Gatorade Aid

The house I've been working on is located in the heart of an area called Forrest Hills, which is an unincorporated section of Nashville between Brentwood and Belle Meade. The problem with working here is that it is very suburban, and my food options are limited. If I want something from one of the standard fast food joints, I have to drive 10 minutes to Brentwood or Green Hills. The only place closer is a gas station on Granny White. Often times that's where I (along with all the other manual-laborers) end up during lunch time.

I was in line at the gas station today and the kid in front of me was having some difficulty buying a Gatorade at the register. He was trying to use a debit/credit card of some kind and it kept coming back with insufficient funds. I could tell the kid was embarrassed, but the guy behind the counter didn't seem to care; he wasn't being the slightest bit discrete about the declination.

It became apparent that the kid had no other means for purchasing the Gatorade and that the cashier was prepared to prolong his humiliation as long as possible. So, that's when I stepped in and offered to pay for the kid's drink along with my food. I gave the kid a kind of I know how it feels look, and the cashier a you should know better glare.

This was the first time I felt uncomfortable trying to build kindness, and I blame the gas station employee. I don't think anyone likes being in that type of situation, but it didn't have to be as awkward as it was. All this does is reiterate the need for more examples of kindness in the world.