(The next few days, I will be posting from the road as my son and I drive back from Iowa to Oregon. Tonight we are in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) 

Offered to help an elderly gentleman with his groceries this morning. An odd thing happened after that. 

Zachary and I woke up in Billings, Montana this morning. The sun was shining and a large plateau to climb. I strapped on my running shoes and struggled my way to the top. At the top there was a trail which offered spectacular views of the valley below. Descending, the campus of Montana State University awaited me. A short trip back to downtown rounded out my run.

As I was walking back towards the hotel, I noticed an elderly gentleman hunched over walking with three plastic bags of groceries. He shuffled along and set the bags down on a cement bench and bent over, a little winded.

I walked up to him. I asked if he would like some help carrying his bags. He turned around and did something I did not expect.

Although he was considerably shorter than me, he reached up and put his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a wide smile and said, “No thank you, I can manage. But I really appreciate your offering to help me.” Then he patted my shoulder a couple of times as we parted.

Clearly, the gentleman was too proud to accept my physical help. But judging from his expression of gratitude for my offer, I think I gave him something better.