This past weekend we received our first big winter storm (and let's face it, in this part of California, it's entirely possible that this might have been our only big winter storm). It poured heavy rain all weekend long, making it a nice time to snuggle indoors and watch movies, but perhaps not particularly conducive to Random Acts of Kindness since by intent, I isolated myself from the world. Still, small things were possible even when facing Noah's flood, pt. 1.
Saturday's was the easier of the two. A friend of mine celebrated a birthday. She lives in Canada, and together we share common interests like reading and volunteering for animal welfare. For her birthday, she was asking people to consider donating to either her animal welfare cause, or if we preferred, something local to us for animal welfare. I knew that she was already familiar (vicariously, via my FB posts) with one of the local shelters I've helped in the past, so for her birthday, I visited the Amazon wishlist for that shelter (Nine Lives Foundation) and purchased 24 jars of Gerber baby food for delivery directly to them. Gerber baby food is used by the shelter for very young kittens, and for the extremely ill cats that can't eat or digest anything more solid. They should be receiving the delivery later this week. Happy birthday, Cindy, and happy eating for the kittehs!
Sunday proved to be a bit more challenging since the rainstorm and general weekend ennui that seemed to grow from the unhappiness of the week before had settled in. I turned on football and started wrapping gifts in preparation to start mailing them, and only slightly thought about what I might do for a RAOK. Given my lack of interaction with the outside world, I thought the day may pass by with nothing to show for it. I was even so lazy that I decided to order pizza so someone else had to cook.
When the knock came (about 20 minutes late so I was a little annoyed), I opened the door to see the smiling face of the deliveryman...the same guy who has been delivering my pizzas (mostly) for 5 years. Maybe more by now. Though occasionally I see someone else, it's usually the same guy, an older guy who speaks English with an accent and knows me well enough to comment "hey it's been a while since I saw you last!" Despite my grumpy mood, despite feeling disgruntled that he was late, I was suddenly faced with a familiar smile extended by someone who I recognized because of years of the familiarity of a regular stranger. What's more, he was dripping wet from the weather that I was choosing to hide from, probably chilled because it's winter and it gets cold (even in California). And still he smiled with genuine pleasure at seeing me.
The bill was $17 for my pizza and soda and the delivery fee. On impulse, I gave him a $5 tip--it's not over the top generous, I know, but it's certainly more than I normally would do for a $17 bill. Since it was on a charge slip, I'm not even sure he knew as he walked away, but I hope it helps. Merry Christmas, Pizza Delivery Guy. See you next time.
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