An Arizona man has caught the internet’s attention for paying for an elderly man’s groceries at a supermarket—even after that man had rudely cut in front of him in line.
It can be easy to become irritated when someone jumps ahead of you in line. But for Danny Pineda, a Peoria local who was shopping at the grocery store one day, there’s already enough negativity in the world.
So, when an elderly man callously cut to the front of the checkout line, Pineda gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Because of the distance between him and the cash register, he simply assumed the man didn’t realize he was in line. So Pineda, a local car detailer, said the man didn’t appear to notice him.
“I didn’t say anything maintained my distance,” he said.
The elderly man placed his milk and chocolate chip cookies on the conveyor belt and was about to pay. He reached into his back pocket, paused, and then admitted he'd forgotten his wallet.
“When it was time for him to pay he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a small note pad. He forget his wallet,” Pineda wrote. “He looked a bit disappointed and embarrassed.”
Despite the fact that this stranger had cut in front of him in line, Pineda didn’t hesitate to cover the bill.
“I stepped up and told the cashier I would take care of his groceries,“ he added. ”... He was more then grateful. He thanked me and off he went.”
For Pineda, this was hardly a remarkable moment, just an everyday kind act in passing, for a stranger in need.
But the cashier was amazed by his random act of kindness.
According to Pineda, the cashier looked at him and said, “He cut you off and you paid for his groceries. Why??”
He replied, “I hope that if one day my Dad forgets his wallet someone will step up and buy his Milk and Cookies.”
Pineda’s answer warmed the hearts of many on his Facebook post, which went viral, garnering over 400,000 likes and nearly 260,000 shares.
But for Pineda, it was just another day at the grocery store. He says he shared about this moment on social media because he thought people would want to hear something positive.
“With all the negativity going on in the world,” he added, “I thought it would be nice to share this moment.”
