My bro, Scotty O, posted this story on Facebook this morning, and I felt that this story was so amazing that I needed to steal it from his Facebook for my blog! So, apparently, a bunch of anonymous donors have been going to K-Mart stores, in particular, to pay off random layaway plans for families who are less fortunate, so that they have presents for their children this holiday season. How can that not bring you to tears?
One story that I read that really stuck out was one of a young father who was standing in line at the K-Mart Layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn out boots, with his three small children in tow. When he got to the counter and asked to pay something on his bill because he knew that he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas, a mysterious woman stepped in front of him and told him, "No, I'm paying for it!" The young man just stood there in disbelief looking at the person behind the counter and looking at the woman, who rudely stepped in front of him. He asked if this was some sort of joke, but the person behind the counter said that it wasn't and that the woman was paying for him. The young man then burst out into tears thanking the woman. Before she left the store, the woman, in her mid-40s, had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills to people, and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register. The woman was said to be doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died. She said that she wasn't going to be able to spend it, and wanted to make people happy with it. The woman did not identify herself, and asked people to "rememeber Ben", obviously her late husband.
At K-Mart stores across the country, it seems Santa is getting some help this year as anonymous donors are paying off stranger's layaway accounts, buying Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothing that's been put aside by impoverished parents. Most of these donors are doing it secretly, unlike the story I just shared with you. The phenomenon had begun at a Michigan store and has since spread to Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, and Montana.
I can go on and on with the stories, but the bottom line is that this might be the most touching thing that I've seen in quite some time. Especially with the economy the way it is! Hearing stories like this, how can you not help being in the Christmas spirit? Now, who wants to donate and pay for my bills?
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