Pay it Forward

The scene: Three girls (Steph Zundel, Jaylynn, me) having a bit of lunch at a restaurant in Inwood.

A guy approaches our table and asks if he can sit down so he can tell us a story. We told him that he could. Then he proceeds to tell us that he had been on two tours in Iraq. He was in the Air Force, but I forget exactly where he fit in with that. On his second tour, one of his best friends in his unit was killed. He, and his other friends made a pact to honor their fallen friend by doing three kind acts of service for strangers:

1. to help an elderly person (that was the easiest, or so he said)

2. to help a couple (also check)

3. to help a group of three people

Apparently, he has been searching for a group of three people to help since his friend's death in 2006. I am not sure why, but he decided he would help us. He said he couldn't tell us what he had done, but that we would find out soon enough. Then he got up and left.

When we asked our waitress for the bill, she told us that it had been taken care of. He had bought our lunch! We were so touched by his random act of service. We really appreciated it and we were glad he finally was able to make good on the pact.

Steph made a good point. She said that sometimes, being the person who receives the service is just as important as serving others.

I am so touched by what he did and I hope his friend up above is proud of him.

Service is so meaningful. When you are the person who receives it, pay it forward (because according to Phil from Modern Family "They don't make movies out of bad ideas").