Paying It Forward
Monday morning I went to get my blood
drawn as part of a trial medication study. Although I had to stop taking the
meds earlier because of side effects from the medication, they wanted to keep
me as a “normal” control patient. The reason I stayed in the study was that I was
getting paid for having three tubes of blood drawn two times each month. All I
needed to do was to fast overnight, be weighed, have my blood pressure checked,
and then sit still for the blood draw. This appointment I had to answer a questionnaire. Once I was released, I drove to Valley Dairy restaurant to eat.
After my food arrived I took my daily medications.
Monday was my birthday and no one
was there to help me celebrate. I was feeling just a little bit down. As I sat
there a tall black man came in and sat at a table near mine. He nodded and said
“Good morning” his smile spreading across his face. He was a complete stranger,
but his friendliness made me take notice. When I finished eating my food I
decided to pay for his breakfast. I walked to the cashier to where my server was
standing. I handed him my bill and cash asking him to cover the cost of the
other man’s bill and keep the rest as his tip.
My next stop was Ollies. While “springing
ahead” this weekend resetting my bathroom clock I was clumsy enough to drop it
and the hands popped loose, useless. It had bitten the dust. It was no longer
able to keep the time. I needed a few groceries and stopped at Aldi’s before heading
home.
Once home I washed a load of
clothing and dried them before folding and storing them away. I sat in my
recliner and the boob tube claimed the rest of the day.
It wasn’t an exciting way to
spend my birthday, but I’m still alive and kicking. My kids said they would
celebrate another day when we can all get together.
All in all it wasn’t a bad day
and I had that good feeling of anonymously paying it ahead.
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