If you are in the Washington, DC area today (Friday) pick up a copy of the Washington Post. There is terrific story about the Year of Giving by Susan Kinzie in the Metro section. NPR’s Rebecca Sheir (WAMU 88.5FM) is also doing a story that will be aired on NPR’s Metro Connection at 1pm.
My car got a flat last week because of a pot hole in the parking lot of Target in Seven Corners, VA. The last thing I need right now is to pay for new tires.
I went over to Costco’s Tire Center to get two new tires placed on the car. I got there a half hour before they opened so that I could be first in line and that way I could get out of there quickly as I had a ton of things to do that day.
As it turns out, I was not the first one there. Lysa was sitting in her SUV when I arrived. Somebody else had the same idea.
Since I had some time before they opened I decided to see if Lysa would take my $10.
She was sitting in her vehicle reading her Kindle, which she said she loves. She was there to get her tires rotated and balanced.
It turns out that she is a personal shopper for Nordstrom department store. She loves her job. She has been doing this since the 90s when she did advance work for Clinton and Gore.
There are no photos or video of Lysa. She told me that there was no way that I was getting a picture of her in her “I’m just going to Costco” outfit.
She told me that she was going to put the $10 toward a care package that she is putting together for the mother of one of her children’s friends who is serving in the US military in Afghanistan. What a thoughtful use of the $10.
So…here is where my $10 gift turns into a net loss of $32.
At about this time there are numerous people waiting outside for the Tire Center to open. I start to wonder if they will just try to pretend like they were her before Lysa and me. There were no such issues and we go in only to find out that I have left my wallet at home (I keep the $10 in the inner pocket of a little notebook I carry around). The Costco employee says that he can not start the work until I pay and present my membership card. I was able to go over and get a temporary card at the Customer Service Center but I still had no way to pay for the tires up front. I asked if he would make an exception and start the work and then I would take the Metro back to my house, get my wallet and come back and pay for it. He agreed…but just one little problem. I had no money on me whatsoever. I had just given away all the money I had on me. So I could not take the Metro and was forced to take a taxi back to DC to my condo where I ran in to get my wallet and paid the driver. It cost me $20. Then I had to Metro back over to Costco…another $2.
Oh well…I got a $22 reminder to always take my wallet with me!
Year of Giving 