No Good Deed Goes...?
Do we live in such a cynical and untrusting world that it is impossible for one person to perform an act of kindness towards another person, even if this person is a stranger? Is it ruder to think that the person who has performed this act of kindness expects nothing in return, or is it ruder to assume that whoever performed this act of kindness was motivated by or expected something in return?
So, let me tell you the back story...On Wednesday, while I was in Orlando (or Tampa, as it was on this particular day), we decided to go to the beach. After we had packed up to go back to the condo and were walking to the parking lot, we found a cellular phone chillin there in the sand, sans owner.
With no life guard presence or visitors center there at that beach, there wasn't anyone I could turn the phone over to. Figuring how much it would suck to lose a cell phone, I tried the only thing I could think of -- I called the last person that the phone owner called. Luck had it, the phone started dialing "Mom's" number. After I quickly explained the situation to "mom", she chuckled and told me that was a funny joke. She thought I was her daughter's friend who was there at the beach with her daughter. After a bit more convincing, "mom" finally believed that I was a complete stranger in possession of her daughter's Nextel phone. "Mom" suggested that I call "Jamie", whose voice I so sounded like.
A quick search through the contacts list of the Nextel phone I was holding yielded a phone number for "Jamie". "Jamie" pretty much knew what was up as soon as she picked up the phone, since she could clearly see that her friend, "Robin", who was driving the car was not the one who was calling her even though the caller ID probably said "Robin".
It took "Robin" and "Jamie" about ten minutes to return to the beach parking lot so that I could return the phone to them. When they pulled up, "Robin" was on the phone, presumably "Jamie's". I walked up, greeted "Jamie" and handed her "Robin's" phone. I bid them a good day, then I walked back to where the rest of the family was congregating.
"Robin" rushed out of the car, came over to thank me, and tried to give me money. I insisted that it was not necessary, but then she placed the money on the ground in front of me, and hurried back to her car. At that moment, I must confess I was a little miffed. I wasn't quite sure how to react -- I wasn't sure if I should have been offended or pleasantly surprised.
I honestly did not want this poor girl's money. All I wanted was to return her phone. Is it so hard to do something nice in today's world?
3 Comments:
I would say we don't, but I guess some people see it that way, and you seem to too. I mean, if you ask me, there was nothing rude in what the girl did. You returned her cellphone to her, and she wanted to thank you in some way. And so her leaving some money was that way. I don't think it was meant to be rude, even though that seems to be the way you ended up taking it. If that's the case, aren't you the one interpreting her act of kindness in a negative way. I would have just opted for feeling pleasantly surprised. I mean, would you have felt better if she just showed up, took her phone, and left?
I have to agree with anonymous there. There's nothing rude about offering money to somebody who has done a good deed unsolicited, any more than there's something rude about you returning her phone unsolicited in the first place.
No, I agree that there was nothing rude about the girl offering me money as a way of saying thank you. I certainly wasn't offended. I would have done the same thing. My reaction was more to the fact that I wish she didn't force the money on me. I really meant it when I insisted to her that the money wasn't necessary -- I just wanted her to have her phone back. The money in some ways adulterated the interaction. Just random musings...I didn't feel as strongly about the whole incident as the blog may have suggested...just something to think about...
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