Pass it on: A gesture at the checkout makes season all the more inspiring

Was Santa good to you?

That was a standard question asked each Christmas morning when our out-of-state grandmother would call with holiday well wishes. We hope, as we were always somehow able to report, that he indeed was.

Our best gift this Christmas came on Saturday night, however, two days ahead of Christmas morning.

It was just before closing while standing in line at the Food Lion on Ash Street that our Christmas miracle took place. Only two lanes were open, and the shorter of the two lines was comprised of people with filled carts. In the longer of the two checkout aisles stood last-minute shoppers with just one or two items in hand. Naturally we took our place at the back of the longest line and, eager to get home, hoped no price checks would be needed ahead of us.

At the register, two men were holding their debit cards up as if competing to pay for their shared groceries. But our eyes were deceived. The taller of the two gentlemen gestured at the woman in line behind him, and then again at the man behind her.

Then his eyes met ours and, with a nod as if to say hello, he told the woman behind the register, "OK, theirs too but that's it. That's the last one."

It seems this kind gentleman and his companion were doling out a little holiday cheer with simple acts of kindness, and in our haste to get into the faster line to get back on the road and head home, we stumbled fortuitously into their gesture.

Modesty insisted we protest, which we did but were rebuffed with a wave of the hand and the simple instruction to "pass it on."

Those of us who benefited from the gracious patrons ahead of us were each a bit stunned and stammering over our "thank yous" and "Merry Christmases," but we weren't alone in our appreciation. The cashier was all smiles, and so were a few other folks who witnessed the demonstration of good will toward men.

And so, to do our part and increase the swath of souls touched by this kind act, we are spreading the word that there are still people out there with generous spirits and peace in their hearts. These two men did not select their recipients based on gender or race or religion or income, they just glimpsed at who was around them and decided to act without question and despite any objection.

If that isn't in the spirit of Christmas, we don't know what is. But here is to carrying the gesture forward into 2018.

Published in Editorials on December 25, 2017 9:12 PM