Random Act of Kindness 2

Okay, so this one might not EXACTLY fall under the definition of "random act of kindness" but it's something I think about on a fairly regular basis now and it made me feel good AND bad... here we go.

This is the most recent of the 3 stories I have. It happened about 2 months ago. I was driving home from work (Habicrap) one afternoon and I wanted to look at my Entertainment Book. I wanted to see if there was a cool coupon for something for dinner. Entertainment Books are those cool ass fundraiser books that have tons of coupons for local restaurants and attractions. I love it. I keep it in my car at all times. It's probably one of the BEST gifts I received from Habicrap. I am working very hard to use as many of them as possible.

Anyway!

Back to the story. So most of the time I drive w/both my windows rolled down, with the sunroof open, and the stereo blaring. That's just how I roll. And this particular summer day, I pulled off into an abandoned parking lot off a semi-major street in SA so that I could look at the Book. I was probably all of 2-3 miles away from my apartment. I pulled over, pulled out the Entertainment Book and just immersed myself in it. It's a few hundred pages and I INSISTED on looking at each one. I must have lost track of time and the world because at one point, I sort of "felt" someone walking towards my car. I looked out the driver's side window and there was this older black man walking towards my car. I was caught!

I couldn't just drive off and I could kind of tell he was talking to me. So I reached over and lowered the stereo. I assumed he wanted money. Which he did. He seemed nice and I figured, well, you know what... it takes balls to come up to someone on the side of the road. In a running car no less. I clearly got caught with my windows down, stereo blaring, not a damn care in the world... completely oblivious to my surroundings. So, I said "one sec", turned to my purse and looked inside. I am NOTORIOUS for never having any cash. (No, I love YOU Check Card. Yes, I do. Oh, yes I do. You're so cute.) Oops, sorry - got distracted. So, I turned back and here's how it went:
Me: I am so sorry, I don't have any cash. I don't even have any change. (Which I didn't, I was telling the truth.)
Him: That's okay honey. You know what, no one should ever be penniless...
And then the man handed me a penny. I think I almost cried.
Me: Oh, no. I can't take that. Please keep it.
Him: No, child. You may need it. And you need to be a bit more careful around here. Anyone could have just come up to you in your car like this.

So with my mouth WIDE open, I accepted the penny. I thanked him. He waved, turned around and walked back to the corner.

I was pretty shaken up at this point. On one hand because of what had just happened and two because I was clearly caught in my car, with it on, windows down, not paying attention to anything but that damn Entertainment Book (No, it's not YOUR fault Entertainment Book, it's all mine.) and ANYTHING could have happened to me.

Well, something DID happen to me. I was given a penny by someone who seemed to be to me either homeless or something equivalent. And all because he felt that "no one should be penniless."

I should have driven my ass to an ATM gotten some money and come back and found him. I regret that I didn't.

But now, EVERYTIME I drive down that street (and I do almost daily), I look for him. Because the next time I see him, I'm either taking him for a meal or I am going to offer him some help. Anything. Just something to show him that he made an impact on me and to show him how much that moment meant.