Little Things Matter

Among the huge array of things I do for a living is a monthly meter reading route. It goes through a large neighborhood of some of the less expensive housing in our community–if there is a thing such as “inexpensive” these days! Each month I encounter one fellow. He’s never dressed fancy. He drives an old truck. He’s not too particular about his shaving. He has one of the smaller homes in the neighborhood. He wouldn’t stand out to most people, but he stands out to me.

He is kind.

At the very least, he waves and shouts a “hello!” to me when he sees me on my rounds. Usually there’s a 5-minute conversation break when he’s home and pops out when I’m there checking the meter. Other times, if he misses me at his place, he’ll spot me a few streest over where he’s visiting with friends. He rides his bicycle around the neighborhood with a sweet, small, curly-haired mutt dog with a massive underbite in the basket.

Yesterday he was about to drive away from his house when I rounded the corner to read the meter. He put it in park, jumped out, ran over to his rose bush, picked a beautiful little rose and handed it to me with a wish for a beautiful day. Then he hopped back in his truck and away he went.

Someday I won’t be the meter reader on this route. But I’m sure I’ll remember this man who is kind and makes a dent on the world not with fame, prestige, power, money or debonair looks. He does it with simple kindness. I hope I can dent the world with kindness like that too.