It’s the Cowboy Way

 One of the many reasons I enjoy volunteering at our shop, is that I get to witness random acts of kindness. This is one of those acts.
On a Saturday, I was behind the counter when a gentleman, who donned a well-worn cowboy hat, jeans and a prominent western belt buckle, came up and asked to see some jewelry we had on display. As he inspected a bracelet, a caregiver wheeled over an elderly woman to the counter. She too, was admiring the pieces we had placed in our case. The woman began to share that she could no longer use her walker and had resigned herself that she was now wheel chaired bound, but it did put her just at the right height to see the beautiful jewelry.
The cowboy had been overhearing what the woman was sharing. He leaned down next to her and asked; “Which piece do you find pretty?” The woman pointed to a necklace made of jet-black glass beads. The cowboy agreed that it was lovely.
As I rung up the cowboy’s purchases, he quietly asked me to add the necklace to his bill and to give it to the elderly lady after he had left the shop. As he stepped out of the door, I took the price tag off and placed the necklace around the woman’s neck and said; “This is a gift from that gentleman you just met.”
Tears instantly sprung from the old woman’s eyes. “Oh my, no one has ever done something like this for me. I can’t believe it!” Because of a kind act, a necklace that had a $4.00 price tag instantly became a priceless treasure.
The following week, I was once again at the shop. The door opened and in walked the cowboy. I shared with him how delighted and touched the woman was, along with all of us who had witnessed his kind act. He simply looked at me, tipped his hat and said: “Well, that’s the cowboy way.”