the gift card
Submitted by FC, Connecticut
A few weeks ago, I was standing in a very long, socially-distanced line to checkout at Target. By the time I got to the front of the line, I was directed by a Target employee to a checkout lane.
The woman I encountered manning the lane could not have been more positive, friendly, boisterous, or incredibly good at what she did - she had my packed cart rung up and bagged within a matter of minutes. I complimented her on her efficiency and she said, “Well, you got the fastest lane,” and I told her I would have been sacked within an hour of employment as the same cart would have taken me that entire hour to ring up and bag.
As my last item, I handed her a Target gift card that I had grabbed entering the lane and asked her to put $25 on it. Handing it back to me, I said, “No, that’s for you; it’s a small thank you for all that you and your co-workers are doing in this time.”
She was stunned, and was flummoxed in completing my credit card transaction. She kept saying no one had ever done anything that kind for her.
I was far more stunned by her reaction than she was by my gesture, however. That such an incredibly small and easy token could so touch another person - and one that is clearly working her tail off with a big smile on her face in the midst of a pandemic while I and most I know sit at home - really amazed me.
If every single person could do just one kind thing - and it wouldn’t even have to cost anything - for another person every day, think of what a kinder, gentler world we might have.