by Roger Pynn
My daily indulgence – a steaming cup of my favorite Panera Bread coffee – became extra special today when I got to share breakfast with someone I “met” last night.
He lives out of a gym bag. Last night I saw him sleeping on a bench as I left the Winn-Dixie that abuts our gated community and thought “how did he get here … to a neighborhood of fortunate families so far from what we think of as where ‘they’ gather?” I thought about him most of the night, and then there he was standing aimlessly outside Panera … gym bag in hand, blanket over his shoulders, staring nowhere.
One of my favorite counter girls at Panera greeted me with a “Merry Christmas,” but was surprised when I asked her to prepare a breakfast sandwich “all the way” and sell me a large cup of coffee to go in addition to my daily refill. “It’s for the homeless fellow out there.”
When it was ready, she said “no charge for the coffee. God bless you.”
We both gave ourselves this morning. He whispered “thank you. Merry Christmas,” when I told him there was a bit of cash inside the bag so “don’t throw it away after breakfast.”
You can Give Yourself so many ways. Please, keep giving.
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December 24, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Wow. This is the kind of stuff you see in movies :^) Awesome post Roger. And your right along with the give yourself project, we should seek opportunities to do random acts of kindness throughout the year.
One day coming from work I gave this lady a ride to the bus stop (which is something I never do!) It was quite a bit away on foot and she was telling me that she just started going back to school and didn’t want to miss the bus and be late for class. She had to be in her late 40s or early 50s. She thanked me and I never really thought about it after that but looking back now, it’s neat to know that I made a difference in someone’s life with just a small gesture of “self giving”. All I did was go with my gut and seize an opportunity.
February 4, 2009 at 6:53 am
Mr. Pynn, this is a great post. I wanted you to know that speaking with you today really gave me encouragement for my career. It is rare for a partner to take the time to speak to a fellow prospective PR professional simply out of kindness. (And at the end of a workday!)
I too, am very involved in the helping others as I started my own nonprofit organization. Thus, this post really resonates to me I truly looking forward to meeting you once I move to Florida this summer.