Doing the deed

Jaded. Jaded, jaded me.

I went to Crossings to buy some last minute stuff for a cake I was supposed to make tonight. I noticed that there were only four cash registers open, so I went for the express lane instead, where the last person on the line left his basket and checked out some stuff in the aisle. I stood behind the basket and waited. The owner of the basket came back and smiled at me. I gave him my reserved-for-strangers-smile, which lasted all of... one second.

I placed my stuff on the freezer display behind me -- a jar of sour cream, two bars of butter and one bag of Kornets :) The man in front of me glanced at my items, and promptly headed to where the shopping baskets were stacked. Aghast, I looked at the other direction, pretending to be busy looking for some faraway item in a faraway aisle. Strangers offering to help me is not something I'm used to.

"Miss, eto o, para di ka naman mahirapan," the stranger said.

And that was it. No follow up conversation to sell me some insurance stuff. No pa-simple questions on where I live and if I'm married. He just handed me the basket and quietly stood in line. And he was friendly with the cashier and the bagger too.

I was still thinking about him when I entered my car. More importantly, I was thinking how stand-offish I had been to him. Maybe because during these times, it's hard to imagine anyone being nice just because they are nice. Usually, strangers are nice for a reason -- there's a hidden ulterior motive behind their actions.

The whole incident brought to mind that movie about doing good and passing it on to someone else. What's the title? Move it Forward? Pass it Forward? Pay it Forward? Oh well, whatever it is... I realized that it has been a long time since I last did a good deed. I remember how, when I was still in grade school, my goal was to do a good deed everyday, which I usually fulfilled by carrying a poor student's stroller up the stairs. Hehehehehe. Aaaah... life was so simple back then.

So now, one of my goals is to do a good deed, everyday.

I wonder how difficult this goal will be.