Small Town Kindness

I love unexpected heartfelt moments that happen in my life. This particular one happened in the small town of Mount Airy, NC. Mayberry..... home of one of my favorite shows to this day, Andy Griffith. My husband, my dog Eli, and myself stopped for an overnight visit during our summer vacation. I had wanted to visit here for a long time so I was super excited. We checked out of our motel and headed for the downtown area. Main street was just as charming as I had been told. The quaint shops were nestled all together on both sides of the street. I was in heaven. Ricky and Eli waited patiently for me on the benches outside of the shops. The day was hot. No....... sweltering. By the way, I have the BEST husband. Since Eli couldn't go into the stores, he waited with him outside in the heat. And he didn't complain once. As I have said before, he may not be a candy/flowers kind of guy, but I have never doubted his love for me. When I am happy, he is genuinely happy. Means much more than flowers to me....:) Anyways, back to Mayberry. As I went from shop to shop I noticed an older, shabbily dressed man walking up and down the street, stopping to ask people for money. Most people would either ignore him or shake their heads no at him. In fact I never saw anyone give him money. It was obvious that he was a regular beggar on the streets in this town. To be honest, my initial reaction was that of most. Every town has them. They just want money for drugs. They can work just like I do. The charm of the shops took my attention away from this beggar as I made my way from one piece of heaven to another. After about an hour and a half, I was feeling pretty sorry for my sweating hubby and pup, so I decided to call it a day. There was one final thing I had to do though and that was to go to Snappy's and get me a famous pork chop sandwich. Mind you I was not hungry. My husband even protested a little saying, "We just ate breakfast....how can you be hungry? And LOOK at that line! Do you have to?!" Now, if you know me at all, I am never going to go to a place that boasts that they have a famous anything and not try it. It's not going to happen. My husband knows this too so he just sighed and plopped back down on the bench. Eli plopped too. He also knows me well:) Almost every seat in the little diner was full and there was a line to order. There was no stopping me. When it was my turn, I happily ordered one pork chop sandwich to go. "How would you like it, hon?" asked the waitress in her best southern drawl. "Just the famous way it comes!" I replied. She smiled as she yelled to the back, "one to go all the way!" I took a seat to wait for my delicacy. That was when I noticed the door open and in walked the beggar, dirty, sweaty, and smelly. He looked at no one but walked past the tourists and took the only seat left in the corner of the diner. Because of the crowd and because of his smell, I was sure that one of the waitresses would ask him to leave. But that is not what happened. Instead, a woman who I believe to be the owner noticed him through all of the busyness and said, "Hey Bill. You need a drink of water?" The poor man didn't even look up but nodded his sweaty head. I looked around the restaurant. No one seemed to be paying attention to this scenario. She filled a cup and took him the water which he could not get down fast enough. Then he just sat there, looking at no one. All I could think of at the moment was, wow. The owner of this place could have very well run this nuisance of a man out of her crowded establishment with good reason and she chose not to. Instead she chose to give him a drink of water. Wow. I don't cry much but when I do it is usually at the most inopportune times. And when no one else is. As I dabbed my eyes and tried not to look like a nut, I heard the waitress say, "Here's your sandwich hon." My $4 famous pork chop sandwich that I was GOING to eat even if I wasn't hungry. As I was paying, I asked the waitress, "I heard that man begging for money earlier. Do you think he is hungry?" "Probably," she replied. " If we have any leftover biscuits and gravy, the owner will usually give him some."

I nodded, took my change and made my way out into the heat. "I sure hope that sandwich is worth it" Ricky said as we drove away. I smiled as I unwrapped my treasure. The famous sandwich was indeed good but the feeling inside my heart was so much better. I love it when I feel that I am changed because of a certain moment in time. When my faith is restored in the realness of a situation. That the small town of Mayberry is not just a place that we wish existed, it does. We just need to open our eyes wide enough to actually see it. I hope to return to "Mayberry" some day. If you are ever in that area, be sure to go to Snappy's for lunch. Good folks work there:) As for the beggar? I hope he enjoyed his pork chop sandwich as much as I did mine:)