Pay it Forward

People often accuse me of being a Pollyanna. Always looking on the bright side, believing that there is still good in people, ignoring obvious problems. These are people who don’t know me. My best friend developed The Blue Island Gripers Club just for me. I think I’m the only member, even she won’t join. My long suffering husband sometimes calls me a Whiner, (yes, with a capital W). Now that you know the awful truth, I thought I’d bring you a little Christmas cheer.
Most people my age are not on Twitter. Either they never even heard of it, or they’re not interested (afraid). For those who are familiar with Twitter, you will recognize the following as a Twitter entry.

RT @stace_ this morning we had a total of 117 cars pay it forward in the @Starbucks drive thru by paying for the car behind them. kindness at its best

For those of you not familiar with Twitter, let me decipher this message. Someone who goes by the screen name stace_ apparently works at a Starbucks drive thru. One day, someone pulled up to the window and handed the cashier an extra couple of bucks, and said that they would like to pay for the car behind them, too. The next car, no doubt surprised and pleased, repeated the gift. This continued for 117 cars!
Of course, I don’t know that it’s true. I checked it out on Snopes.com, the site that dispels urban legends, and they had nothing about it one way or the other. So, for now, I’m going to assume it’s true.
The letters RT at the beginning of the message mean that someone has repeated (re-Tweeted) the message to their friends and followers. This message has been re-sent by over a hundred people, who at a conservative estimate, have 50 to 100 friends and followers of their own. Roughly, that means 5117 people have heard about and been touched by one person’s act of kindness. Imagine that!
At this Christmas season, think of how a single act of kindness on your part can touch so many people...and if you are a recipient of a kind act, pay it forward. The world could be a better place, and so could Blue Island.

Have a fabulous, pay-it-forward holiday,
Pollyanna