This past Wednesday evening I was at a parents meeting for our 4H club. I am the new community leader for the club and it was our second parents meeting EVER. It is a whole new idea for us to come together as parents to have time to plan, socialize and share the chore/joys of parenting. We have been having these parents meetings at a local bar and grill.
While we have our meeting, the bar is open for business but accommodates our meetings well. We were discussing our upcoming purchase of new club T-shirts, when a man who had been sitting at the bar came over to me. I didn't know this man, he looked familiar to me but then he was really tall and had long grey hair so he is a pretty recognizable guy. He pressed a check for $250 dollars into my hand and said, "Buy the kids T-shirts with this." I was amazed and overwhelmed. All of the parents present were shocked and amazed as well. We were thankful and cheered for him. Our meeting went on, mixed with dinner and socializing. Several of our parents headed over to say thanks and to introduce themselves. I sat down and started eating my super delicious fried green beans and the gentleman came over to me and asked, "What is the next big thing you've got going in 4H?" I relpied, "4H days in February." At which point he handed me ANOTHER check for $250 and said, "Well, this is for 4H days, anything you need for 4H days." More amazement follwed.
There was however, an underlying sense of skepticism. Who hands out money like this? No one even knew this man. What was his problem? Was he drunk? Was he for real? Several parents spent some time talking with him. No, he was not drunk and there was no evidence that there was anything wrong with him. Then why? Why this overwhelming generosity to us, to strangers? We have been busy selling raffle tickets for $1 dollar a piece. This raffle is the largest fundraiser for 4H in the county. All the procedes go to the Fairgrounds Improvement Fund. It is suprisingly hard to sell a dollar raffle ticket. It is for a good cause, obviously it supports the youth of our community, but it's been tough selling these tickets in this economy. Who throws up this type of cash?
Several parents introduced themselves to the gentleman and chatted with him. Thanking him for his generosity. During the course of these conversations, someone told him about the raffle tickets. He promptly took his checkbook back out and wrote another check for $100 for 100 tickets. My husband had time to chat with this gentleman and ended up playing some pool with him. His story remained the same to all who had the opportunity to chat with him. He and his wife have no children but enjoy children and like to help the community. He was humble and tried to focus the attention on the bar owner, or the fact that the donations were tax deductible. He is a Vietnam Veteran and stated that he just really like the energy of our group and was excited about the things that we were talking about doing. Our group left the bar, happy with our second ever parents meeting and amazed with the generosity of this man.
Musing about this, I am encouraged and motivated to reach out to others. I did call his bank to make sure the checks were good. I felt a little guilty questioning his actions. The checks were good and I ended up sharing the story of his gifts with the lady who answered the phone. I think the story is a good one. It is a reminder that you can't judge people on looks or location. You can always be suprised. It encourages us to share our lives, loves and causes with others. It reminds us that people can do good and be wonderful. It takes away the frustrations last felt driving behind someone slow or irritated by someone in line at Walmart. It is a shining sun added to the dreary fog and daily disappointments in our lives. I hope that I can be the giver in someone else's life. It's not actually about the money, it about the unexpectedness of the actions. It's about the spirit of giving, sharing, caring. It's awesome to be surprised by the munificence of a stranger!!
While we have our meeting, the bar is open for business but accommodates our meetings well. We were discussing our upcoming purchase of new club T-shirts, when a man who had been sitting at the bar came over to me. I didn't know this man, he looked familiar to me but then he was really tall and had long grey hair so he is a pretty recognizable guy. He pressed a check for $250 dollars into my hand and said, "Buy the kids T-shirts with this." I was amazed and overwhelmed. All of the parents present were shocked and amazed as well. We were thankful and cheered for him. Our meeting went on, mixed with dinner and socializing. Several of our parents headed over to say thanks and to introduce themselves. I sat down and started eating my super delicious fried green beans and the gentleman came over to me and asked, "What is the next big thing you've got going in 4H?" I relpied, "4H days in February." At which point he handed me ANOTHER check for $250 and said, "Well, this is for 4H days, anything you need for 4H days." More amazement follwed.
There was however, an underlying sense of skepticism. Who hands out money like this? No one even knew this man. What was his problem? Was he drunk? Was he for real? Several parents spent some time talking with him. No, he was not drunk and there was no evidence that there was anything wrong with him. Then why? Why this overwhelming generosity to us, to strangers? We have been busy selling raffle tickets for $1 dollar a piece. This raffle is the largest fundraiser for 4H in the county. All the procedes go to the Fairgrounds Improvement Fund. It is suprisingly hard to sell a dollar raffle ticket. It is for a good cause, obviously it supports the youth of our community, but it's been tough selling these tickets in this economy. Who throws up this type of cash?
Several parents introduced themselves to the gentleman and chatted with him. Thanking him for his generosity. During the course of these conversations, someone told him about the raffle tickets. He promptly took his checkbook back out and wrote another check for $100 for 100 tickets. My husband had time to chat with this gentleman and ended up playing some pool with him. His story remained the same to all who had the opportunity to chat with him. He and his wife have no children but enjoy children and like to help the community. He was humble and tried to focus the attention on the bar owner, or the fact that the donations were tax deductible. He is a Vietnam Veteran and stated that he just really like the energy of our group and was excited about the things that we were talking about doing. Our group left the bar, happy with our second ever parents meeting and amazed with the generosity of this man.
Musing about this, I am encouraged and motivated to reach out to others. I did call his bank to make sure the checks were good. I felt a little guilty questioning his actions. The checks were good and I ended up sharing the story of his gifts with the lady who answered the phone. I think the story is a good one. It is a reminder that you can't judge people on looks or location. You can always be suprised. It encourages us to share our lives, loves and causes with others. It reminds us that people can do good and be wonderful. It takes away the frustrations last felt driving behind someone slow or irritated by someone in line at Walmart. It is a shining sun added to the dreary fog and daily disappointments in our lives. I hope that I can be the giver in someone else's life. It's not actually about the money, it about the unexpectedness of the actions. It's about the spirit of giving, sharing, caring. It's awesome to be surprised by the munificence of a stranger!!
Wow, what an awesome story!! Every day I try to renew myself to the truth that if I let the world surprise me with its beauty and love, especially the other people who live here on this planet with me- THIS is what will happen. xoxo and thanks for sharing!
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