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| Alyssa Josephine O'Neill in red surrounded by family. |
Pay It Forward So We Can Still Believe There Are Truly Good Things In
The World Especially When It Comes to #AJO
By Diana L. Chapman
A couple of weeks back, my family was having a small reunion at
Acapulco for lunch when we spotted a group of men, probably in their 20s and
30s, enjoying beer and margaritas and generally having a good time.
One was leaving about the same time as us and said: "Have a great day" as he started to
put his helmet on and get on his motorcycle. But when he spotted us getting into
my sister Leslie's jeep, he flagged our group. "I saw this when I rode up
and parked here," he pointed to a well-deflated tire on the right front passenger
side.
None us had any idea. We celebrated that Leslie and her son, Chris, had made it
safely off the freeway from San Diego to
San Pedro that day. With plans to return the following morning, Chris helped
her fill up the tire, but it slowly leaked on the way home. When Leslie rolled
into a gas station in San Diego on Monday, there was further bad news -- but
good fortune because of our brief friend.
Every tire on her car was bald. Being under an enormous amount of
stress with work, my sister missed it. All
of us felt indebted that a man took a few seconds to warn us and by doing so, possibly saved
lives. I thought of him frequently
afterward and how such a minuscule seeming suggestion became a lifesaver.
It stayed with me for awhile, before I found my own great opportunity
to pay it forward. Sitting at my doctor's office, an elderly, distressed woman
in a wheel chair rolled in with her young caretaker. The woman was next to
tears trying to get in to see Dr. Anna Mellor that day in Torrance.
"She's back to back patients," the check in woman said.
"But I am so sick," the woman cried. "I really need to
see my doctor."
"There isn't anything open," the hospital clerk said
politely. "There's nothing I can do. I am so sorry."
My appointment was with the same
doctor in the next few minutes. I had
already been checked in and was there to double check on some health issues,
but there wasn't as much urgency to it as there was for this patient. I felt terrible how upset she was and understood
her emotions well. During times I've been extremely ill, I've only wanted to
see my family doctor because she is kind and caring and understands my history.
"Wait," I said to the two women running the desk. "If it
works, I can give this woman my appointment."
The two clerks were stunned and pleased, both giving me smiles. The woman
and her caregiver were also grateful, thanking me. They didn't need to thank me
really. I was just paying it forward as the motorcyclist had done. It's especially
important that we do this now. The times seem devastating, from still trying to
pullout from a deep and dark recession to our government shutting down
embarrassing many citizens of America, we need this breath of fresh air, these
strokes of kindness. I won't even get into the horrific mass shootings across
our nation.
A woman on the news carried a sign for our politicians: "You are
breaking America's heart." I couldn't have agreed more.
What we need right now is
exactly this type of healing, this type
of journey because we are all on it together. Paying it forward reminds us that humanity still has goodness in
its soul. And that's exactly the reminder that the parents of Alyssa Josephine
O'Neill's parents gave us when they touched off an international and viral
movement in regards to their daughter's death.
Their 18-year-old daughter, who suffered from epilepsy and was
diagnosed in 2012, texted her mom on
Sept. 3 that she wanted a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Before her mother
had a chance to grant her daughter's wish, Alyssa had an epileptic seizure and
died on Sept. 4. She didn't get the
chance to delight in the sweet drink.
Devastated, her parents, Jason
and Sarah, felt lost as to what to do. Heartsick, they visited their nearby Starbucks in Erie, Pa. in
honor of their daughter's memory.
They wanted to do something so they shared her last request. They bought pumpkin spice
lattes for 40 other people, according, to various news accounts. All the couple asked for was that their daughter's initials,
#AJO, be written on the cups in her favorite color -- purple.
In response, the Starbucks manager
decided to pass out 50 more free lattes to customers with the AJO brand and the
gifts from the heart exploded across the internet after customers started
asking the baristas what it was all about. The baristas directed them to Alyssa's
Facebook page.
The compassion went global from
there with people picking up restaurant bills, stamping #AJO all over the place
to help spread the word about epilepsy impacting 6.5 million people worldwide Even
an elementary school boy bought books for children at his school who couldn't
afford them -- in honor of #AJO.
Sending the family two kindness
bracelets, a woman's handwritten note on the Facebook page said: "Dear
O'Neill family, I am sincerely sorry for your great loss.Truly you were blessed
for many years and blessings are now flowing to others. Please wear my
bracelets in honor of Alyssa. It is my small effort to spread kindness to
others.With warm regards, Grace."
Pay it forward doesn't have to be
about money or picking up some one's tab. It can be a small gesture like opening
a door for someone or letting someone in a lane. It can be a handwritten note
left on a car telling a person to have a good day or buying some candy for kids
at a store when they are short changed. It can even be kind compliments. There
can never be enough of those. When the world feels dark, these actions can make
us feel there is still light out there, somewhere just waiting for us.
If we do these things, we can share
#AJO for years to come and remember that goodness can still reign in our hearts
and with those that join us.
