What Happens in Walmart & The Kindness of Strangers (Part II of ‘Returning Nora to Ohio’)

I’m going back in time… well only by a month & a half… to finish chronicling my journey to and from Ohio to take my sister back to school.  The night we arrived we decided to get up early the next morning to get a lot accomplished, so unsurprisingly, we slept in.  I guess we now know one downside to not having the responsible parentals present.

I’ll cut out the details about getting ready, going back over to her apartment, checking in, getting her key so she could move her suitcases from the apartment hall into her actual room, and making a list of what NEEDED to come back with us from Walmart later that day. (Dad put us on a strict budget, which we almost successfully stuck to.)

So we arrived at Walmart without incident… almost.  There was a slight second in the parking lot where I may or may not have come close to not yielding to pedestrians.  Okay, there was, but it was good that I did end up yielding because the pedestrians turned out to be my sister’s roommate and her family. That could have been an awkward semester.

There we were, in Walmart, minding our business as we snaked through the aisles, picking up ONLY what was necessary. (just in case you’re reading this, Dad) Out of no where our eyes were irrevocably assaulted.  It is still painful to talk about so I’ll ask you to just see the photo below.

There was no sand, I didn't hear waves, this is NOT okay to wear... even to Walmart! I’ll just say this… a major strike 3 for humanity (see post Part I).

After hitting up the drive-through therapy center, ok not really, but wouldn’t that be a good idea?  I’d imagine it would improve the over all mood the of the general public on any given day.  We made it back to my sister’s apartment unloaded and put away groceries and other purchased supplies and hung out with her roommies.

I even got to meet a “little.”  Now you either know what this is… or you don’t.  I did not.  It is what the “little sisters” of a sorority are refereed to.  Those that take these little sisters under their wing are called “bigs.”  So yes, there are people roaming around out there constantly asking where their “bigs” and “littles” are.  But I digress.

Later that night I was wiped… On the plus side, I now know what goes into and will be prepared for taking my child to college.  I decided to stay in and head to bed early while my sister went out to catch up with her friends.  Upon making this decision however, I did not know there was a frat house behind the hotel.  Ergo I forwent any notion I had of sleeping and stayed up and read.  A little while later, the police came and broke up the party.  No, I am not the one who called, but I did take minor pleasure at the site below.

The next day we learned from our mistake and woke up early enough to catch the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant.  Since I would be staying my last night with my sister, we packed up, checked out, and headed to her apartment.  We ended the afternoon with a second, less traumatic, trip to (a different) Walmart.

Now pay attention because this is where it gets good and all of our faith in humanity can be restored.  We went to PF Changs for dinner and ended up sitting next to a really sweet couple.  After a few random ice breakers, curtesy of our waitress, we actually engaged in a nice conversation with the couple.  We chatted, we laughed, we even shared tofu.

It turned out their son had graduated from my sisters school and the couple lived near where my grandparents lived in Florida for the winter.  When it was time to pay the bill, my sister put in cash and I threw in my debit card.  When it came back, everything was still there with a note, “Your bill is paid in full, thank the couple next to you.”

Nora and I were both in shock and couldn’t say enough “thank you’s” to our knew friends.  They had paid for our dinner and didn’t even know our names!  As they stood to leave, we introduced ourselves, and then they headed out of the restaurant.

Once we left and were in the car we realized we didn’t even know their last name or how to contact them and probably wouldn't see them again.  So we just contented ourselves in being thankful for the random kindness of strangers that is not shown often enough in the world we live in.

The next morning I said goodbye to Nora as I dropped her off at class.  It probably would have been a more emotional goodbye if I hadn’t been desperately trying to avoid hitting the thousands of students I was surrounded by.  I only came close once, when I was backing out of Starbucks, with my Iced Caramel Macchiato for the road.  Thank goodness for the King Ranch and those little back-up beeps!

Xo,
Lauren