Pay It Forward Emails

By Paula Botelho Peters

I went to the grocery store in Edgartown last night, and as I was loading my bags in the car, a very respectable looking man approached me and said he only had $1.50 and he wanted to buy a gallon of milk, did I have any spare money? I explained I had no cash on me, and I had written a check for my groceries. I felt awful..... I wish he had asked me while I was paying for my groceries because, I certainly would have thrown a gallon of milk in with my groceries for him. An old high school friend just sent me the following email.....Thanks, Paula

Kelly O'Keefe Lowrey, February 7 at 7:39pm

Paula, I read your 'Gallon of Milk' story... it is sad, and times are tough. I live in Virginia and I too was having a real bad day. Anyway, I took my oldest to swim practice and went to replace a cell phone for my youngest, as it was dropped and ran over by a car, we did a little Old Navy shopping in the process... when I realized I had lost my debit/credit card. I didn't discover this mishap until after I had ordered sub sandwiches for dinner and didn't have cash to pay for them. Of course, I started to freak, because I had lost my card. I ran to my car, emptied my pockets, my purse and my wallet in the sub shop... basically, I was a wreck. Well, some very nice person found my card outside Old Navy and took it inside. After a near stroke, I returned to the sub shop, only to find a man that had been sitting there watching my melt down had paid for my family dinner, just in case I returned without my card. I was shocked, and I cried. I cried like a baby because the day had been so awful (many other things had gone wrong) and this compassionate gesture by a total stranger had just pierced my heart. I really believe that the good in people comes out when things get tough. He wasn't there for me to thank, no idea who he was, but he softened me a bit that day. Anyway, thought I would share a feel good story with you. Kelly

Paula Botelho Peters February 8 at 8:02pm

Kelly,
Thank you so much for sharing that story! I love that! It brought tears to my eyes. There are some good people out there! A similar thing happened to me when my triplets were around two. I went off Island with them by myself, I live on Martha's Vineyard, and brought them to the Cape Cod Mall. They had never been to a mall, and I just had to teach them. Anyway, I went into a store called, Claires, then on to other stores and when I went to pay for something, my wallet was gone! I was so upset because I had everything in it, cash, checkbook, bank card, etc. I panicked, and wondered how I was going to even feed my little ones lunch?.... I began to pray and suddenly heard my name called over the loud speaker to report back to Claires. When I got there, there was a very young girl that said I left it behind me. I was so thankful, I couldn't believe that she didn't take one cent! Of course, I gave her a $20 and told her that I wish more people were like her and off, I went. If I ever see someone in the same predicament, I will pay it forward and do the same. After all, what goes around comes around :)

Take Care, Paula

Paula lives in Oak Bluffs year round with her family. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and reading. Paula is also a Silpada Jewelry Representative. Paula can be reached by email at tpx3@capecod.net.

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