The Unexpected Kindness of Strangers

Troy, my mother, and I were at the Lego Store today amid a crowded throng of people off for the holiday. Troy and my mother were building animals from one of the “parts bins” while I pursued the shelves. All of a sudden, a strange man approached them and asked Troy what he was building. The man was in his fifties, slightly shorter than me with black stringy hair peppered with gray. He had beard stubble dotting his chin, and he was wearing a ratty black t-shirt that fit snugly over his bulging belly. His teeth were yellowish with smidges of black that looked like he probably chewed tobacco. He also smelled faintly of cigarettes.

Completely oblivious to all of this, Troy showed the man what he was holding and told him it was a duck. I was on full alert by this point, but the man kept the bins between them, so I waited to see how things would play out. The stranger complimented Troy on his duck and then asked him if he was going to buy anything. Troy said, “No, my dad said that we couldn’t afford to buy anything.” And then he nodded his head toward me. The stranger looked over and seemed to see me for the first time, staring at him suspiciously. But he kept engaging Troy directly. “What if I buy you a Lego? Assuming it’s okay with your dad,” he added, looking at me questioningly. I shrugged like I didn’t have an issue with that, and Troy said, “Sure.” So, the man told Troy to pick out what he wanted, and he’d buy it for him.

I was a bit shocked by this altruistic gesture. I mean who does that?! I didn’t want to stand in his way to do something nice for someone else, but I also didn’t want Troy asking for something ridiculous, so I walked along behind him. He picked a Lego set that was $29, and I told him that was too expensive. He picked another that was $59, and again, I told him that was too much. When he asked me what he could get, I told him to look for something that started with a one, thinking of something in the $15 or $19 range. Which was about the cheapest thing in the store.

As Troy perused the shelves, the stranger came up behind us and pointed to a Lego set in front of Troy that was $245. He said, “Obviously not this one.” I told the man that I was steering Troy to something more reasonable. The man responded by asking Troy which one he liked. Troy picked up a Ninjago dragon set and said, “My dad said that I had to get something that started with a one, and this starts with a one!” I looked at the price and said, “That’s not exactly what I meant.” The stranger asked Troy how much it cost, and Troy replied, “$109.”

I was certain that the man was going to regret giving my son free rein to pick whatever he wanted. I was also certain that he was going to steer him to something cheaper. Instead, the man said, “Yeah, that’s fine. Bring it over to the register, and I’ll buy it for you.” I was speechless. I managed to blurt out, “Are you sure?” And the man shook his head in the affirmative. He said, “Do you know that I’ve offered to buy Legos for three kids now, and one of them actually turned me down? I mean I get it, I’m a stranger, but it’s a free toy. I’m retired, and I’ve been blessed to be able to do things like this with my free time. I hope you and your son enjoy putting this together.”

I still couldn’t believe what was happening. The man pulled out his American Express credit card and bought the toy. He then handed the bag to my son, who thankfully told the man thank you multiple times. As we walked back to my mother, the man tagged along and engaged me in conversation. I wasn’t feeling very social, but I also felt obligated to chat with him after what he’d just done. He told me all about his comic book collection, which he estimated to be worth millions, and his Lego collection, which he estimated he spent about $3000 a month on. I started to wonder who this guy was. Was he some tech billionaire who sold his company young and was now hanging out in toy stores to spend his fortune by buying overpriced Lego sets for random kids? Did he not have any kids of his own, so he was making up for it by spoiling other people’s kids?

Whatever his motivation, I still can’t believe he did that. And after a few minutes chatting with me, the stranger shook my hand and wandered off deeper into the Lego Store. And my son ended up with an early birthday present.