Have you ever loaned someone a few dollars and not expected it back? Most of us have at one time or another. This incident took place at a fast food restaurant on Broadway in Fountain City.

A fast food place is ideal for someone to start out or start over. It is at or near the bottom of the work ladder. If you have never worked before, and your education is minimal, you might begin your work history here. If you are retired and have fallen on hard times, they will hire you, too. If you are fresh out of prison or re-hab and especially if you're a woman, this is it.

I fit somewhere in the above categories. I was retired and knew the manager. Who else would hire a seventy-five year old widow? My duties involved prepping or cooking most of the food that went out to the front.

In the kitchen, I had opportunities to interact with all the other employees. They called me “Granny.” As such, I took under my ample wings those who had a hard time working with the other fast food workers. People can be cruel, even in a place where no one was anywhere near perfect. I remember a bi-polar lady who had a hard time getting along, but this story is not about her.

I especially remember the day a fortyish woman came to work there. Her husband had just been released from prison. They were back together, starting over. We all have been on the down side of life at some point. She turned out to be a good worker and a nice person.

This story is about her first day on the job. About an hour before the shift ended, she approached me. “Could I borrow five dollars from you? I had enough gas to get here, but not enough to get back home.,” she asked. “I will pay you back out of my first paycheck.”

“Sure thing,” I replied, and handed her a five dollar bill. Would I ever see that five dollar bill again? Probably not. Understanding her circumstances, I wrote it off as helping someone.

I forgot about the loan. She did not. After cashing her first check on her lunch break, she came looking for me. She handed me a five dollar bill with a smile, saying, “Thanks for helping me out.” “No, thank YOU,” I thought.

Whenever I entered that restaurant in the next few years, she was the first one to come out to greet me. Who have you helped lately?