Strangers on a Bus

I bring you the first documented account of someone delivering a package to a stranger! I must commend the bravery and generosity of this person. Really great stuff! Read their tale below.

Firstly, I received the package and was excited to open it up. After reading through the well illustrated pages I began to feel nervous. I’m generally a pretty easy going guy but the thought of trying to give a stranger a nondescript package and walk away was interesting. I wanted it to be a stranger – I feel as though that passes the message on better, has more impact and it truly is about just paying it forward and knowing nothing is coming back your way (maybe a thank you and some good karma).

As opposed from going about my normal day and driving to uni I thought I’d jump on the bus.. better chance to interact with someone. I picked a woman, about 35 years old and talking on the phone. After she got off her mobile I asked her if I could borrow her phone to make a quick call as my phone had just died (that was a lie). I suppose I was attempting to qualify her and know the stork would be passed on, even if only once more. I wouldn’t have walked away if she said no, I wanted to gauge though how she would react. Without hesitating she offered me her phone. I said “thank you”, and after a moment said “actually can you hold that for a second while I grab something”. It all became just a little more weird from here.

People around us started to look as I did my best to explain to this woman why I was trying to give her a mysterious object, in a box, with something rigid inside wrapped in an envelope. Very apprehensively she says “is this a bomb?”. Deviating for a moment I think some design aspects could be modified. Was a little confusing and can give away a surprise if you write what you gave them in the ledger – a lot to type so if ever you had a chance for to Skype would be great to talk.

After the initial awkward moments of my poor explanations and her puzzled questions (like, “is this stolen?”, “are you sure it’s not stolen”, “ok but what if it’s stolen, why would you give me this if it were yours”) she was smiling with her new (second hand but in near new condition) iPod touch as well as some foreign currency and a little note. The iPod was used rarely since I bought my phone. Was an upgrade from the tattered mp3 player she had clipped on her shirt.

My stop arrived and I just told her to have a great day and to pay it forward.

A nice lady that left me with a smile all day. I still think about who the stork is and what’s happening out there. Would love to hear the stories.

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