Yesterday at the dollar store, this elderly man came up and asked me where the raw-hide dog sticks were. I directed him to the right place, then went about my business of checking people out. A few minutes later, the man came up with two different packages of raw-hide treats. He asked me which ones I'd get, and I said that I'd get both, just to give the dog some variety. He laughed and said it sounded like I was an animal lover like him. I told him yeah and filled him in on how many dogs and cats I had. When I told him that I currently had 10 cats, he was flabbergasted and asked me about it. I explained that I did cat rescue and had had around 30 cats at one point. I told him that I tamed the feral ones, got them their shots, and had them spayed or neutered before finding them a new home. He commented that it had to be expensive and I told him that, yes, it was expensive, but I did the best I could, especially in the current economic climate. Then I told him the joke I shared with someone else a week or so ago, saying that, if things didn't get better, I'd have to eat my cats instead of feed them. He laughed at that, then asked where the cat food was. I told him that it was on the same aisle as the dog treats and that I'd hold his bag if we wanted to go back and look at what we have. He thanked me and walked back to the pet food section of the store. I continued to check out customers. About 10 or so minutes ago, the old man returned and I handed him his bag. When he took it, he placed some money in my hand and said, "Buy your cats some food. You're a good person to do what you do, so here's something to help you out." I was the one who was flabbergasted at this. I thanked him as he left. When there was a lull in the parade of customers, I checked out what he'd given me. It was $3.00.
Today, again at the dollar store, this elderly lady hobbled up to the cash register with a cart full of merchandise. She was bare-footed, because her shoes hurt her, and had a stream of dried drool coming from the left corner of her mouth. She apologised for falling in the bra section and making a mess of the bras. I asked her if she was okay, and she said that she was, but she need desperately to sit down and was unable to empty her cart so I could scan her stuff. I told her that she could sit on the bag carousel and I'd unload her cart for her. While the line backed up, I unloaded the lady's cart, then scanned her stuff while she sat on the bag carousel. When I was close to finished, she got up so I could bag her merchandise and she could pay. She paid with her debit card, but was slower than an inebriated slug in doing it. The line got longer. Once she was finished paying with her debit card, I handed her her receipt and held open the door so she could find her way out of the store. By then, my manager Tami had come up and opened the second register to help me check out the backed up customers. She didn't seem very happy about it. I told her about the old lady being unable to do anything and how it got me behind. She was still unimpressed. She's a manager, which means that she has had her capacity for compassion annihilated by the corporate office. Anyway, I checked out a couple more people and the third person, upon paying with her debit, found a debit card left behind by somebody else. I looked at it, then realised that it was the old lady's card. She was the only one prior to my current customer who had used debit. I informed Tami about the card and placed it on our table between the two cash registers. Then I checked out a couple more customers. Upon a lull in the customers, I looked outside and saw that the old lady was still in the parking lot, sitting in her car talking on the phone. I told Tami I was gonna take her debit card out to her, then out the door I went. When I tapped on the old lady's drivers-side window, she lowered it and asked what was wrong. I told her that she'd left her debit card and handed it to her. She started crying, saying that I'd been so good to her in the store, that I was an angel, and she pulled me through the open window and gave me a hug. And then she proceeded to talk as hard as she could about her health problems, how she had torn menisci in both knees, how she was eaten up with arthritis, and how she'd had multiple sclerosis for about 20 years before realising she had it. She showed me the pain patch she had on her left arm, and told me about how that and medicine for fibromyalgia were the only things that allowed her to walk. She was the type of person who talked in a manner that wouldn't allow you to get a word in edgewise. I was out there for a good fifteen minutes, listening to this woman pour her heart out to me. Then I told her I had to go back to work. She hugged me again and reiterated that I'd been an angel to her, that god put angels on the Earth to watch over and help others, and that I was one of those angels. When I finally made it back into the store, Tami was beyond unimpressed. She gave me some pretty dirty looks in between checking out customers. Once we were caught up, she left me without so much as a "see you later, cashier scum!"
But this got me to thinking, what the old lady said about angels. Maybe that old man was an angel, sent to me to say "You're doing good. Don't stop, no matter what happens. Help will come from the most unexpected sources." It almost makes me feel mildly hopeful.
