It was just 50 cents…

If anyone noticed my post last week looking for technical help, you know I’ve been having some serious laptop woes. It seems to either be a driver issue or a bad CD drive. Either way, my month-and-a-half-old laptop seems to have decided to fail me.

My biggest frustration has lain with the company the laptop was purchased through. Visits to local stores *cough*Office Depot*cough* left me annoyed. Either no one knew what to do, or — in one visit — wouldn’t even look at the laptop at all. It was pretty much a big case of, “Oh well that stinks. Good luck with that.” I was poised to write a nasty blog post about the entire ordeal.

However, yesterday, corporate stepped in and made it all right. I’ll be returning this laptop (they’re coming to pick it up from me at my house!) and getting a whole new one. I’m thankful. Finally, an end to this whole ordeal is in sight.

So, I went to the closest store to me one more time… this time to look at the computer options once again, and to pick up an external hard drive. I’ve only needed one for… ohhh… ten years. But I never had the money or that final push to get one. Moving all my data again was my push, and I happened to have enough money left over from my Lightroom purchase.

After looking that laptops, I grabbed the card for the external drive that I wanted. I took it to the counter to check out. The drive, with a 2-year protection plan, and Tennessee’s high tax rate came out to $74.53. So I handed the girl $75 in cash. (Sidebar: there is something crazy-satisfying to be able to pay with cash.) She reaches in her own pocket… HER OWN POCKET… and pulled out 50 cents. She asked if I had 3 pennies, that way she could just give me $1 in change.

I was dumbfounded.

To her it was just 50 cents. To me, it was a sign of kindness I feel you never see any more. I think I thanked her a dozen times. I tucked the $1 in my wallet with one more thank you. I was, and am, amazed still.

I reviewed The Chocolate Diaries yesterday. One story in that book that stood out to me was one about the author’s friend who took to buying the car behind her’s Starbucks order. The little random act of kindness that made her feel good, and that hopefully gave the other car a smile.

I kind of felt like that happened to me today. It was just 50 cents…

…it was a priceless gesture.