my 80-year-old body. I chose to ignore it for this short trip.

In the store, a man came up to me. He had on a Food Lion uniform.

He asked, “Do you have a blue Nissan hatchback?” I said yes. “You have a tire that’s nearly flat to the ground. I have a pump in my truck. Do you want me to fill it up?”

I said yes and thank you, and could you check the other tires? It struck me that this was a bit much, asking that of this stranger, but he didn’t hesitate. In the back of my mind must have been the notion that while bending and stooping is a rigorous exercise for me, this man was far better able to do it.

I bought my few items at the register and went out to find him and another employee filling my tire. They were careful, checking all the tires to find only the one tire that was very low. Then they examined the tire for any reason that it had lost so much air. They made that extra effort and found a very small leak. They asked if I had far to go. I told them I was only a half mile away. They said to make sure to check on it the next day. I offered them $10. It should have been more. This could have been a very time consuming and expensive problem. I could have ruined my tire and had to replace it.

But no, they wouldn’t take the money. I wanted to bum a cigarette from them. I asked them to take the money and give me a couple of cigarettes. (I rarely smoke. But this was a time when I really wanted to.) No, they would not take the money, and the younger man handed me his pack of cigarettes. I opened the box and took out two cigarettes. When I handed the pack back, he wouldn’t take it.

“No. Keep ‘em,” he said. When I thanked them both, they told me to “pass it on.”

This is one way to pass it on, telling anyone who will read this, that in the midst of all the hatred and division in this country today, there are kind people who will go out of their way to help a stranger.

They say hatred is contagious. Well, so is kindness. Let us make kindness the strongest contagion ever seen in this troubled but wonderful country of ours.

— Susan Goranson