Small things

Once a month, I drive ~250 mi and work in Seattle. Usually leave on Friday or Saturday, come home Sunday. Gives me a chance to see friends, maybe a fun thing or two, as well as work.

This time, I got to hang out with a good friend of mine around the university. As we were walking, deciding on dinner we passed a convenience store with a... Well, very likely a bum, sitting out front. My friend and I turn to go in and the bum speaks up.

Now, both of us figured he was going to ask for change. It's what most of them do. This man was different. He asked if one of us would be kind enough to surprise him with one of two beverages. Either Dairygold's chocolate or strawberry milk.

Change, I'd turn down. Beer I'd turn down. But milk? I can spare the ~$3 for that. Especially for the look of shear delight on his face when I handed him a bottle of strawberry milk.

After dinner, my friend and I are headed back to his place when a piece of paper on the ground catches my eye. Pausing to look at it, I quickly realize what I thought looked like an acct number is actually a social security number. Somebody had dropped their social security benefits statement.
For those that don't know, there's easily enough information on that document for anybody to commit identity fraud.

Quick check of the address (and nothing else) reveals they're more than a bit of a walk from here. That letter is getting remailed along with a note of where it was find and a recommendation to check for identity theft.

Both of these things are small acts. I didn't even think about posting then until I was talking with others about the path in general. I was reminded; it's not about the big things, but the little ways you change your life to help others. Will these count toward my seasonal total? Not unless I do a lot more of them. Like 10 total. But the thing to remember is not every act needs to be big. It's about how you live your life.