Why People Are Awesome

I generally try to keep posts to one anecdote, topic, or theme, for ease of reading and my own organizational quirks. However, in this post, I plan to relate several incidents. Note the title: that is my theme.

In this past week, I've had some very positive interactions with people and some disconcertingly negative ones. We (as a culture? as a species?) tend to relate the negative more than the positive, so I want to combat this trend by sharing some warm-fuzzies.

First, the car mirror. Ana's side view mirror went missing a few months ago. She was told that they sometimes pop out in the cold, and she ordered a new one from AutoZone. Long short, she had to order a new mirror fixture, which we took home only to discover that pliers wouldn't do the job of undoing the bolts; we needed a wrench, which we (sadly) lack.

So the mirror sat in the back of the car for the course of several weeks, waiting. When Ana and returned to AutoZone this week for a battery, the man working there was so friendly and helpful that when he told us, "Let us know if there's any other way we can help you." Ana asked for a hand with the mirror. Although Auto Zone doesn't do body work, he pulled out some wrenches and pulled off the mirror for her. Ana joked about us being a couple of helpless girls, and he told us that didn't matter. "You had me sold at the volunteer line," he said.

Incident 2 is much shorter. I was in the grocery store, buying travel-sized toothpaste and contact solution. The self-checkout was broken, and the express lane was closed. With a sigh, I took my place behind a woman with a large purchase, noting to Ana that it was the best line -- which it was. The lady in front of me looked back, saw my two items, and asked, "Is that all you have in your hand?" I nodded yes. "Go ahead," she said. With enthusiastic gratitude, I stepped up in line, given so much joy by her kindness.

Finally, at the airport, I stood in line for a bagel. The couple ahead of me had some sort of gift certificate or traveler's check, and he was trying to get rid of $1.47 on it. He kept trying to do so by tipping or buying something for the cashier, and she kept deflecting him with a smile. He wasn't hitting on her; his girlfriend was with him. It was just a general kindness. And the cashier had admirable customer service skills, even as she turned to wait on me and hunt for the specific type of bagel I wanted. Her smile made my day!