20-10-2008 - Warning- this is a tear jerker

My mood while writing this blog: relieved

I received this in an email from my mom-

TEAR JERKER.:

> Read it all.......
>
> 'Some people!' snorted a man standing behind me in
> the
> long line at the grocery store.
>
>
> 'You would think the manager would pay attention and
> open another line, 'said a woman. I looked to the
> front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw
> a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine
> to accept her credit card. No matter how many times
> she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it.
>
>
> 'It's one of them welfare card things. ----- people
> need to get a job like everyone else,' said the man
> standing behind me. The young woman turned around to
> see who had made the comment. 'It was me,' he
> said,
> pointing to himself.
>
> The young lady's face began to change expression.
>
>
> Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the
> counter and quickly walked out of the s tore. Everyone
> in the checkout line watched as she began running to
> her car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.
>
> After developing cancer in 1977 and having had to use
> food stamps; I had learned never to judge anyone,
> without knowing the circumstances of their life. This
> turned out to be the case.
>
> Several minutes later a young man walked into the
> store. He went up to the cashier and asked if she had
> seen the woman. After describing her, the cashier told
> him that she had run out of the store, got into her
> car, and drove away.
>
> 'Why would she do that?' asked the man. Everyone in
> the line looked around at the fellow who had made the
> statement. 'I made a stupid comment about the
> welfare card she was using. Something I shouldn't
> have said. I'm sorry,' said the man.
>
> 'Well, that's bad, real bad , in fact. Her brother
> was
> killed in Afghanistan two years ago. He had three
> young children and she has taken on that
> responsibility. She's twenty years old, single, and
> now has three children to support,' he said in a very
> firm voice.
>
> 'I'm really truly sorry. I didn't know,'
> he replied,
> shaking both his hands about.
>
> The young man asked, 'Are these paid for?'
> pointing to
> the shopping cart full of groceries. 'It wouldn't
> take
> her card,' the clerk told him.
>
> 'Do you know where she lives?' asked the man who
> had
> made the comment.
>
> 'Yes, she goes to our church.'
>
> 'Excuse me,' he said as he made his way to the
> front
> of the line. He pulled out his wallet, took out his
> credit card and told the cashier, 'Please use my
> card.
> PLEASE!'
> The clerk took his credit card and began to
> ring up the young woman's groceries.
>
>
> Hold on,' said the gentleman. He walked back to his
> shopping cart and began loading his own groceries onto
> the belt to be included. 'Come on people. We got three
> kids to help raise!' he told everyone in line.
>
>
> Everyone began to place their groceries onto the fast
> moving belt. A few customers began bagging the food
> and placing it into separate carts. 'Go back and get
> two big turkeys,' yelled a heavyset woman, as she
> looked at the man. 'NO,' yelled the man. Everyone
> stopped dead in their tracks. The entire store became
> quiet for several seconds. 'Four turkeys,' yelled
> the
> man. Everyone began laughing and went back to work.
>
> When all was said and done, the man paid a total of
> $1,646.57 for the groceries. He then walk ed over to
> the side, pulled out his check book, and began
> writing a check using the bags of dog food piled near
> the front of the store for a writing surface. He
> turned around and handed the check to the young man.
>
> 'She will need a freezer and a few other things as
> well,' he told the man.
>
> The young man looked at the check and said, 'This is
> really very generous of you.'
>
> 'No,' said the man. 'Her brother was the
> generous
> one.' Everyone in the store had been observing the
> odd
> commotion and began to clap. And I drove home that
> day feeling very American.
>
> We live in the Land of the free, because of the
>
> Brave!!! Remember our Troops of Yesterday and Today!!!
>
> A great example of why we should be kind and patient.
> Kindness is the language the blind can see and the
> deaf can hear.
>
> May God's many blessings continue to be with you -
> ALWAYS!!!
>
> PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING....
> IT WILL OPEN A LOT OF EYES,
> HOPEFULLY HEARTS,
> AND KEEP SOME MOUTHS SHUT.