If you’re not a member of the Facebook forums, you probably haven’t taken notice to the new trend happening around Vail and Rita Ranch. People – strangers – are paying it forward.
Here’s how it works. A customer decides to open his/her wallet with generosity. While at a Dunkin’ Donuts, Freddy’s or any other local drive thru, he/she lets the cashier know about the plan to pay for the next person in line. When the next unsuspecting person in line pulls forward, their day is made because of the kindness of a stranger.
It seems there’s a new story about this happening every week. A person takes to Facebook to publicly say ‘thank you’ to the stranger who picked up his/her tab. No one takes credit for the act. Instead, many people ‘like’ and comment with praise.
Still, there’s no glory in the act. It’s selfless. The person is never given public recognition. Instead, he/she does it to show kindness to a neighbor and brighten up someone else’s day.
And that’s not what makes it newsworthy. It’s the frequency at which it’s happening in our community that’s so endearing.
Paying it forward isn’t a new concept. There was a movie made about it. Plenty of restaurants around the country encourage it. In 2014, over 750 paid it forward at a Starbucks in Florida. It made national news.
There’s a pizza shop in Philadelphia that encourages paying it forward too. If a customer can afford to buy an extra slice of pizza, they do so. Then, a post-it note is hung on the wall. If another customer walks in who cannot afford the pizza, they take a post-it note and get a hot meal.
Now, it appears this trend has hit Vail and Rita Ranch. Will it continue? We can only hope so.
