The Quarter Encounter

         How my day started today is nothing short of boring.

         As I was approaching the machine to validate my coaster ticket, two commuters were ahead of me. By the ticket machine, there was also a stranger who I surmised to be one of us. This stranger seemed to be fidgeting. She said something to the first lady who was standing ahead of me but I couldn’t hear what she said. As soon as she finished, the lady headed off toward the platform.

          After validating her ticket, the second lady headed to the coaster as well. As she passed by the stranger, I heard the latter say, “Do you have spare change?”

         Perhaps the lady said something but I didn’t hear her reply. She headed straight to the coaster. It was my turn to validate my ticket. As I was doing this, the stranger said to me, “Do you have a quarter?”

         I was thinking about what she said as I was pulling my ticket out of the machine but she didn’t wait for me to answer…

         “Are you going to help me or not?”

         Then I thought, Why not, I think I have a quarter to spare and pulled one from my pocketbook.

         “Don’t get angry,” I said as I handed her the quarter.

         She gave me a forced smile and said, “It’s only a quarter.”

         I couldn’t let her get away with that, so, as I was walking away, I said, “Be nice. You’re asking for help.”

         “You’re rude!”

         “Just be thankful, lady.”

         “Jesus Christ, what’s the big deal about a f-----g quarter, idiot?

         “Obviously, you need it.”

         Now I’m thinking as I was heading towards the coaster, I should have just ignored her like the two ladies ahead of me did. I would have spared myself this annoyance.

         As I was stepping up to the door, Ricky, the conductor, and Gordon, the engineer, were both at the door shooting the breeze.

         “What’s the frown doing in your beautiful face?”

         “Oh, Ricky, there’s a woman over by the validating machine who is pandering for some loose change. I handed her a quarter. Instead of thanking me, she bit my head off!”

         “Oh, is she still yelling over there?” Another commuter piped in.

         “I’m not sure if she’s yelling, but what a way to start my day.”

         Sitting there, quietly, upon reflection, I was perplexed at my behavior. I did not feel blessed for helping out a lady in need. I felt as though I gave half-heartedly and it wasn’t the Good Samaritan way. I was disappointed with my behavior. I had to ask myself why I stooped to her level instead of taking the high road.

         The more I thought about it, the more questions crowded my mind. How can I prepare myself for the unknown, the unfamiliar, the unusual or the nuances of daily living? I felt wanting in my people skills because maybe I had not handled the incident compassionately. How else should I have handled it? Ignore her like the other two women did? Hand her the quarter and say nothing? Was my reaction unusual? Did my kindly act turn into a sour note?

         Now, here is the bizarre twist. When I got to my desk at work my eyeballs bugged out of their sockets. A quarter was sitting on my mouse pad, as though saying, “Good morning, here I am, I made it back.”

         My first thought was that maybe June, our office supervisor, had placed that quarter there the night before for some reason. Or, maybe it was the quarter that Virgie gave me the other day for the cottage cheese we needed for our diet program. Or, it fell out of my coin purse the day before.

         I couldn’t wait for June and Virgie to get in so I could verify my suspicions. June said she had nothing to do with it and neither did Virgie. It dawned on me then that I was undergoing some extraordinary and unknown encounter beyond human reason.

         Was this telling me that I instantly get back what I give? Or that whatever I gave will come back to me in strange ways? Or the act of giving reaches beyond what I can imagine? Or, perhaps, I entertained an angel without knowing it?

         As I narrated this strange phenomenon to Ricky, Gordon, and my seatmates, on the coaster that night, they were all amazed at how I handled the situation with the woman but I still felt that I did a lousy thing.

         Whatever that act of kindness meant, whether to the lady who needed a quarter; or to me, the giver of the quarter, I received my reward in manifold ways. They all told me I did the right thing and June offered me a free cup of coffee at break time. So, my days are bright and wonderful and I am at peace with the world.