About ten years ago, I worked as a waitress. Our restaurant served a set lunch, and an elderly man came in, asked for the price, moaned, and was about to leave. I felt bad for him, so I fed him and paid for his lunch myself. The manager chastised me, saying that they would never stop coming now, but what had been done could not be reversed. And in the evening, an ordinary-looking guy handed me a large gratuity. At the time, I really needed money to pay off my rent and obligations. And this sum was sufficient for everything.

Here’s another story. In the store, an elderly lady stood in front of me in line for the cashier. She instantly put her items in the bag, heaped them up, and began to pay – only to realize she didn’t have enough. The clerk offered to delete some of the goods, but the customer declined unequivocally. She started questioning why the sum was so large. Overall, the procedure began to drag on.

And I had a 2-year-old son sitting in the stroller who desperately wanted a Kinder Surprise, which I was about to purchase. Long story short, I volunteered to add some money. Do you know what happened next? She began shrieking that I intended to insult her and that she had the money. She told me I could go home with her and she would show me her money. Then she explained that she didn’t need these products and was buying them for a nurse. I felt very humiliated. I decided it was best not to help anyone unless asked.