Good Samaritans in Montana

Today is Good Samaritan Day and I think Montana has more than its fair share of them.  In fact, I had a stranger help me out just a couple of days ago and wanted to give him a shout out.

I won't say the name of the restaurant, because I don't want to get the guy in trouble, but on Sunday, I went to meet some family for dinner.  About 10 seconds after I arrived I realized that I had left my wallet at home.  Luckily, I had given my daughter $20 earlier that day in case the family she was visiting with decided to go out and do something.  She still had all of the money so I told her, "Hey, guess what...you're buying dinner."  The restaurant is a pay now, eat later kind of place and when I placed our order the guy behind the counter said "That'll be 22.32."  I explained to him that I had forgotten my wallet and only had a 20 so he could just take off one of the drinks and the fries.  He took off the fries, gave me the drink and got the .20 remaining balance from the tip jar on the counter.  After we got to the table, we realized he had given us the fries as well.

This guy might have thought I was destitute and had robbed my kid's piggy bank for dinner, or maybe he was just a nice guy and knows what it's like to forget your wallet.  Whatever the case, he went out of his way to be nice knowing that I would be unable to leave any kind of gratuity.

These acts of kindness are infectious.  They remind us that "most people are good" (as wise philosopher, Luke Bryan says).  Of course, the next time I'm in a situation where somebody comes up short, I will no doubt think of that guy behind the counter and do what I can to help.

Since today is the day we recognize and acknowledge good samaritans, feel free to share a story or a shout out in the comments.