Paying it Forward

I wasn't intending to post again so soon, but a beautiful thing happened when I went to the grocery store today that surely represents how the ripple goes.
I have been in the house for several days with a pretty serious toothache. Kinda heavily medicated, thus no driving. It's been manageable though, since my brain seems to be in creative overload mode!  Let's just say I've accomplished a lot; results of which y'all will get to see in the coming months.
At any rate, Rick needed a few things and asked if I'd like to go along for the ride. Bella and I said "Yes please!" and we headed off.  We needed to stop at Kroger of all places. Not the happiest destination on a pain-free day! Rick stayed in the car with Bella and I went in to return something.
While I was waiting at the customer service desk to make my exchange, I overheard the manager talking with a customer.  She was telling him that she would try and run through his purchase manually since the computer wasn't doing it properly. She went around the back of the courtesy desk.
The man was younger than me, very tall, with beautiful sleeves of tattoo work on each arm. He looked exhausted.  He was pushing one of those shopping carts that look like a race car.  Inside were two obviously unhappy little boys.  Grumpy, sad or sick I do not know but certainly not any more thrilled to be in Kroger than I was. As he waited and the manager worked on his purchase, it became clear that it was his food stamp card that would not go through.  Apparently the system the card is tied to was down.  The man had only two small bags of groceries.  The manager said, "I am so sorry but it won't go through. Do you want me to hold them and you can come back?"  He said he'd come back and headed out the door. I felt so badly for him.
Just then, a woman in line behind me spoke up.  She said to the manager, "Here, let me take care of that for him." Oh, my heart!
The man overheard and said that he appreciated it but no thank you and that he'd come back later on. He went out the door.  The woman insisted to the manager that she wanted to do it.  "We've all been there, haven't we?" she said.  The manager ran out the door with the bags and came back shortly.  The manager said to the woman, "That was very nice of you." I turned to the woman and said the same. When the manager went around behind the desk, the woman asked her how much it was. The manager answered, "$4.05."  
Four dollars and five cents was all it took for that woman to spread a vibrant lacy network of ripples all around her. She helped that man's day get a lot easier. Helped those sad little boys get home sooner. Made every person who overheard the chain of events feel a lot better about the world. Showed me the reason I ended up at Kroger today.
She paid it forward.
We have all been there, right? I know that I have been on the receiving end of such generosity. I remember a similar experience when I was little and at the store with my Mom and all my brothers and sisters.  I have never been a wealthy chick, but if I have a few dollars and someone needs them, I think back to the times I've received help like that, little or big, and I give what I can.  Paying it forward is one of the easiest ways to send forth ripples of care and love into the world of another.