Touching Letter From Woman to Stranger Who Paid Her Grocery Bill

From Progressive Populist blog:

There are tons of judgmental people out there. We all know that.

Especially in a nation where being poor has been twisted into having personal and moral shortcomings, thanks to the rhetoric on the right.

Fox News regularly demonizes the poor, and the social programs that help them keep a roof over their head, clothes on their back, and food on their table.

So when I first got wind of this letter, a quick glance at the headline made me believe that this was going to be a letter about someone standing in line at the grocery store and using food stamps to pay for their goods, all while being condemned and chastised from some unsympathetic, insensitive, holier-than-thou cretin who was in line right behind them.

But no. The woman who wrote the letter experienced much better than that. It restored her (and ours) faith in humanity. The person in line behind her paid for her groceries, and it made a bigger impact than the do-gooder will likely ever know.

And the woman’s children were there to witness the good deed and were equally moved by the gesture. And because of it, they are much more likely to grow up and do the same for someone else. What comes around, really does go around.

Here is the letter, which was published at Huffington Post and was originally posted on the woman’s blog.

Dear woman behind me in line at the grocery store,

You don’t know me. You have no clue what my life has been like since October 1, 2013. You have no clue that my family has gone through the wringer. You have no clue that we have faced unbelievable hardship. You have no clue we have been humiliated, humbled, destitute.

You have no clue I have cried more days than not; that I fight against bitterness taking control of my heart. You have no clue that my husband’s pride was shattered. You have no clue my kids have had the worries of an adult on their shoulders. You have no clue their innocence was snatched from them for no good reason. You know none of this.

What you do know is I tried to buy my kids some food and that the EBT machine was down so I couldn’t buy that food. I didn’t have any cash or my debit card with me. I only had my SNAP card. All you heard was me saying “No, don’t hold it for me. My kids are hungry now and I have no other way of paying for this.” You didn’t judge me. You didn’t snarl “Maybe you should have less kids.” You didn’t say “Well, get a job and learn to support yourself.” You didn’t look away in embarrassment or shame for me. You didn’t make any assumptions at all.

What you did was you paid that $17.38 grocery bill for us. You gave my kids bananas, yogurt, apple juice, cheese sticks, and a peach ice tea for me; a rare treat and splurge. You let me hug you and promise through my tears that I WILL pay this forward. I WILL pay someone’s grocery bill for them. That $17.38 may not have been a lot for you, but it was priceless to us. In the car my kids couldn’t stop gushing about you; our “angel in disguise.” They prayed for you. They prayed you would be blessed. You restored some of our lost faith. One simple and small action changed our lives. You probably have forgotten about us by now, but we haven’t forgotten about you. You will forever be a part of us even though we don’t even know your name.

You have no clue how grateful and embarrassed I am that we pay for all our food with SNAP. We eat well thanks to the government. I love that. I love that the government makes sure my kids are cared for. It is one less worry for us. I also struggle with pride and embarrassment. I defiantly tell people we are on SNAP. Daring them to judge us.

Only those closest to us know why we are on SNAP. They know my husband is a hard worker who was laid off after 17 years in a management position with his former company. They know we were moved from our home to a new state only to be left homeless since the house we had came with the job he lost. Only those closest to us know my husband works part time while looking tirelessly for more; that he has submitted more applications than he has received interviews for. Too many jobs are only offering part time work anymore. It is not easy for a 40-something year old to find a job that will support his family of five kids.

You know none of this but you didn’t let that stop you from being compassionate and generous to someone you have never met.

To the woman behind me at the grocery store, you have no idea how much we appreciate you. You have no idea the impact you had on my kids. You have no idea how incredibly thankful I am for you. Your action may have been small, but to us it was monumental. Thank you.

Thank you for not judging us. Thank you for giving my kids a snack when they were quite hungry. Thank you. Just thank you.

Forever,

Andrea, the woman in front of you at the grocery store with the cart full of kids who are no longer hungry

Co-exist

Character isn't what you try and show. Character is how you behave when you have no time to think and when no one is bothered about you.

By stopping her run and helping a dizzy, tired and almost blackingout athelete, Meghan reaffirms that love and care are still there in this world. What can you do to change the world to a better place? One small step but a huge leap.

Love you @meghan vogel

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2155133/Meghan-Vogel-Inspiring-photo-shows-Ohio-runner-help-carry-competitor-finish-line.html

Monday Blues: Care for someone

Care for someone today. Someone who is not expecting your help or attention. Pass on some love and it will come back manifold.

I found this picture online and it speaks volumes!

Mumbai attacks real story

The untold story of 2008's terrorist attack on Mumbai last year, in the words of its victims and the gunmen. While most behaviour of media was unacceptably cheap to gain publicity and TRPs, some were good too. This programme contains graphic images and descriptions of the atrocity which may upset some viewers. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Reed, Terror in Mumbai tells the story of what happened when 10 gunmen held one of the world's busiest cities hostage; killing and wounding hundreds of people while holding India's crack security forces at bay.

Featuring footage of the attacks and interviews with senior police officers and hostages, including the testimony from Kasab - the sole surviving gunman, Dispatches reveals what happened, hour by hour, from the perspective of the security forces, the terrorists, their masterminds and the victims.

While it may be chilling and horrific it is reality. Damn the religion, race, nation, hatred. How can anyone do such a thing? Indian Government's response was calculative and decisive but not as strong as people expected it to be. While there is a lot of need to build up strength and scale up measures the question of why us still remains unanswered by the innocent victims and their families. Hope some sanity dawns on them.

Check the complete video here.

Shay Day: Two choices

Harsha sent me this...

Two Choices:
What would you do? ....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have
made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do; where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first base man's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitchers intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-base man's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay; run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

Can you make someone remember this day?

Heroes of China Earthquake, 2008

Mail forward

Dare Devils in Real Life

There are many other unsung heroes who deserve a place in the list of Dare Devils. The mother who toils 10 hours doing manual labor apart from household work, raising her children, tolerating her drunkard husband is a daredevil. The love of a mother who acts as a shield to save her baby from the falling ceiling in an earthquake is a dare devil. Any women who braves the traffic and works in offices full of politics, harassment, pressure and still manages to run a house hold is a dare devil.

Sarah's house maid earns Rs. 3000/- working in 5 different houses for hours. Yet when she found a new born child in a dustbin she brought the kid home. There were several onlookers people who were jogging, rich people, poor people all standing there but no one picked up. She did. She has been raising him as her second son and very few know that he was found in a bin and not her child. She is not Anjelina Jolie or Madonna. I would call her a daredevil.

There are several people whose acts of kindness at times when they are least expected. They are the real daredevils.

Thought

There is a lot more beyond the glasses. Just scroll them down and try to bring a smile to a poor child. You will stay happy for a day.