One Good Turn

Sometimes a Daily Good Turn takes some effort, and sometimes an opportunity literally blows up in your face.

You've seen the movies where a briefcase full of cash cracks open, or dollars are thrown from a building, or an explosion blasts money through the air, right? Well, this week it happened to me.

After a nice lunch with my family at a restaurant, we were walking down the sidewalk to where our car was parked. My wife and two eagle scout sons were a bit ahead of me. We were walking into a steady headwind. A car had just parked in a spot along the sidewalk and people were getting out as I passed by. The front passenger stepped onto the sidewalk right beside me and closed the door, just as I glanced over in his direction.

As he stepped away on the sidewalk, going the same way I was headed, a fluttering caught my attention in the gutter. A folded stack of dollar bills, certainly more than an inch thick, was unfolding on the pavement and the wind was just starting to flutter off each of the top bills, one by one, sending them scurrying and tumbling along the gutter.

I hollered, "Hey, dude! Wait a minute!" As he looked at me, I pointed to the money. You should have seen the look on his face. He stopped midstride, turned, and bent to pick up the pile - all while saying, "Oh my gosh! Oh no! Oh!"
In the same instant, I changed direction and went to head off the farthest bills before they escaped. They were all $20 bills and there had to be at least 30 of them, probably more. I made sure to keep my hands out in the open in front of me so he wouldn't think I was trying to keep any. We met at his car bumper. I handed him the handful I had gathered and said there was another one way under his car - hey, there's a limit to my good turn doing! He thanked me and I caught up with my family around the corner at our car.

OK, having written it down, it doesn't sound that exciting now. But, I'm glad I had the chance to help someone. If I hadn't been there, he may very well have lost all of it, and whatever it can buy him.

Good Turns are more often not so exciting, but they all make the world a bit better. Keeping an eye open for ways to help others, being aware of your surroundings, and pointing others before yourself are all ways to make finding those opportunities in the world around you.

Scout On