If you’ve ever had a card declined while making a payment, you know the sheer panic that sets in when you literally have to dig up money from somewhere to pay for your purchase. Or when you go to pay for something and your bank card isn’t where it usually is.
Tyson Crawley experienced the panic AFTER he’d already filled up his gas tank, then grabbed a couple cups of coffee. He went to pay the cashier only to realize he hadn’t put his brand new bank card—which was linked to all of his funds—back into his wallet.
Tyson Crawley
He started to freak out as he flipped through his wallet for a back up. He had a joint account but couldn’t remember his pin.
“My dog was barking wildly, I had to get to work, and I was starting to freak.”
That’s when the man who had previously been in line in front of Tyson, walks back into the shop and asks, “Do you need some money?”
“I replied, ‘No, no, no! I just can’t remember my pin!’” Tyson recalls.
That’s when the guy walked over to him and said, ‘It’s fine.’
“I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but he walked around me towards the register. Within a second, I realized [what he was doing] and said, ‘No, no, no please! It’s ok! I have the money I just can’t remember my pin!’
The attendant at the register was just as [shocked] as me. He replies, ‘It’s a free country isn’t it? I can help a brother out, can’t I?’
I was absolutely stunned, I couldn’t believe it, [the bill was more than] $110! Not an amount we just throw away.”
The stranger spent a little more time convincing Tyson that it was okay, and knowing he was out of options, he gratefully accepted the guy’s gesture.
Tyson begged for his phone number so he could contact him and pay him back as soon as possible. The man grabbed a pen and the receipt to write on.
Overwhelmed by everything that had just happened, Tyson asked to take a picture with the man.
Tyson Crawley
The two said their goodbyes, but Tyson was still speechless.
“I turned around to the attendant and she said, ‘Well that doesn’t happen everyday!’”
As he walked out to his car, Tyson opened the receipt to look at his name and number.
Tyson Crawley
The man simply wrote, “John. Pass it on.”
The only condition he required for his help was not repayment but to pay it forward.
Touched by John’s actions, Tyson shared the story on his Facebook page, and hopes everyone who sees it would remember this:
“Please be beautiful people, and remember it’s not about keeping up with the Joneses, having the biggest house, most expensive car, the largest bank account. [Instead], work with each other. After all, what is money compared to the quality of human life?”
