Brighten Your Day

When I was a kid my dad took my brother and I shopping for school clothes. It was during the 2007-2008 financial crisis and he had been laid off work and was struggling to find a job. My mom managed a fast food restaurant so we had some income, but not enough. Even though I was young I realized that we weren't the best off when it came to money. Our house was being foreclosed so my parents were already struggling to find somewhere cheaper for us to stay.

Going shopping with my dad and brother, while we were already struggling seemed strange, but we needed new clothes for the start of the school year. We each got two outfits and one pair of shoes. My brother wanted a pair of basketball shorts and my dad couldn't say no, so he grabbed them as well.

While we were checking out, I remember my dad watching the price go up and up on the register and he seemed to be more and more defeated as the price went up. Once everything was scanned, he realized he didn't have enough to pay for everything. He asked the cashier to take off the extra shorts my brother asked for, but he still didn't have enough. He apologized to the man behind us while he tried to figure out what to take off. I told my dad to take off my pair of shoes and a pair of my pants. (I could live with my old clothes so my brother could have new clothes.) My dad was on the verge of tears when he told the cashier to take them off.

Before he could pay the man behind us asked the cashier to add them back on. My dad was confused before the man gave the cashier a $100 bill and told her to give the change to my dad. My dad argued with him for a minute saying he couldn't take his money, times were hard on everyone, not just us. The man insisted and my dad started crying. My dad asked for his phone number so he could pay him back in the future, but the man told my dad to help someone else who needed it in future and that would be enough.

My brother and I had new clothes for the school year because of a stranger who saw we were struggling and decided to help, purely out of the goodness of his heart. I to this day still remember exactly what he looked like. Whenever I see people struggling I remember his face and I try to help them as best I can. I might not have a lot to give, but I give what I can.