Help of a Stranger

There are still a few nice people that are willing to help a stranger in need.  I was blessed by a nice man who helped me out at the gas station today.  I am so thankful for someone that would go out of his way to help me out. 

That being said let me say that I am starting to really HATE Wal-Mart's gas station.  If the gas there was not several cents cheaper (and by several I mean 10 cents per gallon less than the gas in the town that I work in) I would not go there.  The story really begins about two months ago, when I tried to get gas at Wal-Mart.  My credit card was declined so I thought I would use a check.  Well I went to pay the guy and he said that my check was declined .  I had no way to pay so I left my drivers license and went to the house to get some cash to pay for the gas.  He had given  a little card with a number to call and wrote code 7 on it.  I called the number that day and was told that my check was declined for my protection and that there was no negative reason that my check was declined.  I thought ok that was odd, but on the the credit card.  I called the company and found out that they had placed a hold on my card b/c of  suspicious activity.  There was a fraudulent charge on it and since we had shut off our land line they could not contact us.  So I thought that must have been the problem with the check.

I have written checks at several other locations that all run the checks through the electronic clearing thing and have had no problems.  I have even written them at Wal-Mart.  So I thought that the problem was cleared up.  I really needed gas today and I did not have my wallet but I had my check book.  Well that was a mistake.  I pumped my gas and went to pay.  The guy ran my check and told me the same thing and handed me the same piece of paper.  Well this time I didn't even have my license so I was about to panic.  I told the guy that I could leave my keys and walk down to Wal-Mart to cash a check.  Now I hope you realize that Josiah is sitting in the car while all this is going on (and yes it is still 100+ degrees here).  I am trying not to get mad at the guy because I know that he is just doing his job, but I am really frustrated.

Now on to the point of this post.  The guy that was standing behind me stepped up and asked me how much my gas was.  I told him $34 and he told me that I could write him a check and he would pay for my gas.  I was so thankful, I kept asking him if he was sure that he didn't mind.  It is so nice to know that there are people that are willing to help a stranger.  I wrote the man a check and thanked him and was able to go back to the car and check on Josiah.  He was sitting there pointing at all the trucks that were driving by and laughing.

I hope that I will have the chance to pay his kindness forward.