A Single Act of Kindness

Eva Marie Everson

My friend Michelle and I went to Park Avenue recently. “Park Ave” as the locals call it, is a lovely brick-street section of Winter Park, Florida with specialty shops and restaurants predominately on one side and a park on the other. The shops have enticing window displays with front doors shaded by colorful awnings. Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating, perfect for evening dining or autumn/winter/spring dining. (No one would be silly enough to sit outside in the Florida summer heat.) Periodically there’s a dog’s bowl filled with water for those patrons who like to bring their best friends. The park is lush, boasts several fountains and sculptures, a bandstand under an ornate gazebo, and some of the loveliest flowers, which are replaced with each season.

That particular day, Michelle and I did what we always do when perusing “Park Ave.” We began at one end, walked the sidewalk alongside the park, then darted across the street and began our adventure with lunch–always at this wonderful Italian restaurant, Pannullos. Then, after lunch, shopping. We carefully made our way down the avenue, stepping into stores and shops we wanted to peruse. Sometimes we purchased. Sometimes we didn’t.

We had come back to Square 1 and were about to walk to my car when a man approached us. His hair was long and blond, pulled back in a limp ponytail. He hadn’t shaved in a little while, but had shaved recently enough so what he had could have been described as a shadowy stubble. He was slight of build and his hands shook as he muttered something in what can only be described as a hoarse whisper.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t understand you.”

“I don’t want money,” he said as other Park Ave. patrons skirted around us. “I just need something to eat.”

We were standing next to a Panera Bread. I looked over at it and said, “Can I get you something inside here?”

“Just a sandwich and some soup,” he replied, gratitude filling his eyes.

We walked inside, the three of us. Michelle offered to chip in but I said no, I had it. This was Panera, after all, not booshie Victoria & Albert’s.

We approached the young clerk who stood behind the cash register. “I’d like to buy this man some lunch,” I said, smiling. Then, to him, “What would you like?”

He ordered a grilled cheese, a bowl of soup, a pastry, and a drink. The total came to $21.66. I paid the amount, the man gave his name, and I then smiled again as I told him I hoped he enjoyed his meal and that God would bless him. Michelle and I left the establishment.

I thought momentarily to stick around and make sure he got his meal okay, but I didn’t want to hover. I also didn’t want him to “thank me” more than he already had. I wasn’t really doing this for praise. I was doing this because, for crying out loud, it was the right thing to do.

Twenty-one dollars and sixty-six cents spent on a single meal for a man I’ll probably never see again. That’s not really a lot, is it? It was really just a single act of kindness. And while it made me feel good to do it, I hope it made him feel better.

Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

He then went on to say, “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’” (Matthew 25:42-45).

A simple act of kindness.

Days after my meeting with the stranger on Park Ave., I read a blog post by Sean Dietrich titled THE L WORD. Sean asked folks at a Mexican restaurant what would save the world and the overwhelming answer was, “kindness.” And, of course, “love.”

Why can’t we just be kind . . . if only for a day? Find one person on one day to be kind to. Then, maybe, we’ll make it a habit and we’ll be kind to more than one person on more than one day. Then wouldn’t it be fun to watch and see kindness take off so much so that it becomes (dare I say it?) normal?

Won’t you try it with me? Just find one person to be kind to today. Even if you are at home all alone not scheduled to see a soul, you can go to some social media outlet and say to one person, “Hey! I hope you have a great day today!” And that will be it. Your one act of kindness.

One day . . . one act . . . until it becomes normal to be kind again.