The lineup at the department store checkout was short but the young woman with a cart full of items offered to let me in with one item and go first.
I declined, thinking how polite she was.
She placed her items on the counter with a lot of snacks explaining to no one in particular that she was assembling a care package for her fiancé who was sick at home.
How sweet, I thought.
She talked with pride about her two-year-old toddler at home.
As she unloaded her cart I noticed (some personal items) were on top of the pile.
Hmm, I wondered, “part of the care package?” but kept my thoughts to myself.
Her colourful hair with brown roots suited her. I was about to tease her by asking how much it cost to get brown roots but decided not to do so.
As the cashier finished ringing in her items she asked if the young woman wanted to donate to the food bank.
“Sure,” she replied. I know what it's like to go without.”
And she gave $10.
How nice, I thought. How inspiring. We hear so often how the younger generation is self-centred. How wrong in this instance
“Bless you,” said the cashier, “Can I give you a hug?”
She agreed and they hugged.
The young woman inspired me to make a $10 donation.
No hug for this old geezer though.
Donations to good causes make a difference in people's lives. Some pitches for donations discourage one from helping.
Recently I've had a few condescending phone calls with friendly yet high-pressure tactics.
The first from a well-known organization started with the phrase “It's so nice to hear a friendly voice” once I said, “Hello.”
Then he went rambling on from a script about how the charity did work and how it needed funds.
After trying to interrupt his spiel three times by saying I wasn't in a position at this time to help, but hearing him continue talking I hung up.
The second incident was also a phone call from an organization I had never heard about.
“How nice to hear a friendly voice. Would you believe I haven't had one answer in half an hour?’’
She wanted a donation of $80 a month.
“I'm a senior. I'm on a fixed income, I can't help,” was my response.
“I know times are tough. We need your help,’’ she said, continuing to read from a script. She wasn't a good reader either.
Finally, I hung up.
This is on top of scams like the security breach on the Visa card we don't have, or the software problems with the Microsoft computer we don't have.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
