Story by Jodi Orgill Brown
I bought rocks yesterday. A 10 or 11 year-old girl stood in front of her apartment with a sign, “Rocks for sale.” My first thought was, “if she’s selling rocks, she must not have much else to sell”.
I got out of my car and went to ask about her rocks. She said she’d been there for 2 hours, but no one had even stopped. And that was after she had already gone door to door trying to sell the rocks. Her sign said that each rock was $5, so I grabbed a $20 bill and handed it to her. She sheepishly responded that she didn’t have change for $20. I told her change was not needed as I was going to buy 4 of her beautiful rocks.
Immediately she started to cry. As tears streamed down her face she told me that her family had a cat, but they didn’t have enough money to take care of it. Her mom said the only way they could keep it was if she earned the money for the cat food. She couldn’t believe I was going to buy 4 rocks, but that with the money she would be able to keep her favorite pet. She thanked me profusely, but the tears had already rewarded me well. As I left, she packed up her table and treasures and went inside. All day I thought about the difference $20 made in her life. I think I’ll keep those rocks forever.
When I had my brain tumor, even a little text message could give me hope to keep fighting. No act of kindness is “little” when you are in need. I wish I could buy rocks everyday. 
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