Chain of Love

[ahimel]

I want to share a game I've been playing for a while. I'm bad at it so far, but I'm getting better.

It's based on the song "Chain of Love" by Clay Walker.

You don't owe me a thing.
I've been there too ....
if you really want to pay me back, here's what you do:
don't let the chain of love end with you.

Here's the way it works. When a perfect stranger does something for you for which you cannot pay them back (or they won't let you pay them back) then you've been linked. Your job is to pass the gift on in some way. It can be a physical gift, a monetary contribution, or some sort of assistance. I'm starting this thread for people to post things people have done for them, and (later) what they did for other people.

Here are my two stories. They're small, but they illustrate the idea.

This summer, I was taking a walk down by a shopping center near my home. As I passed the Atlanta Bread Company, I decided to see if I could buy a roll. It was near the end of the pay period, so I didn't have much cash, but I only needed $.78. Unfortunatly, when I pulled all of my change out of my various pockets and purses, I came up with $.65.
An older gentleman had been watching me dig through my pack, and as I started to leave, he asked, "Have enough?"
I said, "Not quite."
So he pulled out a dollar bill and handed it to me. It's a tiny gift, but it made my entire day and restored my faith in humanity.

It took me about 6 months to find a way to pay it back (I told you I was bad at it!) and I ended up doing so in 2 pieces:
In the retail store where I work, as I was walking the floor a few days ago, I passed a couple of girls, one of whom was saying, "I don't have the 99 cents." I stopped and pulled the change out of my pocket; it totaled $.28. I asked her if 28 cents would help, and she said it would, so I gave it to her.

Then yesterday, as I was riding the employee shuttle out to the parking lot from work, one of the other employees asked if anyone knew what the toll was from our mall to the airport. No one did, but I called my parents (who take the toll road frequently) and they said it was $6.00. When I relayed this information, she checked her purse and discovered that she had $5.50 in quarters. So I dug through my pocket and found that I had $.50 in quarters, which I gave to her.

Having now been on both ends of the process, I've discovered that, as happy as the man's gift made me, being able to help other people out of their dilemmas made me even happier. I'm hoping to get linked again soon, and I'll be looking for ways to start chains in the meantime.

So post your own stories about chains you're in or chains you've started. The only requirements are that you do something for a stranger, and that you do it with no expectation or intention to be repaid.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by ahimel

Having now been on both ends of the process, I've discovered that, as happy as the man's gift made me, being able to help other people out of their dilemmas made me even happier.

No stories to report (yet), but I wanted to remark on that because a revelation struck me as I read it: we don't really like to receive. It's much more enjoyable to give.