Local generosity contagious

Kendra Beevers pulled forward at the McDonald’s drive-thru Tuesday morning, and found out another customer had paid it forward.

“I wanted to cry. I still want to cry,” she said of finding out the driver in front of her paid for her meal.

Beevers cares for her fiancé, who recently suffered a brain injury.  Frequent trips from her home in Santa Rosa to Clovis for doctor’s appointments, plus other stresses associated with caretaking, had gotten to her. Tuesday morning was one of those down days where the pressure was overwhelming.

“I was depressed, very depressed. I just felt lost, you know, and that just restored my whole faith in humanity. It just made me feel so good,” the 49-year-old said.

“She caught me on the most perfect day. It restores my faith and I wanted to find someway to say thank you. She made me believe again.”

Cashier Susan Jones said it was the first time this year she has had a customer pay for a stranger’s meal, but she’s seen it before in 19 years at the restaurant.

“It’s nice,” said Jones, who admitted the incident made her feel good too. “Giving is better than receiving.”

The mystery woman pulled up to the window and asked the next driver’s total, then, “She gave me the money and said tell them ‘God bless,’” Jones said.

When Beevers pulled forward, “I told her, ‘Your order’s already been paid’ and ‘Merry Christmas,’” Jones said, describing Beevers as “astounded.”

Beevers intends to repay the kindness by doing a deed for another stranger — a concept widely regarded as “paying it forward.”

Acts of random generosity have been reported nationwide by the hundreds —  a Des Moines dry cleaning shop owner began refunding random customer’s bills, asking they pay it forward. At Iowa and California Starbuck’s customers have taken to paying for each other’s coffee — especially as citizens prepare for the holidays in trying economic times.

Dana Albright, a psychology instructor at Clovis Community College, said there are many reasons people do the things they do and those reasons can be complex.

And sometimes it isn’t.

“It may just be because they feel like doing something nice,” said Jennifer Boyd, who owns the Coffee Depot on 21st Street.

Boyd said Curry County Sheriff’s deputy Dean Marney has an account with the drive-up coffee shop and frequently pays anonymously for other customers’ coffee.

“He will tell us, ‘The next person that looks down and out, pay for their coffee,’” she said.

Marney said he has treated strangers to coffee for years, and said he has memories of a good Samaritan that would anonymously pay for his and other officer’s meals at a local diner in years past.

“I do it, I’m guilty,” he said, laughing. “It’s kind of fun because you brighten up somebody’s day. I just do it because I do truly believe that if a stranger paid for your coffee, would that not make your day?”

The kindness is contagious, Boyd said, explaining her staff often make donations for holiday funds and engage in other acts of kindness in the community.

While he said there’s no exact answer to why people do nice things, Albright said a person may feel a neurological, cognitive or social stimulation through an act of kindness.

Regardless of the reasons, kindness reaches people, and Albright said he believes a Pay it Forward concept can work.

“That’s just great that people do that... Most people want to help other people, especially this time of year,” he said. “I’m sure people appreciate that and they won’t forget it.”

Fast facts:

The Pay it Forward concept, as it has come to be known, became popularized through a 2000 Warner Brothers movie of the same name. In the movie, a 12-year-old boy devised a plan to grow kindness exponentially. The premise is that he does three good deeds for people with the condition that they must do good deeds for three other people, setting off a chain reaction of kindness.

— Source: www.imdb.com

In history — The pay it forward concept, traditionally termed “Alternative Giving,” has historical roots. In 1784, Benjamin Franklin loaned money to Benjamin Webb, writing Webb a letter that instructed him to pass the money on to an “honest man” in need instead of repaying the debt to Franklin.

— Source: www.wisegeek.com.