The kindness of strangers . . .

Last weekend, I went to my college homecoming. As so often happens, a trip I wasn't sure I wanted to make turned out to be really wonderful. Here's one thing that happened:

A friend and I stopped by the campus bookstore, where I found a backpack I really loved. I wasn't sure it would fit my laptop, and inquired about the return policy. The shopkeeper said if he rung up the purchase, I would only be able to get store credit if I returned the backpack. So he suggested an alternative: that I take the pack without paying for it, and either return it or pay for it the next day. Mind you, this man had never met me before. I insisted that he take my business card so he would have a record of who took the pack. It actually fit my laptop and camera perfectly and returned the next day to pay for it.

I was really touched by the level of trust displayed by this storekeeper. My college is in a fairly small town, but not that small. The faith the storekeeper showed was simple and sweet and beautiful.