With the prediction of serious winter storms in Dallas, I headed to Walmart (with apparently every other person in town) to stock up on a few essentials before the storm hit.
As I was waiting in line to check out, the woman in front of me was having her groceries bagged. While the customer ahead of me was waiting, she asked Sherry, the woman working the register, how her night was going. Sherry looked over the register and said, very sadly, that her day was not going very well.
She was working the overnight shift, and on her way to work her drivers side window broke and would not roll up. She had secured a plastic grocery bag over the open window, but now she was afraid that the ice storm was going to break through the bag and didn't know what to do.
After the customer in front of me finished paying, she told Sherry she was sorry to hear about her window and that she hoped her night would get better.
Sherry, grumbled a little thank you and then began scanning and bagging my groceries.
A few minutes later, the woman who had just left, walked back into Walmart and asked to see the manager. After speaking to the manager for a few minutes, she and the store manager walked back toward Sherry.
It turns out, when the other customer left the store, she walked straight across the parking lot in the falling sleet to the bank next door. She spoke to the bank manager and arranged for him to close one of his covered drive thru lanes and allow Sherry to park her car underneath during the night.
The bank manager also agreed to keep the lane closed until Sherry was off work, even if that meant the lane would remain closed during business hours. She then walked back across the parking lot (in the freezing rain) and spoke to Sherry's manager who agreed to give her a short break after she finished helping me, so she could move her car to the reserved bank drive thru.
As she (the other customer) was explaining all this to Sherry, Sherry just stood there in absolute disbelief. (Along with the rest of us in the very long line that watched this whole thing play out).
The woman, without even giving her name, just smiled at Sherry, told her to have a great night and then walked out of the store.
Like I said, it was the nicest thing I have ever witnessed someone do for a stranger.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This post originally appeared on Kindness Blog.
The post author, Niles Holsinger, is a Husband. Father. Pastor and Gentleman Explorer. Follow him on @nilesholsinger