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Snow Day Favors | When Good Things Happen

Tsimur Asayonak
/
Unsplash

Geri from Bethlehem, PA, woke up, looked out the window, and groaned, "It snowed...a lot! Not nice, Mother Nature!"

She bundled up and went outside. Two guys, unknown to her, from the fourth building of her four-building complex in Bethlehem were outside making quick work of clearing the snow from the two cars next to her, so she asked if they wouldn't mind doing her a favor and clearing her car, adding that she would gladly pay them for it.

They said it was no problem and that it wouldn't be doing a favor if she had to pay them for it, so they cheerfully took care of her vehicle, and wished her a "good day!"

The next morning brought more snow. Geri put on her warm layers and went outside. There, she encountered her downstairs neighbor, Tony. When he saw Geri, he told her he had to make a quick trip to CVS but would take care of her car as soon as he got back. After Tony left, Geri thought she would help Tony out, so she got her shovel and began to clear the snow. It was heavier than she thought it would be, but she was determined to make an effort to get it started before Tony returned.

After she cleared the snow a bit, the "plow guy" from Scott's Contractors stopped his truck and said, "I'll do that." He jumped out of his truck, grabbed his shovel and, as he was taking care of getting rid of the white stuff, her two neighbors from the day before came over and cleaned her car off.

But wait! There's more to her story.

Two weeks prior to the blizzard event, Geri went to the Giant to get a few items, including a new bag of ice melt. The bags were outside the store, but she managed to get a 25 lb. bag in her cart. That took some effort. She then decided that such a big bag was "overkill," so she struggled to get the bag back out of her cart and back on the shelf, muttering to herself, "What was I thinking?"

Then, out of nowhere, a gentleman came over to her and said, "I'll take that" and pulled it out of her cart. Geri said, "Okay, thanks," told him to have a good day, and continued her shopping.

As she was ready to proceed to the checkout, the same guy comes up to her and puts the ice melt bag back into her cart with the receipt. "I tried to tell him he should keep it, then I got my wallet out to pay him for it, but he insisted I should keep it and told me to have a good day!"

Geri said she thanked all of those people profusely and she can't help but think that "the crisp air and clean whiteness of the snow brings out the good in a lot of people. Well, at least the people around me," she said with a smile!

Do you have good news to share? Send your stories to goodnews@wdiy.org. Catch When Good Things Happen for a weekly dose of good news on Tuesdays at 4:44pm during All Things Considered.

Lucille Kincaid is a weekly host of WDIY Classics as well as WDIY's music librarian for the Janet Goloub Classical Music Library. Her background is in music education, having worked as a music educator in New Jersey public schools for 33 years. The last 18 years of her career were spent as vocal music director of Sparta High School in Sparta, New Jersey. During her tenure there, her choirs performed in festivals and workshops across the US, Canada, and Europe.