Really? There are still decent human beings in the world?

This weekend we decided to paint our kitchen a deep red. "Crush" to be exact - in my opinion named so because the color resembles crushed tomatoes. Well, the third coat went on last night around 11:30, and we still werent happy with the result. So this morning I started a fourth coat at around 8:35, knowing i was back on regular store hours so i needed to be downtown by 9:30 to open the store. With Sirius pumping out some of my favorite 80's hits and constantly shooing cats away from the fresh paint, i lost track of time. I hadnt yet finished the entire fourth coat, but i left the house at 9:28, forgoing my usual morning ritual of making sandwiches for lunch.

Noon rolled around, and i had to admit to zieak that there was no lunch prepared for him. We locked up the store and put up the "back in five minutes" sign, (which i forgot to remove after we got back, who knows how many potential customers i lost) and quickly walked down to the convenience store to pick up something to eat. I noticed a woman with one of those huge shin-length gray casts on, trying to balance her packaged salad, yogurt, crouton packet and bottled juice while fumbling with a pair of crutches. I politely asked if i could help her, took the food tower out of her hands and walked it up to place it on the counter. She thanked me then, and once again before leaving the store. It was nothing really, just something i would hope happened to me if i were struggling in the same position. As the cashier rang up our lunch items, she said "15.90 please" even though "20.90" clearly showed on the register screen. Zieak asked, "how did that happen?" and the cashier said, "that lady left five dollars to put towards your lunch."

Here's to you crutch-lady who i have never seen before - you give me hope that people still care, and that the Golden Rule has not been forgotten in this busy, hectic selfish world.