"Small town kindness small town ways"

I have $4.00 that I can allot toward food costs today.  I was on my way to a place to see if they had any kind of egg sandwich for four or less.

On the way, I saw a booth set up that was for all intents and purposes a canned food drive.  The volunteer asked me if I wanted to donate and I told her that her collection goes to folks like me.  Then I said "Oh, I know you-you have been volunteering at the soup kitchen!

She knew me and we discussed hunger issues for about 10  or 15 minutes.  She said "Don't move an inch I'll be right back"

She consults with another volunteer, comes back and hands me a $15 dollar gift certificate for what turns out to be my favorite restaurant!

;)

I thought you might enjoy that anecdote, that stuff so rarely happens.

"Always someone new to meet"

2 days ago a guy in the coffee shop began talking to me.  He was with three Harley guys and they were all on their way to the annual motorcycle convention.  Their wives are going to meet them.

This guy is about my age and"

he has a phd in sexology with a ring to prove it
a chaplain
and

told me that he's armed so i'll be safe if the coffee shop gets robbed!  He asked me if he could "pray for me"  I said "yes, but not here"  "Prayer can't hurt so I have no problem with that but I am an atheist"

I told him I have a strong opinion about guns but that "I have no plan to share that view with 4 armed Harley guys!"

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the next day, there was a woman in there with her 7 year old.  She is dressed like a hippie. She pays me the strangest compliment:

"You have such a nice small waist!"

I said nothing initially because I was processing what to say.  I eventually said: "I'm speechless but what I do know is that your a hippie like me, and hippie is a good word in my book!"

She replied that "she is indeed a hippie and has just relocated here from San Diego"  I said why mountain town our cost of living is so high.  She said it's comparable to San Diego.  I told her that it's comparable to Baltimore as well!

"What's the BIGGEST diference?"

In an 8 minute period when I was walking around Mountain Town today, I got smiled at by 5 strangers.

That's is , hands down, the biggest difference between Mountain Town, Southwest U.S.A. then Baltimore MD or W. Lafayette, Indiana.

Unconditional, plain old, nice.