A Thanksgiving Story

It was the day before Thanksgiving, many years ago, perhaps in 1999 or 2000. My husband and I went grocery shopping and when we got to the checkout lane we had to wait for quite a while for the customer ahead of us, a woman. The cashier seemed annoyed and looked apologetically at us.

That was when I noticed that the items that the woman was buying hadn't even been bagged, they were just lying there, all crowded on the belt. I also noticed that the woman was frantically swiping card after card in the machine and that the items she was trying to purchase were not your typical Thanksgiving fare, no. They were first necessity items like bar soap, individually wrapped toilet paper (of the cheapest kind), milk, eggs, some other basic foods and cleaning items. The woman looked frustrated and the cashier even more. But then, all of a sudden, I guess she had tried all the cards, and realized it was not gonna happen, so she left, crying.

We just stood there, stunned, and the same thought crossed our minds -- why in the world didn't we offer to pay for her groceries? What were 70 dollars to us? Why were we annoyed that it was taking so long for the cashier to ring our purchases instead of being empathetic and paying attention to what was happening to the woman? But now it was too late. The woman had already left and the cashier was putting away the unbagged groceries in a contrary mood.

I felt an incredible sadness which enveloped our Thanksgiving celebration that year. I thought about her during the whole holiday season, I wondered if she had found a way to have those much needed items, and whether she had children to care for. And I made a promise to myself that I would never again miss another opportunity to help someone in need.