windinthemaples

I'm never there to catch their reactions. I'll never know the impact of my action, but for several weeks now I've been paying for other people's food. Driving through Starbucks with two sleeping kids in the car or cruising through Taco Bell for a last-minute mealtime, I've made it a point when I get to the window to say, "I'll pay for the car behind me, too."

The cashiers don't question me. It is surprisingly simple to do. I collect my order and drive off without looking back.

I'll never know, but I often wonder about what people think. Do they think someone in the car ahead of them was flirting? Does it make them smile and reengage with their day in a new, more positive way? It probably doesn't matter, financially, to someone able to afford the luxury of fast food, but does it help them in ways they didn't realize they needed help? Does it make them think, each time they return to that place, of the one time they arrived at the window to discover a stranger had paid for their meal? Will they think to pay for someone behind them someday?

I'll never know. I hope, though, that they might rethink their opinion of the world and its inhabitants. I hope they feel a moment, no matter how miniscule, of wonder.