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The Kitchen Table

He paid for my potatoes!

schoolhouse_gwagain

last year

last modified: last year

Standing in line at Aldis today with my 5# bag of potatoes on the conveyor belt at checkout. There was a young, nice looking, man in front of me paying for his groceries. As he went to pay, I thought I heard the cashier say to him, "I forgot your potatoes", but I quickly put my hand on them and said, "No, these are mine". The young man proceeded to use his card and gathered his purchases into his bag and left.

I stepped up with cash in hand but the cashier said to me, "Maam, he paid for your potatoes". What??? He was just about to go through the exit doors when I called out, "Thank you sir!" He waved over his shoulder. lol How about that? It was only $2.49, but I was so surprised. Now I've done that at McDonalds quite a few times, pay for the person's behind me drink or if it's only a sandwich, but never had it happen to me.

So I hope to have an opportunity to pay it forward again.

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Comments (12)

OutsidePlaying
last year
last modified: last year
Nice to hear of a good deed! Hope you and I can both pass a good one along.
KW PNW Z8
last year
last modified: last year
@schoolhouse_gwagain What a nice story and what a great day brightener for you! A good example of Tis the Season! 🧑‍🎄
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Well, you can send all the baby reds to me & that takes care of half your problem. Seriously though, baby reds are fantastic just boiled skin on & served w/ butter, salt & pepper. Alternatively, they're also very good roasted w/ oil & garlic. I would even mash them, skin on. That's because I just love red potatoes. Reds aren't considered a good masher. A dish that I love but my family doesn't is to grate raw potatoes, tie them up in an old dishtowel & 'wring' the excess water out of them. Heat a nice OO in a saute pan & lay the potatoes in, mashing them into a flat pancake with a spatula. (Season w/ S & P) Cook until well browned & the potatoes on top are just starting to get soft. Flip them and just a couple of minutes before they're ready to come off the stove, top w/ crab or imitation crab, cubed fresh tomatoes & fresh (preferably) basil. Sounds like a weird combo, but it really is very good, my family's opinion not withstanding. Another thing I like to do is to grate cooked potatoes and mix into pancake batter. I usually use a pancake mix. Cook your potato pancakes & serve w/ butter & hot maple syrup or just applesauce. And then there's 'New Potatoes & Green Beans'. My mom made this a lot. Cook the baby reds w/ fresh green beans seasoned w/ either ham or bacon, some onion and water to cover.. This is one of those dishes that is good overcooked to the point that the potatoes are wanting to fall apart and even better heated up the next day as leftovers.
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salonva
last year
Isn't it amazing how a seemingly small but so kind and generous action can really elevate one's mood and outlook?

I love this.
chloebud
last year
Very nice and glad you shared it here!👍🏻
jrb451
last year
I do this at a bakery I frequent but I never see/know the recipient. If I'm the only one at the counter, I'll pay for my order, then leave a bill, saying it's for the next person that comes in to make a purchase. The owners are starting out and it's OK if the purchase results in a large tip for them. It generates goodwill for them and their business.
foodonastump
last year
He must have read about your insurance rate increase. ;)
KW PNW Z8
last year
@foodonastump - you’re hilarious! 😂
schoolhouse_gwagain
Original Author
last year
!!!!! ha ha

Well let me tell you. This young man was dressed like a rock star. All in black, silver jewelry, TIGHT black pants (yea, I noticed), great jacket, as if he was on his way to a gig. Who knows? He could have been a celebrity just picking up a few things at Aldi and felt sorry for the woman whose hair was a muss and wearing sloppy snow boots.
porkchop_z5b_MI
last year
Thanks for sharing -- always nice to hear about random acts of kindness. Be sure to pay it forward :0)
User
last year
Awesome! 🎅 Spreading Christmas cheer!
Rosefolly z5
last year
A nice story for the holiday season. Thank you for posting it.
rob333 (zone 7b)
last year
I was witness to something similar. I was working my second job at the grocery store on Thanksgiving and one man paid for all of the groceries for the couple behind him. Their entire meal. Made me cry. And I said, there are still good people in the world! to my coworker once all was over.

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