While shopping at his local grocery store, a man noticed an older woman who looked despondent. As other shoppers passed by her, the man decided to speak to her and offer help. He didn’t know that he would receive a pleasant surprise hours later. Believe it or not, random acts of kindness never go unnoticed.
We never know what someone is going through, and sometimes, even the simplest gestures of kindness can unexpectedly lift a person’s spirits.
Showing love and care doesn’t cost a thing, but their impact is so significant that they can bring strangers together and forge lasting connections. In a world where we can be anything, choosing to be kind is always a great option.
The story we’re sharing today embodies this concept. Kasey Simmons lived in Little Elm, Denton County, Texas, and worked as a waiter at an Applebee’s restaurant. One day in 2016, he decided to go to the Kroger supermarket for grocery shopping and had a strange experience. While standing in the checkout line, Simmons, who was 32 at the time, saw an older woman who looked rather gloomy.
The Texas waiter recalled the instance in these words: “I noticed there was a lady standing in front of me. It looked like she had been crying because once in a while, she’d glance over to me.”While other shoppers passed by her, Simmons said there was something about the lady that made him want to speak to her and lift her spirits.
Once he managed to recover from the initial sh-ock, he noticed something scribbled on a napkin. So without further ado, Simmons walked straight up to her and said, “It’s not raining inside. There’s no reason to look so down. I’m sure you have a beautiful smile because you are a beautiful lady.”The Little Elm resident noted that the mature lady shut him down a bit, but it wasn’t difficult to tell that she was having a bad day.
He wished to make her smile a little, but it wasn’t working despite his efforts. So Simmons decided to pay for her grocery bill. He shared: “It was only $17, but it’s not about the money. It’s about showing someone you care.” After a lot of insistence, Simmons said he succeeded in making the older woman smile. Before leaving, he handed her his Applebee business card and then headed to work.
A few hours later, Simmons was working the dinner shift at the restaurant. He recounted how he didn’t feel his usual cheerful self and was having a bad night when a female customer walked in. He told her: “Hey, my name’s Kasey. I’m just letting you know that I am so far behind, and I’m in the weeds right now.”
Simmons informed the woman it would take about 45 minutes before he could wait on her and her family. He said he offered to buy the drinks, which was all they ordered. Later, Simmons returned with a 65-cent check for flavored water, the cheapest item on the menu. The diner requested it so that she could leave a tip.
When Simmons brought her the bill, the customer asked him to split the 65 cents between two credit cards. He looked confused by her strange request and even asked her if she was serious. Simmons told us: “I think she wanted to see if I was a real nice guy or just pretending to be nice. The nice guy splits the bill and brings the check to the woman.”
Soon after that, Simmons split the check and put 37 cents on one of the receipts. On that one, the woman gave Simmons a $500 tip, which brought the total to $500.37. Simmons was shocked and couldn’t say anything. Once he got over his initial shock, he saw that someone had written something on a napkin. He almost got teary-eyed as he read the message out loud. It said:
“I want to thank you for being you on behalf of the Sullivan family. You made my mom’s day great on the third anniversary of my dad’s death, which is one of the saddest days of the year. Since you did what you did, she has been happy.” Simmons’s smile was as big as the tip. At first, he thought it was all a joke, but the $500 on the table and the sweet note showed that he wasn’t dreaming.
Simmons said he hoped to meet the family and thank them in person for what they had done. This amazing story shows that we always get back what we put out into the universe, so we should always do good things for other people. It also talks about how important it is to be kind to everyone, especially older people
who need to know that there are people in the younger generation who really care about sharing and spreading love. Suppose you were Simmons. What would you do? If you saw someone having a bad day, would you drop everything and go over to them? Please tell your family and friends about this wonderful story.