The Kindness of Strangers

Earlier this week I fumbled while filling my prescriptions and Betty's for the day. The next day, one of Betty's prescription bottles which had just been refilled for three months was missing. I looked everywhere including the trash and behind my desk, but the bottle was missing. Our insurance would not pay for a lost bottle of meds, but some anonymous person (I "suspect" the pharmacist) paid for the refill. She would not tell me who to reimburse (eventually) or even how much it costs. She suggested we "pay it forward" someday.

Today's experience has almost become routine for me, but I hope I never lose my sense of awe. Whenever I encounter inflexible bureaucrats, or even just individuals whose response when they hear about my difficulties is to "just push through it," kind acts like the one I experienced today more than make up for the harsh realities that would otherwise beat me down.

I want to challenge my readers to be one of those kind strangers to someone else, expecting nothing but the possibility that they might someday show kindness to someone else.

Have you been a kind stranger to someone recently?

Another "kind stranger," SpellCheckPlus, gave me a free subscription to their online grammar checker. Their valuable tool enables me to write intelligibly in spite of my current limitations.

Bookmark the link above, and try the free version of this tool the next time you want an understandable spelling and grammar critique of your writing.