Alana Ruthann was impatiently waiting for her turn in line at a local Walmart, staring at her phone to pass the time – and if she hadn’t looked up, she might have missed the incredible act of kindness happening in front of her.
A man in front of Alana in the line was checking out when he suddenly exclaimed loudly in confusion and asked what was going on. This led Alana to tear her eyes away from her phone and look ahead, where she saw two men – an older one, who had been the one to exclaim, and a younger man with his card out.
The younger man had noticed that the other man was a veteran, as he was wearing a veteran ball cap, and he had stepped up to pay for the man’s groceries. The veteran was clearly very touched as he awkwardly fumbled his things, not sure what to say.
The younger man quickly handed the cashier his card, then after paying thanked the veteran again and left. The veteran was speechless, tears in his eyes as he was unsure what to do next. He asked the cashier what to do, and she laughed and said he should go and have a nice day.
Alana’s whole day was made by what she describes as a 20-second interaction, and she knew that the veteran and the cashier had their days made by this gesture, too. To Alana, it served as a reminder that life can be pretty beautiful if you slow down to see what is going on around you. Inspiring!